Grain Free Chocolate- Peppermint Cake Donuts.

by Brittany on December 17, 2012

Post image for Grain Free Chocolate- Peppermint Cake Donuts.

Sometimes I get a recipe idea that gets me so excited that I drop everything I’m doing and sprint to the kitchen to bake. This was one of those thrilling endeavors and it was worth the lack of sleep night that happened as a consequence.  Gluten/Grain/Dairy/Soy Free + they can be made sugar free too!  Make them for dessert, a party or for breakfast Christmas morning!

A little well kept secret. Baked caked donuts are literally just cake batter baked in a donut pan. That’s all.. they are SO easy to make.

This cake recipe happens to be DELICIOUS. Its moist and tender.. a little piece of heaven in every bite. So, I’m going to recommend to you right now, that if you don’t have a donut pan- pull out a 9 inch round cake pan or a muffin tray. I can’t allow you to miss out..

1 packed cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 Cup Organic Cane Sugar or Xylitol or Erythritol.
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder
3 Large Eggs
1 Tbs oil or melted butter.
1 1/2 Tsp. Mint or Peppermint Extract
1 1/2 Tsp. Water

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil and dust heavily with cocoa powder- 2 donut pans. (NOTE:  if you don’t have two- feel free to use a muffin tin with cupcake liners for the remaining batter- or as I stated above just put all the batter into 1 cake pan. If you go this route make sure to oil and dust the cake pan with cocoa powder. )
  2. In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients. Beat using a hand mixer for a few minutes until well combined.
  3. Spoon the batter into the donut pan- filling each donut only 3/4 full.
  4. Bake both trays at once for 17-20 minutes (bake until a toothpick comes out clean).
  5. Allow to cool completely. If need be- carefully run a knife around the edges of the donuts before removing them from the pan (after they have cooled). 
Top each donut with either Dairy Free White Chocolate Or follow my recipe for How to make your own Powdered Sugar + Frosting recipe. Both of these recipes include options to make them 100% sugar free.  After glazing them top each with some crushed candy cane!
Yields 12 donuts.

Substitution notes:

  •  Need to avoid sugar- use Xylitol or Erythritol instead of cane sugar. The texture of the donuts won’t be as tender, but they will still taste great!
  • Can’t have almonds? Make your own nut or seed flour using any other nut/seed of choice. I suspect that Hazelnut, Macadamias, Cashews or Sunflower seeds turned into flour would all taste great! To do this simply run the nut or seed in a high powdered blender or coffee grinder until you have a super fine flour. (If the flour is course- the recipe might not work as well.)
  • Coconut flour WILL NOT WORK. (It never ever works as a replacement for Almond Flour!) And any of the grain based flours will NOT work.  Stick to the nuts and seeds
  • The eggs are needed- don’t try to remove them. Your donuts will end up more like really dense brownies if you try to use ANY of the egg substitutes.
  • Trader Joes sells peppermint candies made out of Cane Sugar, Brown Rice Syrup and natural vegetable dyes
  • Whole foods sells (I believe candy canes) also made out of Cane Sugar and natural vegetable dyes.
  • The company Surf Sweets makes and sells Organic Candy Canes online. Their ingredients include: Cane Juice, Brown Rice Syrup, Natural Peppermint flavor & Fruit Juice. Their candy canes are produced on a certified gluten free line.
  • I found  Sugar Free Peppermint Candies made out of xylitol. (Dr. Johns Sugar Free Peppermint Xylitol Disks). They are gluten free & GMO free.
-Brittany-
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Rowan December 18, 2012 at 12:28 am

I was given a doughnut maker (the electric kind) as a gift earlier this year and have had varying success using it for baked doughnut recipes that aren’t electric maker specific. Some recipes state specifically that they won’t work in an electric doughnut maker, but I’m not sure what to look for in the recipe composition to make that call on my own. I thought it might be moisture, but some batters seem quite wet in the bowl and work well in the electric maker while others that seem dry or doughy in the bowl don’t work. Any ideas or experience with what might be the best thing to look for? And, I suppose I might as well ask, any thoughts on how these would fare? :)

Looking forward to making these babies one way or another!

Reply

Brittany December 18, 2012 at 4:00 pm

Honestly.. I have NO idea :) I have never used one of those little donut makers..
But now I feel like I need to buy one..
If you try the recipe using it, let me know what happens :)

Reply

Gingee March 2, 2013 at 12:54 am

I made them in my electric donut maker. They were done PERFECTLY in about 5-7 minutes for each batch.

I also coated them in candy making chocolate. I believe I’ve entered heaven. Thank you Brittany for your cooking and baking genius! I’m gluten free. I have vegan friends and I know I can always find something on your page that we can all have and LOVE!

Reply

Sybil December 18, 2012 at 4:34 pm

I was just thinking about trying them in my donut maker since I don’t have the pans. I plan to try it (today or tomorrow) and will report back! If it doesn’t work, I guess I had better go buy some pans!

Reply

Shari December 18, 2012 at 11:28 pm

Oh my – First off let me say, I jsut found you about a week ago. I love to read what you post. You are a delight and sweet.
I am going to try to make these tomorrow. How are they the next day? Did you have any left over to try?

Reply

Brittany December 19, 2012 at 12:26 am

Aww!! Thank you!! :) I love what I do!

These taste great the next day as long as you store them in a sealed bag or container! (I should have mentioned that in the post). If you don’t cover them they will dry out.

Hope you love them!

Reply

Shari December 24, 2012 at 7:59 pm

I just made these. Having been unable to find a donut paln, I opted fora cake ball pan. They worked wonderfully. I was afraid to fill completely so my balls are not complete, but my next batch I will fill and see. I just melted semi sweet chocolate chips and coated the top and sprinkled crushed candy canes. One batch made 18 balls and one muffin.
Going to try chocolate with orange exract for my next batch.
This really is so easy to do.
Thank you so much for the recipe.

Reply

Erika December 25, 2012 at 7:53 am

I made these tonight and they came out lovely – Thank you! But, I just wanted to clarify the yield… I have a USA Donut Pan – which made 6 large donuts using the exact ingredient measurements in this recipe. I thought that was for 12, but 6 perfectly large donuts was all it made. =) Thanks again for sharing this recipe!

Reply

Amanda December 25, 2012 at 2:36 pm

Will these work with Coconut Palm Sugar or Agave? I want to be sure I can do these. :)

Reply

Gingee March 6, 2013 at 6:15 pm

I accidently added 1 1/2 Tablespoons of water instead of 1.5 teaspoons! I made them in the little “babycakes” donut maker. They came out light and fluffy instead of dense. Boy was a relieved! Tasting one right now and it is deeeelish!

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