Baked Vegan Doughnuts

OK, so I seem to be making some really unhealthy things. But really, they are just distractions for my major seitan post that keeps building and building!

For years now, I've been searching for doughnut baking pans. I checked at Walmart a number of times (I thought that surely they would have them given that they sell fast-foodish stuff and it seemed right up their alley) but to no avail. I had seem them on Amazon.ca, but I didn't feel like paying more for shipping than the price of the item itself. Finally, I made a very rare stop in at Michael's and to my surprise, I found them there! I was so giddy with excitement that I couldn't have cared less that I never bothered to cut out the 40% off-one-item coupon at home. As soon as I got home I washed them up and pulled out Vegan Yum Yum, remembering that a few years ago she was the queen of the vegan doughnut.

I whipped up a batch, subbing rice milk for the soy, canola oil for the marg and salba for the egg replacer. I was careful not to overfill my pan with the really thick batter. What happened? They were edible, but they barely rose. Here they are coated in melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips and vegan sprinklez.

I did not feel defeated, however.

Next, I used cornstarch for the egg replacer instead of the salba and doubled the batch (I had since clued in that I did not in fact have a mini doughnut pan but rather a regular sized one). The batter was alot more fluid and I filled to almost the top. I had a little batter leftover to satisfy Ash, the baking bowl licker. My results were much improved - this time I dipped them in an icing sugar/rice milk glaze. Better!

But I just found that the baked doughnut just didn't have the same yeasty flavour of a regular doughnut (I actually remember this taste, despite my last real doughnut was consumed in the '80s). So I opted to try the recipe again with a different topping - one similar to the stale doughnuts you buy in the grocery store - either with icing sugar or cinnamon sugar. I opted for the latter. Yum! And not stale!

I noticed Vegan Dad has a doughnut recipe that is fried. I'm petrified of frying anything in more than just a couple of tablespoons of oil, so I doubt I'll try this. But I am tempted to lube up the dough and slap it into my doughnut pan to bake. After all, I have to justify this long-awaited purchase! I think it will be a project to work on after Christmas, as I have my work cut out for me when it comes to Xmas baking this year.