Babycakes Covers the Classics: Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes From Donuts to Snickerdoodles (18 page)

For the microwave
Place the
chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat at 50 percent power for 30
seconds. Stir. Continue heating and stirring in 15-second intervals until the chips
are melted. Add the coconut oil and salt and stir until thoroughly combined.

For the oven
Preheat the
oven to 325°F. Place the chips in a small stainless-steel bowl and place in
the oven for 5 minutes, or until they are shiny. Remove from the oven and stir until
the chips are completely melted. Add the coconut oil and salt and continue stirring
until thoroughly combined.

Makes about 1 cup

Agave-Sweetened Chocolate Glaze

For those of us who prefer to sweeten with agave, this glaze, which can also moonlight as a dipping sauce, is a godsend. You’ll need to store it at room temperature to prevent it from getting too thick.

Combine the coconut milk, agave nectar, rice- or soy-milk powder, cocoa
powder, and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor and blend on medium speed for 1
minute. While the processor is running, gradually add ½ cup of the coconut
oil and ½ tablespoon of the lemon juice and blend until thoroughly
incorporated. Add the remaining ¼ cup coconut oil and ½ tablespoon
lemon juice and process for 1 minute more. The glaze can be stored, covered tightly,
at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes about 1¾ cups

Don’t be fooled: Even though a chocolate donut sounds almost unreasonably decadent, this one is actually the most mellow of the bunch. It isn’t overly sweet, and it doesn’t act like a slice of cake. I purposefully didn’t amp up the sugar—primarily because that way you can go completely crazy in the glazing department to add sweetness. That said, if you really want the cake part of your donut to be sweet, you can toss in an extra ¼ cup of sugar without repercussion.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Brush 2 six-mold donut trays with coconut
oil and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flours, cocoa powder, potato
starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum. Add the
applesauce, ⅓ cup coconut oil, vanilla, and hot water and mix with a rubber
spatula just until the ingredients are combined. Using a melon-baller or tablespoon,
drop 2½ tablespoons of batter into each donut mold. Using a toothpick, spread
the batter evenly around the mold.

Bake for 8 minutes, rotate, and bake for 8 minutes more. Let cool in the molds
for 5 minutes if sprinkling with toppings such as cinnamon sugar, or 15 minutes if
using glaze or icing. Run a knife around the donuts in the molds, lift them out, and
place them on a baking sheet. Coat them in your choice of
topping
.

Makes 12

You may as well commit this recipe to memory because I guarantee you will return to it when you’re looking for that little something extra to add to recipes in this book and beyond. You’ll use it to dunk donuts, drizzle it on Wonder Buns, even slather it on pancakes.

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, hot water, and vanilla and
whisk briskly. If the glaze is too thick, add warm water one tablespoon at a time
until the icing reaches a thick yet slightly runny consistency. If it becomes too
runny, add more powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time. The glaze can be stored in an
airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 1¼ cups

Creamy, light, and sweet—you’ll want to smother this all over pretty much everything.
Way
overeager one ambitious morning, I even tried it in a cup of coffee. Please do not do that. It is, however, perfect on just about anything else.

Combine the coconut milk, rice- or soy-milk powder, agave nectar, and
vanilla in the bowl of a food processor and blend for 1 minute. With the machine
running, gradually pour in ½ cup of the coconut oil and process until
thoroughly combined. Add ½ tablespoon of the lemon juice and process,
followed by the remaining coconut oil and lemon juice. Process for 1 minute more.
The icing can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4
days.

Makes about 2½ cups

Agave-Sweetened Plain Donut

Although replacing the sugar in the donut recipe with agave nectar takes the crunch factor down a level, these are equally as important to your breakfast arsenal. If you still want that crispiness and are open to experimenting, try switching out the agave for coconut sugar (
helpful substitution suggestions
!). Either way, you can’t go wrong. The donut here is shown topped with the
Agave-Sweetened Chocolate Glaze
.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Brush 2 six-mold donut trays with coconut
oil and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, potato starch, arrowroot, baking
powder, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum. Add the agave nectar, coconut oil,
applesauce, vanilla, and hot water and mix with a rubber spatula just until the
ingredients are incorporated. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth. Using a
melon-baller or tablespoon, drop 2½ tablespoons of batter into each donut
mold. Using a toothpick, spread the batter evenly around the mold.