Vegan Doughnuts

After discovering that a vegan doughnut shop exists a couple of blocks away from my apartment, I've spent my spare time searching the internet for vegan doughnut recipes.

Now, my doughnuts are no where near as amazing as their doughnuts, and I've only attempted to make them once, but I'm relatively proud of the outcome. I originally wanted to make baked doughnuts because they're healthier...however, I couldn't find a doughnut pan anywhere! I checked my QFC, Target, and even Ikea...no doughnut pans! So, I decided to buy a little deep fryer and mold the doughnuts by hand.

This little guy and I were best friends by the end of the night...and yes, I said end of the night. I honestly started working on the doughnuts around 2pm yesterday, and I had them finished and glazed around 7pm! The bright side is that after a bunch of experimentation, I figured out an easy way to shape them.

Here's a picture of some of the "uglies"

Poor little guys...in the back you can see the incredibly fat/round ones...in the front you can see two incredibly skinny ones, and the one sitting on top is just deformed...

Here are the ones that actually look like doughnuts:

Yes, I know, they're beautiful (especially compared to their predecessors!) and yes, that is a "doughnut hole" in the front (actually, it was just the leftover dough rolled into a ball).

So, I guess I can finally give you my recipe. Please feel free to adjust and alter the recipe, like I said, they turned out really good, but definitely not AMAZING...but, for a first attempt, I'm definitely proud :)

For the dough, you will need:
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
3 Tsp baking powder
a pinch of nutmeg
2 "eggs"
3/4 cup of soymilk
3 Tbs of oil

If you're frying them:
1. Preheat the deep fryer to 350 degrees F
2. Mix all the dry ingredients.
3. Add "eggs", soymilk, and oil...mix well.
4. You will need a lot of flour, for dough forming...as well as a surface that has been covered in flour. Make sure your hands are also coated in flour so you can easily maneuver the dough. You're definitely going to have to experiment with it personally, but let me tell you how I did it so you have a better idea. I poured extra flour into the bowl and mixed it into the dough, then I put all the dough on my floured cutting board and rolled it in some more flour. Then I took a handful of the dough and rolled it into a ball, then I took the ball and flattened it with the palm of my hand...now I didn't flatten it completely, but they were relatively flat and circular. Then I took my bigger funnel to help me cut out the center hole (trying to tear it by hand is a bad idea, I don't advise it, haha). Then I took these flattened versions of doughnuts and put them in the deep fryer...giving each side about 2-3 minutes (yes, I flipped them over in the deep fryer, they would float to the top, so in order for them to cook fully, I used a spoon and flipped them over).

If you're baking them:
1. Follow the frying steps 1-4...except instead of preheating your deep fryer, you'd preheat your oven.
2. Pour the dough into doughnut pan, or a cupcake pan supposedly also works (you'll just have to cut out holes afterwards...or not).
3. Put them in your oven for about 5-10 minutes, make sure to check up on them...you want them to look lightly golden brown.

For the glaze...I did a maple glaze in accompaniment to a cinnamon-sugar mixture.

For the Maple Glaze, you will need:
2 Tbs Plain Soymilk
2 Tbs Maple Syrup
1 Cup powdered sugar
1/8 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine soymilk, maple syrup, sugar, and salt in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a simmer while whisking constantly.
3. Remove from heat, cool for 5-10mins or until thickened, stir in vanilla.

For the cinnamon-sugar, I just mixed 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of cinnamon, feel free to adjust this to your liking. :)

Now, basically, you want to wait until the glaze is nice and thick, then you grab a doughnut, dip one side, let the glaze drip (I liked to slowly spin the doughnut to give it an even layer) then either dip the glazed doughnut into the cinnamon sugar mixture, or using a spoon pour the mixture onto the glazed doughnut, then flip it over to get the excess off (I preferred the second method).

And Tah-Dah! You have Vegan Maple Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts!
You probably want to experiment with these on a day where you don't have anything else to do, it will take you a while, especially if it's your first attempt at making doughnuts! But, trust me, it's worth it :)
p.s. these are not healthy by any means! You have been warned, so indulge at your own risk! haha