How To Make Dairy Free Donuts?

A lot of people worldwide are intolerant of dairy products. In fact, as we grow older product such as cow milk is not necessarily a good option for you. This is mainly because we can not handle the lactose from the milk as well as we did as kids, but this is not a story for now.

However, those people feel short on a lot of delicacies that we, the lucky ones can have without any complications. But, that is not always the case. Today for all of you who are dairy-intolerant, I will write about dairy-free donuts.

What Are Dairy Free Donuts?

There are a lot of types of donuts, but unfortunately, most of them consist of dairy products like butter, yogurt, or milk, and sometimes even a combination of them.

However, since a lot of people are lactose-intolerant or simply prefer a vegan diet, some changes were necessary. Dairy-free donuts are very similar to regular donuts, the only difference is that instead of ingredients like butter and milk we use plant substitutions.

What dairy-free products do we use in dairy-free donuts?

If you are lactose intolerant or vegan I’m sure you use a lot of plant-based products as a substitute for milk and butter. However, not all of them are suitable for baking. Here is the list of ingredients that are best for making donuts:

Milk substitutes:

• Coconut milk;
• Soy milk;
• Almond milk;
• Oat milk;
• Water.

Butter substitutes:

• Sunflower margarine;
• Soy margarine;
• Coconut butter;
• Applesauce;
• Mashed banana or avocado.

Don’t use nut butter since they have a lot of aromas so they are more suitable for cupcakes, muffins, and brownies.

When you need to cut off dairy from your diet you need to be extra careful since some premade mixtures can have a small amount of dairy ingredients in them. The only way to make sure you are buying something that won’t harm you is to thoroughly read the labels.

However, I have an even better idea, why wouldn’t you learn how to make dairy-free donuts from the scratch? This way you will be able to make them anytime you crave them, and what’s better than that.

Now, let’s start to learn!

Ingredients You Will Need

Kitchen tools

For this recipe, you will need the regular kitchen utensils that you use for baking and cooking. Here is the list:

• Two large bowls for mixing the dough (one for wet and one for dry ingredients);
• Smaller bowls for making the frosting and glaze (optional);
• Hand mixer;
• Cooling wire rack;
• Baking paper;
• Piping bag;
• Donut molds.

You can also opt to fry these donuts, but they are way better baked than fried. In case you decide to fry them you will need to adjust the recipe a bit to make a firmer dough that can be rolled out and cut with the cookie cutter.

Ingredients

This recipe is enough for 12 medium-sized donuts, or as you prefer for two batches. In case you have larger or smaller donut molds, you’ll have less or more donuts, simple. Now, you can substitute cow’s milk with any plant milk you like to use.

Ingredients for donuts:

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour;
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder;
• 2 large eggs;
• 1 cup of granulated sugar;
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt;
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract;
• ½  teaspoon of ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional);
• 2 tablespoons of the softened dairy-free spread of your choice, here I used soy margarine;
• 1 cup of full-fat coconut milk, again you can use any other plant milk;

For the icing:

• ½ a cup of soy margarine, or any dairy-free spread;
• 3 cups of powdered sugar, divided;
• ¼ cup of vanilla-flavored coconut milk, or any dairy-free milk;
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract;
• Sprinkles or any other garnish.

Step by Step on how to make Dairy Free Donuts

First, you’ll need to preheat the oven on 350 degrees while you are preparing the dough. Don’t forget to grease up baking molds before placing the donuts in them. Also, you will first prepare the donuts, then you will make the icing while the donuts are in the oven.

• Gather all the ingredients in one place and separate dry from the wet ingredients.
• In a large mixing bowl, sift your flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Sifting is a crucial step since it will reduce any lumps that can occur in the batter if the ingredients aren’t small enough.
• In another large bowl place soy margarine and beat them together with the granulated sugar until the texture becomes smooth and liquidy.
• Now it is time to add the eggs and mix until combined. After that stir in the coconut milk and vanilla extract and mix until it becomes smooth.
• Always add wet ingredients to the dry, never vice versa! Mix it with a stand mixer until you get a smooth texture without any lumps.
• Grease up donut molds and use a piping bag to fill up each doughnut cup at least ½ full or ¾ full.
• Bake them for about 10 to 15 minutes until they get that golden brown crust.
• While you wait for donuts to finish baking make your icing. All you have to do is mix half of the sugar and soy margarine until it becomes smooth and fluffy. Then add coconut milk, vanilla extract, and the rest of the sugar and mix until it becomes creamy.
• When they are baked, let them sit in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes to cool off, before placing them on the cooling rack. While the donuts are on the wire rack, place the icing in the microwave for 20 seconds to become runny.
• Decorate donuts as you wish.

FAQ

What type of milk substitutes can I use for donuts?

There is no wrong non-dairy milk choice for this recipe. Just keep in mind that not every plant milk has the same fat content. For instance, coconut milk is richer in fat than soy or oat milk so naturally, your donut will be richer, softer, and more flavorful.

What type of butter substitute can I use for donuts?

Also, you can substitute butter with margarine, soy butter, or any other, dairy-free spread that you already use in your diet. This one might surprise you, but you can also use lard for making dough when you need a dairy-free substitute.

How long can I store dairy-free donuts?

The answer is always the same. An airtight container will keep them fresh on the counter for 2 to a maximum of 3 days. While these donuts do not have dairy in them, they do have eggs, so in case it is too hot, keep them in the fridge. Salmonella is no fun!

Conclusion

Not being able to consume dairy products is a fun-breaker sometimes. I’m saying this since you’ll easily get your cup of coffee without or with plant milk, but not all coffee shops have dairy-free donuts that you can treat yourself with.

Luckily, now you know how to make one, so you won’t need to give up on your morning tradition – hot coffee and warm donut. Please, share all your dairy-free dessert recipes in the comments below, someone will be grateful.