Small batch recipe for gluten free donuts that are baked soft, sturdy, and covered in a decadent chocolate glaze. These Gluten Free Vanilla Baked Donuts are easily made with almond flour and maple syrup, and have a powerfully delicious vanilla flavor! The donuts are dunked in chocolate and finished with cheerful sprinkles.
Gluten Free Vanilla Baked Donuts
Add another winner to the lineup of gluten free and small batch sweets! For starters, who can resist a very vanilla baked donut? Not me, that’s for certain! And secondly, a rich vanilla donut that is covered in a rich chocolate glaze and fun sprinkles will have all of us reaching for a second serving!
I know, a baked vanilla donut is well, pretty vanilla. However, what sets this recipe for Gluten Free Vanilla Baked Donuts apart from the rest is the following:
- Sturdy – A lot of times a baked donut resembles the texture of cake. In contrast, these baked vanilla donuts are sturdy. Translation: they are easily dunked in your morning cup of coffee and won’t fall apart! Think of a good gluten free chocolate chip muffin, but in donut form.
- Soft – Just because the donut can survive a swim in coffee doesn’t mean it can’t have a pleasurably soft texture. That is these donuts. They are soft and moist and will stay that way a day beyond baking.
- Refined Sugar-Free – Maple syrup adds a delicate sweetness to these donuts. And while it is mild in flavor, it does add to the rich and buttery flavor of the donuts.
- Easy – And it bears repeating, these donuts are easy to make. With a few ingredients along with a few stirs, you’ll have donuts in no time.
- Almond Flour Gluten Free Blend – Obviously, almond flour is my go-to gluten free flour to bake with. And this is for good reason. I find my almond flour blend to produce a ridiculously moist and flavorful bake. And I have provided more detail on my almond flour blend below.
- Very Vanilla – The donuts are called vanilla donuts, and they will not disappoint in vanilla flavor!
Ingredients
- Almond Flour
- Arrowroot Flour
- Coconut Flour
- Tapioca Flour
- Baking Powder and Salt
- Egg
- Milk
- Maple Syrup
- Coconut Oil
- Vanilla Extract
- Chocolate Chips
- Sprinkles
Tips For Making Gluten Free Vanilla Baked Donuts
- Grease the donut pan, well – Donuts like to stick to the pan – especially the donut hole. Just give the donut wells a good spray of baking spray (or butter!), and the donuts should fall right out of the pan when you tip it over.
- Use blanched almond flour – Which means the skins have been removed and the almonds have been ground a little finer. This just makes for a smooth, lump-free, flour.
- Pure maple syrup and not pancake syrup – The latter is often made with high fructose corn syrup. And that is not what we want when we are making a refined sugar-free donut!
- Let the donuts cool completely – For two reasons: 1. the donuts need to be cool to dunk them into the chocolate. Otherwise, the chocolate will just run off. 2. Completely cool gluten free baked goods taste better. That is my opinion, and I’m sticking with it!
- Do not overheat the chocolate – If you heat the chocolate too long, you could end up with seized chocolate. I recommend heating the chocolate until it is mostly melted. Meaning, if a few chocolate chunks are remaining, that is ok. The residual heat will melt them.
- Have fun with the sprinkles – There are no rules here! Nor, do you even have to use sprinkles. Though they do add a fun look and bite.
Easy Chocolate Glaze For Donuts
Is it a chocolate glaze or a chocolate coating? Whatever you call it, it is the perfect topping for these vanilla donuts. A good vanilla donut requires a delicious topping. Sure, we can eat the donuts naked, but that may be a little too vanilla! Delicious features of the chocolate glaze for these vanilla donuts:
- Easy – Two ingredients are all you need to make the chocolate glaze: chocolate chips and coconut oil.
- Dries Hard – Maybe it is just me, but I love biting through a shell of chocolate to get to my soft vanilla donut! That is this glaze.
- Easily Decorated – And by decorated I mean sprinkled with sprinkles!
- Balanced Flavor Combo – You will certainly taste both of the star flavors in this recipe – vanilla and chocolate.
Recipe FAQ
I have tested other recipes using a 1 to 1 swap of my almond flour blend and the 1:1 gluten free flour blends, and it did not turn out. I find the 1:1 blends bake dry and would need other adjustments to the ingredients to make it work.
Yes, it does! Just make sure to give it a few minutes to set up on the donuts.
Make certain you are greasing the wells of the donut pan liberally. And if the donuts still won’t budge, you can loosen them from the pan by running a knife or spatula around them. Be sure to get the middle as well!
Gluten Free Vanilla Baked Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
Gluten Free Vanilla Donuts
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons milk, any kind (I used unsweetened coconut milk)
- 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons cold pressed refined coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Glaze
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips, any kind
- 1 teaspoon cold pressed refined coconut oil
- sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
Gluten Free Vanilla Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Liberally grease the wells of a 6 cup donut pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, arrowroot flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, and salt.1/2 cup blanched almond flour, 1/4 cup arrowroot flour, 2 tablespoons coconut flour, 2 tablespoons tapioca flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- In a medium mixing bowl add the egg, milk, maple syrup, melted oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk until thouroughly combined. Sprinkle the dry ingerdients over the wet ingredients and mix until no dry streaks remain.1 large egg, 3 tablespoons milk, any kind, 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, 3 tablespoons cold pressed refined coconut oil, melted, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour, scoop, or spoon the batter equally into the prepared donut pan. Bake the donuts for 18 to 22 minutes, or until they are springy to the touch and a light golden brown.
- Cool the donuts in the pan set on a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then invert the pan to relase the donuts, and let the donuts cool completely on the wire rack. If any stick, gently run a knife or offset spatula around the donuts to release them from the pan.
Chocolate Glaze
- Once the donuts are completely cool, make the glaze. In a small mixing bowl, add the chocolate chips and coconut oil. You can either melt the chocoalte in the micorwave in 30 second increments – stirring after each – until the chocolate is mostly melted. Or, you can melt the chocolate using the double boiler method. Add the chocolate chips to a heat proof bowl set over a saucepan with 2-inches of simmering water. Heat until mostly melted. The residual heat will melt any remaining chocolate bits.1/3 cup chocolate chips, any kind, 1 teaspoon cold pressed refined coconut oil
- Dunk the cooled donuts into the chocolate glaze, sprinkle on the sprinkles, and set on a wire rack to allow the glaze to set. Enjoy!sprinkles
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about the author ...
I'm Erin and I'm all about desserts - and a little bit of butter!
I've tested, written, and photographed hundreds of recipes on my website. Here you'll find the tastiest small batch desserts - all homemade, all simple, and all for you! Click here to learn more about me!