Baked Sweet Potato Donuts

This recipe for baked sweet potato donuts came about nearly three years ago, when I was first starting to blog. I woke up craving one of those sweet, fluffy glazed donuts from the grocery store, but knew that I would get an instant sugar headache, not to mention terrible indigestion, if I ate one.

So I began my research. I read tons of recipes, quickly discarding ones where I read the words “fried” and “1 cup of sugar”. These would never do. Many I saw used sour cream. But what is the nutritional value of sour cream, really? Tangy-ness? Please. But Greek yogurt on the other hand, is packed full of protein and tangy. And I happened to have it in my fridge.

Last Christmas, my mom made gluten free sweet potato donuts. This became my next inspiration. There was one small sweet potato in the bowl of fruit and veggies that I keep on my kitchen counter. Bingo. Now I’m getting a vegetable, which is naturally sweet, and protein from the yogurt, all in a donut!

I knew I wanted baked sweet potato donuts, not fried, which threw one more kink into my plan, (which now was no where near happening for breakfast) because I didn’t own a donut pan. I made a few calls, trying to track one down. Finally Sur la Table said they had them, and they were only $10! I cajoled my boyfriend into running the errand for me, (because by this time, I was at work) and asked him to grab two, promising him he’d reap the rewards as my official taste tester.

After much experimenting, testing different flours, ratios, and temperatures, I have settled on this recipe. It is by far my favorite breakfast, with a hint of orange, nutmeg, and earthy sweet potato, these baked sweet potato donuts pair perfectly with a hot cup of coffee, crispy bacon and scrambled eggs.

Baked Sweet Potato Donuts
Yields: 12 Donuts

1/2 cup sweet potato, mashed
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup gluten free flour (I used http://www.bobsredmill.com 1-to-1 baking flour)
3 eggs
2 T. orange juice
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1 t. nutmeg
½ t. vanilla
Pinch of Salt

Glaze:

1/2 lemon- juiced
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 t. vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel, chop, and steam or boil the sweet potato until soft. Drain and mash. Next add the yogurt and stir until completely incorporated. Mix in eggs, nutmeg, baking powder and soda, salt, vanilla, and orange juice. Once the batter is smooth, begin stirring in flour, half a cup at a time. Do not over mix.

2. Spray the donut pans very generously with cooking spray and scoop in the batter. It will be very wet and thick. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until deep golden brown. Let the donuts rest for five minutes in the pans before transferring them onto a cooling rack.

3. While the donuts are baking, make the glazes. I used mashed blueberries and raspberries to color my glazes, which didn’t add much flavor but sure looked pretty. If you want to do 3 colors, make the glaze by whisking the lemon juice, vanilla, and powdered sugar, vigorously, until no lumps remain. Then separate the glaze into three bowls and add a few blueberries to one bowl, a couple raspberries to another, leaving one bowl plain. Mash the fruit with a fork until only very small pieces remain.

4. Once the donuts have cooled slightly on the cooling rack, begin dipping them in the glazes. Make sure to place a piece of parchment paper beneath the cooling rack to catch any drips. I added various toppings to accent the glazes and add texture. Coconut flakes are pretty, as is chopped dark chocolate, and chunky jam. You can also dust them with powdered sugar and lemon zest for a lighter, brighter version. Get creative and find your favorite topping!

Bon appetite.