Lifestyle / DIY: Crazy And Cool Donut Recipes

DIY: Crazy And Cool Donut Recipes

Lifestyle Jul 26, 2016

by Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

Don't be afraid of donuts! With our unique healthy twist you'll be asking for seconds!

There's nothing that I love more than a sweet treat with my coffee, or anytime really, and I'm not afraid to admit that.

But, as I grow older, I know that I can't indulge the way I used to. And so, I have had to learn to curb my sweet tooth. But, honestly speaking, it is a very difficult thing to do.

There is a common misconception that eating healthy means that you can't have delicious snacks anymore or that all you can have is raw fruits and veggies for snacks, and that's just not true! Healthy does not equal boring or bland. Not anymore at least. This is why I've had to seek out new and creative ways to satisfy my indulgent cravings for sweets, while still being mindful of what I'm consuming.

One of the recipes that I stumbled upon was donuts for the health-conscious eater, such as myself. Needless to say, I was thrilled that I could have my cake and eat it too. I was even more intrigued by these donuts as the recipes called for the inclusion of commonly used South Asian ingredients such as cardamom, ginger and ghee, that, I believe, help create distinct, rich and flavourful dishes.

I know the ingredient lists and the preparation involved in cooking up these delightful sweets might make your eyes pop out of your head, but I promise these doughy delicacies deliver big on taste that will allow you to nosh on these sweets to your hearts content while still not compromising the fit of your favourite jeans.

Check out the recipes below.

^{Yummy donuts.

Photo Credit: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com}

Pistachio Cardamom Donuts With a Mascarpone Glaze

Ingredients

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

3 eggs

1/3 cup of ghee (melted)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup of pistachios (without shells)

3/4 cup of almond meal

1/4 brown rice flour

1 tablespoon tapioca flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons of milk

1/4 pistachios

Method

1. Add 1 cup of pistachios to a food processor or you can use a pestle and mortar or throw it into a strong Ziploc bag, cover with a cloth and bash it. The end result will be a flour-like product.

2. Next, grab mixing bowls. 1 large one for the dry ingredients (ground cardamom, brown sugar, baking powder, pistachio flour, almond meal, brown, brown rice flour, tapioca flour and salt) and 1 small one for the wet ingredients (2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, eggs and ghee).

3. Now, it's time to marry all of these ingredients by combining the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix it well with a hand-mixer or a whisk. Try your best to make the batter as smooth as possible. The last thing you is a lumpy batter.

4. You'll need to grease up your donut pan(s) and pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

5. If you have a pastry bag on hand, now is the time to grab it and fill it up with your batter. You do not need to use a nozzle for this. Alternatively, you can use a large Ziploc bag (fill it with your batter and make a 5 cm diagonal cut in the corner). Once you've got your batter in the piping bag/Ziploc bag, start piping your donuts into your donut pan(s). Leave about 1/3 of the space for it to puff up.

6. Bake them for about 10 minutes. You can check if they're done by poking and prodding a couple of them with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, you're good to go.

7. Allow the donuts to cool once they've come out of the oven for about 5 to 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack (place a cookie sheet underneath).

8. While they cool, make the mascarpone glaze. In a bowl, add the powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of milk, and 2 tablespoons of mascarpone cheese, and mix until smooth. Chop up some pistachios to sprinkle onto your donuts.

9. You can drizzle the glaze over the donuts, dunk it into the glaze for a full coating, or just dip the top. Just be careful to work quickly so you can top each donut with the pistachios while they glaze is still wet and will act as an adhesive.

10. Let the glazed and topped up donuts set for about 30 minutes before digging in.

^{Tasty treats.

Photo Credit: www.mykitchenintherockies.com}

Baked Sweet Potato Donuts

Ingredients

1 cup of all purpose flour

2/3 cup of sugar (you can use refined sugar or brown)

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger (fresh or powdered)

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 to 3 teaspoons of melted butter

1 egg

1/2 cup of milk

1/2 cup sweet potato (pureed)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

^{Yummy sweet potato.

Photo Credit: www.frugallivingnw.com}

Instructions

The puree: You can prepare the puree ahead of time. Or one day for dinner you can make a little extra sweet potato, such as for a mash. It will keep for a few days in the fridge.

1. Secure a rack in a baking dish. Poke holes in about 2 to 3 sweet potatoes (depending on their size) and place onto the rack. Cover it with some foil and pop it into the oven at about 200 degrees Celsius. Again, depending on the size, they will need to bake until they are fork-tender (about 1 to 2 hours).

2. Once these sweet taters are fork-tender, pull them out of the oven and let them cool down (5 to 10 minutes).

3. Using a kitchen towel to hold the hot potatoes, peel the skins off of the potatoes and then dump the sweet golden flesh into a blender or you can use a hand blender to puree it into a smooth mixture.

The donut:

1. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, 1/3 of a cup of sugar, cinnamon, ginger [if it's a powder, otherwise, if it's fresh, throw it into your wet mix], baking soda and baking powder) into a bowl and the wet ingredients (melted butter, egg, milk, vanilla extract and the sweet potato puree) into another bowl.

2. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry mix. Mix it well with a hand-mixer or use a whisk. Try your best to make the batter as smooth as possible; you don't want lumps.

4. Grease your donut pan(s) and pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

3. If you have a pastry bag on hand, now is the time to grab it and fill it up with your batter. You do not need to use a nozzle for this. Alternatively, you can use a large Ziploc bag (fill it with your batter and make a 5 cm diagonal cut in the corner). Once you've got your batter in the piping bag/Ziploc bag, start piping your donuts into your donut pan(s). Leave about 1/3 space for it to puff up.

4. Bake the donuts for about 10 minutes. You can check that th done by poking and prodding a couple with a toothpick – if it comes out clean, you're good to go!

5. Let them cool for 5 minutes then transfer them onto a rack to continue to cool while you top them.

6. Leave them plain or top them with a little sprinkling of sugar or drizzle with your favourite dressing.

^{Main Image Photo Credit: www.fridaycakenight.com}

Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

Author

Devika (@goberdhan.devika) is an MA graduate who specialized in Political Science at York University. Her passion and research throughout her graduate studies pushed her to learn about and unpack hot button issues. Thus, since starting at ANOKHI in 2016, she has written extensively about many challe...

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DIY: Crazy And Cool Donut Recipes

by Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

Don't be afraid of donuts! With our unique healthy twist you'll be asking for seconds!

Devika Goberdhan | Features Editor - Fashion

COMMENTS

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