I recently went on a trip to Berlin and was happily surprised that Berlin is known as “the vegan capital of the world”. I passed by several bakeries that all had vegan options and also had a 5 course, gourmet vegan meal at a fantastic restaurant called the The Lucky Leek. There were even late night vegan options like “tofu-wurst” instead of bratwurst at the local pub! Berlin is a great place to visit if you’re plant based and also a great place to shop and see historical sites such as the Berlin wall. I’m still waiting for Chicago to be as vegan friendly as Berlin. Until then, I’ll just have to be content with my usual local vegan spots. Vegan donuts are not always easy to find in town. They’re often deep fried too. I live next door to an amazing gourmet donut shop but they have no vegan donuts! This recipe is super easy and quick. It’s almost as easy as making brownies. The only slightly difficult part is pouring the batter evenly into the donut wells. The donuts go in the oven for less than 15 minutes and come out looking great! Once they’re cooled, they pop out of the pan pretty easily. Make sure you fill each well all the way to the top with batter. Since this recipe uses no eggs or milk, the batter doesn’t rise as much as the traditional kind. These turned out to be soft, cake-like, and full of rich chocolate flavor. I bought my donut pan on Amazon.com but I’ve seen them at lots of other stores as well. They’re inexpensive and, in my opinion, worth investing in. The frosting adds even more richness and chocolatey goodness to these donuts and the sprinkles make them extra cute! I found chocolate covered chia seeds in the grocery store recently and thought they would make a great topping for vegan donuts. I also used organic sprinkles (Sprinkelz brand) that are colorful, vegan, and gluten free. Now that I know how easy baked donuts are, I’ll be making them all the time! You will need aquafaba for this recipe as an egg substitute. In case you’ve never heard of it, it’s the liquid that’s in canned chickpeas. Simply save and refrigerate this liquid the next time you open a can of chickpeas. As always, take a picture and tag @thefriendlyepicurean if you make them or Pin this recipe on Pinterest!
Frosted Vegan Chocolate Donuts
Ingredients
- For the donuts:
- 2 tbs vegan butter, softened (such as Earth Balance)
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup aquafaba (the liquid from canned chickpeas)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbs almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder For the frosting:
- 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (such as Chocolate Dream)
- 1 tbs vegan butter, softened (such as Earth Balance)
- 2 tbs almond milk
- 2 tbs agave syrup Toppings (optional):
- Chocolate covered chia seeds
- Vegan sprinkles (such as Sprinkelz brand)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease donut pan (1/2 dozen sized) with vegan butter or oil spray and set aside. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix butter, applesauce, aquafaba, almond milk, and vanilla extract for about 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Next add flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda and mix again on medium speed until batter is smooth and well combined. Carefully spoon batter evenly into donut pan wells, filling to the top of each well. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in doughnut comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. While donuts are cooling, prepare the frosting. Heat chocolate chips, butter, and almond milk in a small saucepan on low heat until chocolate is melted, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and stir in agave syrup. (Or microwave all frosting ingredients in a shallow bowl for 30 seconds and stir to combine). Dip one side of each donut in frosting and top with sprinkles. May store frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. May store donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.Nutrition Information:
- Approximate calories per doughnut plus 1/6 frosting: 282 cal
