Those Little Donuts...

By Pam Hadder

Maybe it's the fall air, but lately I feel the need for a little cinnamon and sugar goodness with my coffee.  Enter the mini donut baker - I stumbled upon this gizmo when running errands for the office and the rest is history :)

Similar to a waffle iron and about the same cost (about $20), the donut baker makes it easy to whip up a batch of vegan mini donuts to satisfy said cravings - with a whole lot less fat and calories.

Sadly, the baker I purchased had only the most basic instructions for use and cleaning and did not include any recipes. So, phase II, I scoured the Internet and vegan recipes apps for some good baked donut batters and ended up adapting a basic donut recipe from the PETA web site to make my cinnamony minis. Here is the recipe - hope you will try and enjoy with a hot cuppa and a friend or two (always better when shared).  

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar*
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. ground cinnamon**
1 cup soy milk
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 small banana mashed, or 2/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup canola oil
*Plus an additional cup of sugar for dusting
**Plus an additional 2 Tbsp. of cinnamon for dusting
One clean paper lunch bag

Method:
Combine the soy milk and vinegar - set aside.  The vinegar will make the milk curdle and thicken somewhat. Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.  Add the curdled milk to the oil, vanilla and banana/apple sauce, stirring well to combine. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry to form a smooth batter. Plug in the donut baker and spray it lightly with Pam spray - allow it to heat up in the closed position, then open and wipe away any excess Pam spray. While the baker is heating, combine the extras sugar and cinnamon for dusting the baked donuts - just place the sugar and cinnamon in the small brown lunch bag and shake to combine.

Once your baker is hot and you have wiped away any excess Pam, place a rounded tablespoon of batter in each of the donut recesses.  Close the baker, set your kitchen timer for 2 minutes and 20 seconds - flip the baker and set the timer for another 2 minutes and 20 seconds.  Remove the donuts carefully - I use chopsticks, they work so terrifically and it's fun! Place the hot donuts in the dusting bag and shake to coat.

I have found some other great recipes for baked donuts, including toasted coconut, chocolate and pumpkin/maple glaze.  Will post the recipes as time allows.

Please note, that if you don't have a donut baker, you can also buy donut baking pans - both standard size and mini.  However, the mini donut baker is just great uses a lot less energy than a standard oven.  I purchased my baker at the Real Canadian Superstore and it is President's Choice brand.

Enjoy xox,

Pami

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

by Pam Hadder

There are many great vegan brownie recipes out there, and I am always open to trying a new variation on a chocolaty theme!  The following recipe is really unique because it is very low in fat, but is wonderfully moist due to the use of bananas, apple sauce and zucchini.

Un-iced, these yummy tidbits have only 2 g of  fat per serving!  Personally, if I want a brownie, no frosting equals "no fun" so I prefer to ice them - I also find the frosting holds in the moisture. To frost these brownies, I use my tried-and-true easy solution: 2 or 3 melted dairy-free Lindt chocolate bars.  Just pop them on top as soon as you pull them out of the oven and spread the chocolate evenly over top as it melts.

Hope you will try and enjoy xox!

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Ingredients:
2 tsp. vegan margarine (I use Becel)
2 cups finely grated zucchini
1/2 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)
2 medium-sized bananas, mashed or puréed
1 - 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, divided use
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2-3 Lindt dairy-free chocolate bars (or other vegan chocolate), for frosting

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a 9" x 12" Pyrex cake pan with the vegan margarine.  You could also use a vegetable spray, such as Pam to grease the pan. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, bananas, apple sauce, vanilla and sugar.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa. Stir in 3/4 cups of the walnuts to the flour, reserving 1/4 cup to garnish the frosting, if you desire.  Add the dry ingredients gradually to the wet ingredients, stirring gently to form a smooth batter - the batter will be rather thick, but not gummy.  Use a firm spatula to fold all of the batter into the prepared baking dish.  Bake for 40 minutes, until brownies spring back to a light touch, and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Baking times will vary depending on your oven, the humidity and the amount of moisture in your fruit and zucchini - so begin monitoring the brownies at about 25 minutes, and every 5 minutes thereafter.  Do not worry if it takes a bit more than, or a bit less than 40 minutes for them to bake - that is completely typical.

As soon as the brownies come out of the oven, place the chocolate bars on top, allow them to soften, and spread the chocolate evenly over all with a butter knife or icing spatula.  Garnish with reserved walnuts.

Note: if you don't want to ice these, a nice alternate topping is fresh fruit and a light dusting of icing sugar, or light Cool Whip flavoured with a few teaspoons of your favourite liqueur or extract.