Doughnut Recipe

Speculoos (or Biscôme?) Baked Doughnuts:

For the doughnuts:
1/2 cup (120 ml) any vegan milk (plain or vanilla)
1/2 cup (100 g) Sucanat
2 teaspoons ginger powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup (56 g) vegan butter, melted or 1/4 cup (60 ml) peanut oil or other neutral-flavored oil
6 ounces (170 g) any vegan yogurt (plain or vanilla)
6 tablespoons (90 g) speculoos spread (homemade or store-bought)
2 1/2 cups (300 g) whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons instant dry yeast (or a packet [2 1/4 teaspoons] of active dry yeast, see Notes)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Non-stick cooking spray

For the speculoos-flavored chocolate ganache:
1/2 cup (120 ml) vegan creamer (plain or vanilla, I like to use unsweetened MimicCreme)
1 cup (176 g) vegan semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons (30 g) speculoos spread (homemade or store-bought)
About 10 vegan speculoos cookies, crushed to sprinkle over ganached doughnuts

To make the doughnuts: Combine milk, sugar, spices, salt, butter, yogurt and speculoos spread in a small saucepan. Whisk while heating to lukewarm on low heat, until the butter is melted. (If using oil instead of butter, just combine everything and heat to lukewarm.) Do not let the temperature rise higher than lukewarm, or it will kill the yeast. Use an instant-read thermometer to check that the temperature is around 100°F (38°C).

In a large bowl, combine flour, instant dry yeast, and baking powder. Add wet ingredients into dry, vigorously stirring with a rubber spatula for a couple of minutes until thoroughly combined, or using a stand mixer. Scrape the sides with the spatula and gather the dough in the center of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 60 minutes. There won’t be such a noticeable rise during this rest, the doughnuts will mostly rise while they’re in the oven.

Coat two standard doughnut baking pans with spray.

Using an ice cream scoop. divide the sticky batter into the pans, about 3 tablespoons of batter per hole. Lightly moisten your hands with water to keep the sticky batter from adhering to them, and use the index of each hand to spread the batter evenly in each hole. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand another 50 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5). Bake for 16 minutes, or until golden brown.

Carefully remove from pan and transfer onto a wire rack to cool.

To make the ganache: Heat the creamer in a small saucepan, on medium-high heat. Once hot, remove from the stove, adding the chocolate chips and speculoos spread, stirring until the chips are melted and the mixture is perfectly smooth.

To decorate the doughnuts: Dip the doughnuts into the ganache, letting the excess drip off. Sprinkle crushed cookies on top.

Yield: 12 doughnuts
Notes:
• You might have extra ganache leftover from this recipe. How about drizzling some on vanilla or chocolate ice cream, or refrigerating it for a little bit so that it’s spreadable on a piece of crusty, freshly baked whole grain baguette?
• If you want the dough to be easier to handle, just stir the batter after the first rise, cover the bowl with plastic wrap again, and shove the whole thing in the fridge for a couple of hours. You could also make it the night before and bake as-you-go, since the fresher the donuts/decoration, the better. Just make sure to give it all a little more time to come back to room temperature for the second rise.
• If you are using active dry yeast, you’ll have to proof it first: Combine 1/2 cup (120 ml) lukewarm milk, 1 teaspoon of the sucanat and the yeast in a small bowl. Let sit 5 minutes until bubbles appear, to ensure the yeast is active. Just heat the butter (if using), yogurt, remaining sucanat, and speculoos spread separately, just until lukewarm and that the butter is melted. If using oil, just heat the oil, yogurt, remaining sucanat, and speculoos spread until lukewarm. Combine with proofed yeast mixture, and follow the rest of the instructions to mix wet ingredients into dry.

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