Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts
Sweet Nourish
A deep-fried doughnut is surely one of life’s greatest pleasures, but it’s one I try to resist (see ya toxic refined oils). Instead, these baked doughnuts are my ideal indulgence. Dusted with cinnamon and perfectly tender, they’re as delicious (if not better) than their deep-fried cousins.
You might find them sweet enough without the need to add any stevia, but if you do want a little extra sweetness, it’s a good tool to avoid increasing the sugar content.
Ingredients
300g peeled pumpkin, cubed
60g (1/4 cup) extra virgin coconut oil, softened
2 eggs
60g (1/4 cup) buttermilk
70g (1/3 cup) preferred brown sugar (see Tips)
1/8 tsp stevia extract powder (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
225g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Cinnamon sugar (optional)
1 tbsp golden caster sugar (use raw sugar for Thermomix version)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Method
1. Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan). Lightly grease 2 x 8-hole standard doughnut tins (see Tips).
2. Steam pumpkin until very tender. Transfer onto paper towel for at least 5 minutes to drain excess moisture.
3. Place warm pumpkin and coconut oil into a food processor or high-powered blender and process until coconut oil melts and pumpkin is pureed and smooth. Scrape down sides with a spatula.
4. Add eggs, buttermilk, sugar, stevia (optional) and spices, and process until just combined (ensuring any lumps of sugar are broken up).
5. Add flour and bicarbonate of soda, and process using pulse action until mixture is just smooth. Carefully spoon or pipe mixture into prepared tins (piping will give you a more perfect-looking result – use a 1cm plain nozzle).
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until puffed and lightly golden. Allow to cool in tins for 5 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool for a further 5 minutes.
Cinnamon sugar (optional)
7. Place cinnamon-sugar ingredients into a large zip-lock bag. Working in batches, while still warm, place 5-6 doughnuts into bag and gently shake to coat. Serve doughnuts warm.
Tips
- Depending on the exact size of your doughnut tin, you mind find this mixture makes more or less than 16 doughnuts.
- If you don’t have doughnut tins, you can also bake this mixture in muffin or mini muffin tins (the cooking times will vary depending on the size of your tins).
- Use your preferred brown sugar in these doughnuts, either regular brown sugar or a less refined option such as rapadura (panela) or coconut sugar. (Note that the weights of these sugars can vary, so the gram measurement will be more accurate than the cup measurement.)
Variation
Thermomix method
Doughnuts
1. Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan). Lightly grease 2 x doughnut tins (see Tips).
2. Place 700g water into mixing bowl. Place Varoma into position and weigh pumpkin into it. Secure Varoma lid and steam 20 min/Varoma/speed 2 or until pumpkin is very tender. Transfer pumpkin onto paper towel for a minimum of 5 minutes to drain excess moisture. Discard steaming liquid. Dry mixing bowl.
3. Place warm pumpkin (see Tips) and coconut oil into warm mixing bowl and purée 10 sec/speed 6 or until coconut oil melts and mixture is smooth. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula.
4. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar, stevia (optional), spices, flour and bicarbonate of soda and blend 10 sec/speed 5.
5. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula and blend 5 sec/speed 4 or until combined (the mixture will be quite wet).
6. Transfer mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle (1 cm). Pipe mixture into prepared tins, filling two-thirds full. Bake for 10–15 minutes or until puffed and lightly golden. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool for a further 5 minutes. Clean and dry mixing bowl.
Cinnamon sugar (optional)
7. Place sugar and cinnamon into mixing bowl and mill 6 sec/speed 8 or until mixture resembles caster sugar. Transfer mixture into a large snaplock bag. Working in batches, while still warm, place 6 doughnuts into bag and gently shake to coat. Serve doughnuts warm.
