How I Created the Gluten Free Chocolate Donut Recipe

Sometimes people ask me how I come up with my recipes. Well, like most cooks, I look to already existing recipes for inspiration and guidance. But I also depend on the Scientific Method.

It's a sound methodology for recipe development, and I used it to create the recipe for my gluten free chocolate donuts.

Ask a Question (Can donuts be low fat and gluten free?)

Do Background Research (Discover donut baking pans- Viola! Baked donuts cut the fat)

Construct a Hypothesis (The right gluten free flour blend with a method for baking donuts results in a gluten free, low fat donut)

Test the Hypothesis by Doing Experiments (Test various gluten free flour blends combined with other ingredients until one particular set of ingredients in specific amounts results in tasty donuts)

Analyze Data and Draw a Conclusion (Take the donuts to work and see if everyone else likes them as well. If so, the recipe works)

Communicate the Results (Make a YouTube video)

One of the most important steps in creating a new recipe is keeping track of the experiments and the results of those experiments. My notebooks are filled with recipes that didn't work, but I don't throw that data away. Parts of a failed recipe may have worked, and I can draw on those minor successes. For example, I may have a sauce recipe that didn't work for enchiladas, but hey, with a bit of tweaking, it will make a great chili sauce.

It took four 'experiments' to get just the right donut recipe. I kept track, and so didn't make the same mistake twice, and made notes on what worked and what didn't.

But it doesn't stop there. Oh no. Now that I have a basic chocolate donut recipe, I'll start playing around with it. Maybe I'll add some sour cream, or yogurt- just to see what happens.

Well, that's my 'secret' to creating new recipes. I follow a method and then cook, cook, cook. And even after I get it right, I cook some more.

Time to Make the Donuts

Donuts and Coffee

Donuts were practically a food group for us when the kids were young. Sunday mornings Bob or I would go to the Safeway down the street, which had a great bakery, or sometimes to Dunkin' Donuts, which wasn't quite so close to home. The kids, of course, loved the sweet cakey treats and it was an easy breakfast for a lazy day.

The Safeway down the street has closed. Bob and I aren't allowed the deep fried cakes because, well, they're deep fried. My son can't have them because he has to maintain a gluten free diet, and donut batter is made with wheat flour. Only my daughter the vegetarian can have donuts, but she doesn't eat many sweets these days, so donuts aren't around anymore in our house.

Until now!

Donut Pans

We missed donuts. We wanted donuts. So one day I saw in a Bed Bath & Beyond flier these nifty pans for baking donuts. The next chance I got I went to that cook's paradise and purchased two of them.

I've written a recipe for chocolate donuts that are pretty low in fat, comparatively speaking, and of course, gluten free. It's an easy recipe and you can store them in a cake saver or similar container for up to three days - if they last that long.

Gluten Free Chocolate Donuts
Makes 12

Dry ingredients:
1 1/4 cup Gluten Free Bisquick pancake mix
1/4 cup gluten free cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup rice milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp softened gluten free butter

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
-Use a gluten free cooking spray and spray the two donut pans.

-Sift the GF Bisquick and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl.

-Add the sugar and whisk the dry ingredients together.

-Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

 

-Fill each donut round three-fourths of the way full, smoothing out the batter with a small spatula or the back of spoon.

 

TIP: Wet the spatula or spoon first. The moisture makes the batter easier to smooth.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 7-to-9 minutes. Allow to cool in pans for 5 minutes. Slide a butter knife around the edges to loosen and remove the donuts from the pans. 

 

Try these with your morning coffee or tea, or with a cold glass of your favorite sort of milk. These are great for breakfast, for snacks and for dessert. The calorie and fat count is much lower than store bought donuts and of course, they're perfect for anyone on a gluten free diet.