Agave-Sweetened Plain Donut with Agave-Sweetened Chocolate Glaze

On Sunday, I decided to finally use my donut pans that I bought a few weeks ago.  Since BabyCakes in NYC is also known for their gluten-free vegan donuts almost as well as their gluten-free vegan cupcakes, I decided to use one of their recipes.  This recipe comes from Erin McKenna's second cook book, BabyCakes Covers the Classics: Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes from Donuts to Snickerdoodles.  You will need a few unconventional flours, so go to your nearest health food store or places like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Kings.  They carry these things, all by Bob's Red Mill.

The end result was heavy feeling, and tasted like cake, but was still delicious and much healthier than Dunkin' Donuts'.  If you want a more crunchy donut, Erin suggests making the donut recipes with the sugar in them instead of agave nectar (which I will get to another week).  I wanted to try the healthier option, so I did, and they turned out delicious, especially with the chocolate glaze!

Here's what you'll need for the donuts:
3/4 cup rice flour (I used brown rice flour)
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup arrowroot
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/3 cup melted refined (mine was unrefined, I don't think it makes that much of a difference) coconut oil or canola oil, plus more for brushing the trays
3/4 cup agave nectar (light colored)
6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup vanilla extract
1/4 cup hot water

One important thing I forgot to type above, Erin suggests measuring out all the ingredients (even the liquid ones) in dry ingredient cups, it makes a little bit of a difference.

What you'll need for the chocolate glaze:
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup Better Than Milk Rice or Soy Powder (I used a different brand, and it was soy.)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup melted refined coconut oil or canola oil (I used canola this time.)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Brush 2 six-mold donut trays with coconut or canola oil and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum.

Add the agave nectar, coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla, and hot water and mix with a rubber spatula just until the ingredients are incorporated.  Continue mixing until the batter is smooth.  Using a melon-baller or tablespoon, drop 2 1/2 tablespoons of batter into each donut mold.  Using a toothpick, spread the batter evenly around the mold.

Bake for 8 minutes, rotate, and continue baking until the donuts are golden brown, about 8 minutes more.  Let cool in the molds for 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the donuts in the molds, lift them out, and place them on a baking sheet.

While the donuts are baking, combine the coconut milk, agave nectar, rice or soy-milk powder, cocoa powder, and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor and blend on medium speed for 1 minute.  While the processor is running, gradually add 1/2 cup of the coconut oil and 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice and blend until thoroughly incorporated.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice and process for 1 minute more.  The glaze can be stored, covered tightly at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Once the donuts are cool enough, dip into the glaze and enjoy!