There are an awful lot of great-looking gluten-free doughnut recipes out there. And Pinterest is a dangerous pastime. From this, to this…ooh and this, and maybe this one too.
But when I actually got down to looking at how they were made – most of them required yeast and buttermilk, which I prefer to avoid in large quantities. And that doesn’t really go with over-the-top doughnut indulgence.
But then, I found this great recipe, from Alicia Baker at examiner.com, Easy gluten free and dairy free glazed doughnuts.
Now, this being me, I am chronically unable to simply follow a recipe. Having no applesauce or pumpkin in the house, I cooked up a small batch of sweet potato mash in the microwave.
Sweet Potato Mash
To do this, peel and finely dice a small sweet potato – about 15cm worth. Put it in a bowl and add a small amount of water. Put a lid on the bowl I usually use a small plate, and microwave for about 5 minutes. Continue in small bursts until the potatoes are soft. Drain off the water and mash.
I then followed the rest of the very simple recipe to create the doughnut batter. But then I decided I wanted deep-fried doughnuts – and their recipe called for a doughnut maker. So instead I put 2-3 cm of oil in a saucepan and warmed it till it was very hot, then spooned out a large heaped Dessert spoon of batter into the oil, and cooked the doughnuts in batches. This was almost a success – the outside was great, crunchy, caramelised and sweet. But the inside? Not so good.
This was easily fixed with a 10-15 minute cook on medium-low heat in the oven. And I must admit, I skipped on the lemon glaze. They really didn’t need it.
The results were amazing. I love, love, love this recipe. I might even follow the cooking instructions next time. For I shall be making these again, probably more often than would be wise. Who needs wise with these?