Vegan Buttercream Filled Donuts

You may need a fork for these sticky donuts. These are baked for a moist texture, then filled with vegan Vanilla Buttercream Icing, topped with caramel sauce (see my caramel swirl cheesecake for the recipe), with a few sprinkles for fun. They can be full sized or mini, or even tiny bundt cakes! This recipe makes 12 full sized donuts.

Donuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a donut pan or silicone mold. Mix together:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon

In another bowl, combine:

• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup aquafaba (the liquid from a can of white beans)
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine wet and dry ingredients. Fill donut pan (tip- scrape batter into gallon sized bag, cut one corner, and pipe into pan). Bake for 20-23 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow donuts to cool before filling.

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream

In a stand mixer, with the paddle, begin mixing:

• 1 stick vegan butter, cold (I use Earth balance)
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening

Scrape sides as needed, to get mixture creamy. Slowly add in:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp Butter Vanilla flavoring (you’ll find this in the cake decorating section of most hobby stores. This is not vanilla extract.)

Once combined, turn up speed and allow icing to whip for 3-5 minutes. This recipe makes enough to fill 12 donuts, but can be doubled or tripled for a layer cake.

To serve, pipe a large dollop of Buttercream in center of donuts, drizzle with caramel sauce, and top with sprinkles.