Winner of the Cosmopolitan Fabulous Female Awards Dubai, Karen McLean (Secret Squirrel), shares her recipe for healthy – but delicious – doughnuts. These make for an indulgent but guilt-free breakfast…
She won the award for her foodie blog Secret Squirrel, but the secret’s out: it’s Karen McLean – an Australian-born food-lover, with Chinese-Vietnamese roots, living in Dubai. Foodies will love her Instagram feed (she already has 200,000+ followers) – everyone will love this recipe for something naughty made healthy.
“Doughnuts are typically deep-fried and coated with sugar but there’s a way to make them healthier: bake them. Completely gluten-free, refined sugar-free and dairy-free. No butter, no sugar, no flour and no frying.
These doughnuts are really yummy just plain, and even better with my nutella frosting. Be creative and top them off with a sprinkle of something colourful. I’ve used raw cacao nibs, freeze dried raspberries, bee pollen and flaked pistachios.
These are so good, you can even have them for breakfast. If you don’t have a doughnut pan, I highly recommend that you treat yourself to one. Once you own it, you will find yourself finding any excuse to make more!”
Ingredients
Makes 12 Donuts
Gluten-free doughnuts
1½ cup almond meal
½ tsp baking soda
¼ cup coconut sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
1 cup mashed ripe banana
¼ cup milk of choice (almond, soy, coconut)
1 egg (whisked)
2 tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
Nutella Frosting
1 cup hazelnuts
? cup coconut milk (full cream)
¼ cup agave syrup or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
Method
Doughnuts
1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. For the donuts, Add almond meal, baking soda, coconut sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon to a large bowl
3. In a separate bowl combine mashed banana, milk, egg, maple syrup,and vanilla bean paste. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined
4. Carefully pour mixture into 12 donut tins
5. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes and let cool on cooling rack immediately after cooking
Nutella Frosting
6. Lower the oven temperature to 160 degrees celsius and roast hazelnuts for approximately 10-12 minutes – be careful not to burn!
7. Let cool completely and rub hazelnuts together in a paper towel to remove skins.
8. In a food processor, blend hazelnuts until it becomes a nut butter.
9. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
Assembly
10. Using a butter knife, carefully frost each donut with the Nutella Frosting
11. Be creative and decorate your donuts with dried fruit, nuts and seeds! I’ve used raw cacao nibs, freeze dried raspberries, bee pollen and flaked pistachios
Enjoy!
Love Secret Squirrel xx