This summer has found me wandering and traveling and tasting lots of wonderful things in lots of wonderful places. Had the most excellent vacation in the Pacific Northwest where my indulgences included some of the best coffee I’ve ever had and vegan donuts…preferably together.

The whole donut thing started in Seattle where we found Mighty-O Donuts on our very first day. We were looking to fuel up before our paddleboarding excursion on Puget Sound. Mighty-O promotes their donuts as organic and clean, but they don’t make a big deal about them being vegan. I like that. They are just donuts without any animal derived ingredients. No where that I could see was the word vegan used; on their website or at their storefront. Both times we went, the place was packed. People really do appreciate a good donut.

We also went to Voodoo Donuts in Portland. And if you ever find yourself in that city you really should check out the place. I have a preference for the cake-style donuts at Mighty-O, but Voodoo Donuts is a little more about the experience. People line up down the block for these things. The atmosphere is just sort of a donut party. They have raised-yeast and cake donuts topped with voodoo madness…M&Ms, Fruit Loops, Bacon, Oreos…you name it. And they have a selection of vegan donuts, too.

So this became one of the first things that I’ve wanted to make since I got back from the trip. I love Chef Chloe’s baked donut recipe from her book Chloe’s Kitchen. Her recipe is for a vanilla cake donut and I modified the recipe to make a chocolate donut. The donuts are moist and really delicious. The day I made them, my oldest son had a few friends over, guys who don’t eat vegan and were honestly, a little skeptical about vegan donuts.

They LOVED them! I mean seriously loved them. A dozen donuts were nearly gone in about 10 minutes. 

While I can’t claim these are super healthy and I wouldn’t recommend eating them everyday. For a once-in-a-while treat, they are not too bad. I used coconut sugar and they are not overly sweet. I haven’t tried them with gluten free flour yet, but maybe next time.

The batter is so simple, no mixer, just whisk dry and wet ingredients until smooth. The batter is piped onto the donut pan and that takes a little skill, but not much. You could use a plastic bag with the corner snipped off or a pastry bag for this. I made two glazes: peanut butter and chocolate. For toppings I tried toasted coconut and chopped pecans, but there could be many options here.

Vegan Chocolate Donuts

Adapted from Chloe’s Kitchen

Makes 1 dozen

2 2/3 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup coconut sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup special dark cocoa powder 

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/4 cup almond milk

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1/4 apple cider vinegar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Chocolate glaze (recipe follows)

Peanut Butter glaze (recipe follows)

Toasted unsweetened coconut flakes

Chopped raw pecans or other nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two donut pans.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk almond milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Combine wet and dry ingredients and whisk quickly until combined being careful not to overmix.

Use a pastry bag or plastic bag with corner cut and pipe batter into the prepared pans. Bake 10-12 minutes. Toothpick inserted should come clean. Remove pans from oven and let cool about 5 minutes before unmolding.

To assemble, dip cooled donuts into glaze and twist to prevent dripping. Dip into coconut flakes or chopped nuts if using. Allow glaze to set and serve. (Consider making two batches if you are feeding teenage boys.) 😉

Chocolate Glaze

1/4 semisweet vegan chocolate chips

2 Tbsp almond milk

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Melt chocolate chips and nondairy milk in microwave or on the stovetop. Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth. Let set for a few minutes to allow glaze to thicken.

Peanut Butter Glaze

1/4 cup all natural peanut butter

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Soften peanut butter by heating it for about 30 seconds in microwave or briefly on stovetop. Add milk and whisk until smooth. Add sugar and whisk until smooth again.