I came up with these gluten and dairy free Vanilla Cake Donuts with Mocha Glaze because my son asked for something “coffee flavored.” He cracks me up. He’s too young to drink coffee, but he has stolen a few sips from me (and his dad) over the years. He just loves the flavor. So of course, I had to satisfy the request. I am such a sucker.
The gluten free Vanilla Cake Donuts are soft, sweet and full of vanilla flavor. They balance out the bittersweet dark chocolate and espresso in the glaze. If you want to leave out the coffee flavor, no problem! The glaze will be wonderful without the espresso powder too. These donuts and the glaze can be made gluten and dairy free if you want as well.
If you don’t have donut pans, feel free to make these into mini or regular sized cupcakes. You will just need to increase the baking time to account for the size. Make sure to bake them just until the batter is set. If you over bake them, they will become dry, crumbly and lose flavor.
Making the Mocha Glaze
Making the Mocha Glaze is so much easier than you might think. You can heat up the cream (or non-dairy creamer) in the microwave, stir in the espresso powder, then pour it over the chocolate chips and corn syrup.
Slowly stir the mixture until the chips melt and you have a smooth and silky mixture. Then it is already for the little donuts to take a dip!
Do they look amazing or what?
I couldn’t decide whether or not to add chocolate sprinkles. Frankly, I don’t think they need them, but that does add a little crunch if you want it.
Making the Vanilla Cake Donut Batter
I hate washing anything more than absolutely necessary. However, the extra step and dirty bowl required for the whipped egg whites makes a big difference in the final texture of the donuts. It helps to provide some lift and lightness to the donut. Without that step, they might be too dense. So here’s a look at how my prep station looks. I measure all of the wet ingredients into one pyrex measuring cup, dry ingredients in a large bowl and the egg whites in another.
Once everything is combined, I pour it all into a large ziplock bag. I cut off one corner and use it to pipe the batter into the donut pans. This creates a smoother finish to the batter as it bakes. You can also spoon the batter into the pans and smooth it out with wet fingers.
Vanilla Cake Donuts with Mocha Glaze
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 2 cups Gluten Free Flour Blend with xanthan gum I use Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¾ cup vanilla flavored dairy or non-dairy creamer I use So Delicious brand
- 4 egg whites
For the Mocha Glaze:
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips sub dairy free chips if needed
- 2 Tbsp corn syrup
- ½ cup heavy cream Sub non-dairy unflavored creamer if needed
- 2 Tbsp instant espresso powder
Instructions
For the donuts:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease your donut pans.
- In a medium bowl, whip your egg whites to stiff peaks. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir to mix. Add oil, vanilla and creamer, stirring to combine. Mix in the egg whites until combined. Try not to over mix, the more mixing you do, the more the egg whites will deflate.
- Pour the mixture into a gallon sized ziplock bag. Cut about 1/2" off the corner of the bag and pipe the batter into your donut pans. Fill them about 3/4 of the way full. This will give you approximately 48 mini donuts or 8 large donuts.
- Bake the mini donuts for 10-12 minutes or large for 15-18 minutes. Let cool, remove from pans and dip into glaze. Top with sprinkles if you wish.
For the Mocha Glaze:
- Place your chocolate chips and corn syrup in a bowl wide and deep enough for you to easily hold & dip your donuts in.
- In a microwaveable bowl, heat your creamer for about 1 minute, until very warm, but not boiling. Stir in the espresso powder until it dissolves completely.
- Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate chips & corn syrup. Slowly stir until the chips melt and the chocolate mixture becomes smooth and glossy. You can now dip your donuts into the glaze. Turn them glaze side up and sprinkle with chocolate jimmies or other decorations if you wish (but that isn't really necessary).