Healthy Baked Vanilla Donuts
My family called these the best baked donuts they’ve ever had! Their really moist and cake-like, and that little hint of nutmeg makes them taste like my favorite old-fashioned (fried) donuts. Then the sweet, naturally bright pink raspberry glaze is such a fun finishing touch! The donuts are best if served the same day they’re glazed, but they’ll keep for at least three days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (Unglazed donuts will keep for even longer in the refrigerator!)
Ingredients
FOR THE DONUTS
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp liquid stevia (see Notes!)
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt, room temperature (see Notes!)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup (240mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
FOR THE GLAZE
- ½ cup (70g) raspberries (fresh or frozen and thawed)
- ½ cup (72g) confectioners’ style erythritol (see Notes!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 32 mini donut cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the donuts, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, vanilla extract, and liquid stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt. Stir in the vinegar and ½ cup of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.)
- Transfer the batter to a large zip-topped plastic bag, and cut off one corner, Pipe the batter into the prepared donut cups. Bake at 350°F for 13-16 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch. Cool in the donut cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Just before serving, prepare the glaze. Add the raspberries to a blender or food processor, and pulse until they form a smooth purée. For the smoothest glaze, gently press the purée through a fine mesh strainer or sieve with the back of a spoon to remove the seeds. Stir together the confectioners’ style erythritol and 7 teaspoons of raspberry purée (or use less purée for a thicker glaze, or use more purée for a thinner glaze). Working with one donut at a time, dip one side into the glaze, gently shake the donut to remove the excess, and return to the wire cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining donuts and glaze.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's really important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much will make your donuts turn out dry.
IMPORTANT DONUT PAN NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: These are the mini donut pans that I use! They’re made of silicone and a little flimsy, so I just set them on top of a large light-colored metal cookie sheet to bake. I own four of them!
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
NUTMEG NOTE: The nutmeg is the secret ingredient that makes these baked donuts taste like fried ones! Something about its rich nuttiness mimics both the flavor of the old-fashioned donut dough and the flavor of the oil the donuts are fried in.
STEVIA NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! It’s my favorite sweetener, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too. I buy it online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. For sweeter donuts, increase the liquid stevia by ¼ to ½ teaspoon.
If you prefer not to use the liquid stevia in the donut batter, substitute ¾ cup (180mL) of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave, and reduce the milk to ¼ cup (60mL) in the batter. Alternatively, substitute ¾ cup (144g) of granulated sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar, and reduce the milk to ½ cup (120mL). The baking time may change slightly with any of these substitutions.
GREEK YOGURT NOTE: The protein in the Greek yogurt replaces the eggs, so this recipe is egg-free!
VINEGAR NOTE + ALTERNATIVE: The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help the donuts rise and give them a softer, fluffier texture. I promise you can’t taste any vinegar in the fully baked donuts! I haven’t tried substituting anything in place of the distilled white vinegar, but if you aren’t able to find it, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar would be the two ingredients I’d probably recommend trying.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
ERYTHRITOL NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: I buy my confectioners’ style erythritol online here, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too! If you prefer, you may substitute ½ cup (60g) of regular powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar) in the glaze. However, reduce the raspberry purée to 3 teaspoons to start since regular powdered sugar is much more absorbent than erythritol!
DAIRY-FREE + VEGAN OPTION: If you’d like to make a vegan version, then use non-dairy milk in place of the nonfat milk. Replace the Greek yogurt with 6 tablespoons of your favorite non-dairy yogurt AND 1 tablespoon (8g) Ener-G + ¼ cup (60mL) warm water for the best results. (Ener-G is an egg replacer. Since non-dairy yogurt doesn’t contain as much protein as Greek yogurt, you’ll need the egg replacer to help your donuts maintain their shape and texture while cooling!) Alternatively, you may substitute your favorite non-dairy yogurt (ie soy-, almond, or coconut-based) for ALL of the Greek yogurt, but remember… Since these don’t contain as much protein as Greek yogurt, your donuts may collapse a bit while cooling and turn out slightly denser.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Many store-bought blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.
HOW TO MAKE STANDARD SIZE BAKED DONUTS: If you prefer, this recipe will yield 12 standard sized donuts. The baking temperature remains the same. Begin checking on them after about 18 minutes. The donuts will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops feel firm to the touch.
HOW TO MAKE WITHOUT DONUT PANS: Don’t own a mini or standard-sized donut pan? Not to worry! You can use a mini muffin pan (you’ll get about 28 mini muffins) or a standard-sized muffin pan (you’ll get 12 muffins).
HOW TO STORE: Glazed donuts are best if eaten the same day that they're glazed, but they'll still keep for at least three days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (Unglazed donuts usually last longer!)
If you seal leftover glazed donuts inside of an airtight container and refrigerate them, the glaze tends to dissolve, especially if made with regular powdered sugar. Hence why they’re best if served the same day they’re glazed!
{gluten-free, egg-free, clean eating, low fat, sugar free, dairy-free option, vegan option}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.