Baked Chocolate Salted Caramel Filled Donuts
I have this donut mould which doesn’t get nearly enough use. Also, I love donuts. But I don’t like tonnes of sugar and weird ingredients, so I decided to come up with a recipe for donuts that used ingredients I like eating.
These are absolutely delicious. Soft and cakey with a gooey centre and a delicious chocolate shell. What more could you want from a donut?
I have used spelt flour which I love to bake with. It has a nice nutty flavour and adds a bit of texture to baked goods. Although it’s an ancient relative of wheat it is very low in gluten and those with gluten sensitivities are sometimes able to tolerate it. That said, this is not a gluten-free flour.
I often find that cacao is not enough for me in a chocolate bake. I have intensified the flavour and added layers using various interesting ingredients. Some you may be used to baking with and some may come as a surprise. To begin with we have coffee, which is known for adding depth to chocolate recipes, without actually making them taste of coffee. magic. I have also used tamari, which I learned from the wonderful Amy Levin is a really nifty way of adding even more depth to chocolate. And if anyone knows how to work with chocolate, it’s Amy Levin.
Finally, I’ve included mesquite powder. This adds a caramelly note while also bringing a tonne of nutrients along for the ride! (Check out my Raw Chocolate & Maca Caramel “Squillionaire” Shortbread recipe for more info on mesquite!)
Having tried various donut making techniques, I’ve learned a fair bit about how to get the perfect baked filled donut, so below are some of my tips and considerations.
I use a mini donut mould like this one. The part of the mould that creates the donut hole is not flush with the surface of the mould, so the batter covers it and you end up with a dip in the donut, rather than a hole that goes all the way through, which enables you to make filled donuts easily, using the method that I will be explaining below (see the photo above).
If you did want to make donuts with holes instead, you could cut the holes out after baking with a small cookie cutter.
In order to use my method for making filled donuts, you will need a mould like mine, which creates donuts that don’t have a hole that goes all the way through.
I found it to be vital to grease my mould with coconut oil, otherwise, the donuts tended to get stuck. I used plenty of oil and really got into all the corners, using my fingers. If any donuts do seem to be stuck, running a sharp knife around the edge should be enough if you have properly greased each hole.
I found I had the best results when I almost completely filled the mould. Usually I would fill a pan about 3/4 of the way through but I could get away with more in these. In some cases, the donuts domed a little bit, so I just sliced the extra off with a serrated knife held completely horizontally…and ate it. Do this when the donuts have cooled though. They’re too soft when they’re hot.
The other important thing is to make sure you bake the donuts for long enough so that they are firm enough to come out of the mould without breaking. If they’re undercooked and too soft, they will fall apart as you pop them out of the mould.
I found the best way to get the donuts out is to deal with one at a time. Work from the end, fold the mould over itself completely and carefully ease the donuts out one by one.
Since I currently only have one mould, I had to make 8 donuts at a time. I found that letting the batter rest between bakes, made no difference to the outcome of the donuts.
It’s important to put your silicon mould onto a baking tray before you fill it up, otherwise you’ll have a lot of trouble trying to move a mould full of runny batter into your oven without spilling it everywhere!
For the salted caramel in this recipe, I have Nature’s Charm coconut salted caramel. But there are various brands making a similar thing.
I will soon be uploading a recipe of how to make this kind of caramel from scratch, so watch this space.
If you don’t have caramel, you could fill these donuts with jam instead.
This recipe uses aquafaba, which is the lowly juice from a can of chickpeas which surprised the entire world a few years back when it was discovered that you could use it as an egg substitute in everything from cakes to meringues. (I KNOW) You will need to use a hand whisk or lug out your old kenwood to whisk the aquafaba until it becomes white and frothy. This really shouldn’t take long. You don’t need stiff peaks like you would if you were making meringue, just a thick glowing white foam that is no longer runny.
OK, I see you salivating. Lets make donuts shall we?
Ingredients
Makes 24 mini donuts
Wet
2 tablespoons ground flaxmeal
5 tablespoons water
1 + 1/4 cup plant milk of choice (room temp or it will cause the coconut oil to solidify)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (plus more for greasing your donut mould)
1 heaped tablespoon coconut yogurt (optional)
1 tablespoon instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water or 2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
1 teaspoon tamari
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup aquafaba (the juice from a can of chickpeas)
Dry
1 + 1/4 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup good quality cacao
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/3 cup coconut sugar
Pinch of salt
1 heaped tablespoon mesquite powder (if you don’t have this don’t worry just leave it out)
For filling and coating
1 jar salted caramel sauce such as Nature’s Charm coconut salted caramel, or use jam - I like raspberry best with chocolate!
1 cup good quality chocolate. I use Ombar
Optional sprinkles like crushed nuts or freeze-fried fruits
Sprinkling of sea salt
Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C (Fan 160°C)/156°F/Gas mark 4.
Place your donut mould onto a baking tray before greasing the holes well with coconut oil.
Begin by making your flax eggs. Combine flaxmeal and 5 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside for at least 5 minutes or until gloopy.
Next, combine plant milk and apple cider vinegar in a separate jug or bowl. The apple cider vinegar should “split” the milk. I tend to have the most success with almond or soy milk, but on occasions when the milk hasn’t visibly split, it doesn’t seem to have affected the recipe. So what I’m saying is, don’t stress here. Set this aside for around 5 minutes as well.
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well until combined.
In a separate bowl and when your flax egg and milk mixture are ready, combine all of the wet ingredients except for the aquafaba and mix well. I like to use a whisk.
Pour the aquafaba into some kind of tall container and using a hand whisk, whisk the liquid until it becomes foamy, glowing white and is no longer runny. You don’t need stiff peaks but it should be foamy enough to scoop out a spoonful of fluff. When it’s ready, set this aside.
Make a well in the centre of your bowl of dry ingredients and pour in the wet mix (not the aquafaba yet). Stir everything in until it is combined.
Then, pour in your aquafaba and fold it into the rest of the mixture. Using a spoon, pull mixture from the bottom of the bowl out over the top in a folding motion to carefully bring the aquafaba into the mixture, without losing all the lovely air bubbles you created by whisking it earlier. Repeat this motion, rotating the bowl, until the aquafaba is well incorporated. Don’t over-do it.
Spoon mixture into your donut mould (make sure it’s on a tray!) filling each hole almost all the way, so that you cover the centre part which creates the hole. (See my explanation above if this is not clear).
Bake donuts for 18 minutes. I find this to be the perfect time in my oven, but yours may need a minute or two more or less, (particularly if you are using a super mini or regular sized donut mould) Start checking at 16 minutes.
The donuts should be risen and fairly firm to touch with a bit of bounce. I find mine also start to come away from the mould by about a millimetre when they are done. If yours won’t come out of the mould easily, you may need to pop them back in the oven for a couple of minutes.
I only tend to wait until my mould is cool enough to handle until I start removing the donuts and placing them on a cooling rack. Slide the mould off your baking tray to help it cool more quickly.
Once you have made as many batches as your donut pan requires, allow your donuts to cool and create some space in your freezer as you will need to place the donuts in there shortly (not yet.)
When the donuts are cool, fill the centre of each one with a spoonful of caramel sauce. You can be generous but you don’t want them overflowing. Then place them all in the freezer while you melt your chocolate.
Melt your chocolate over a bain-marie. Be careful not to burn it, but make sure it is fully melted and nice and runny, then transfer to a small and preferably deeper than average bowl.
Remove your donuts from the freezer (a batch at a time) and dip them caramel side down into the chocolate. The caramel should be chilled enough to stay put. Hold the donut upside down over the bowl for a few seconds until it stops dripping then transfer to a cooling rack or plate. At this point you could sprinkle crushed nuts or freeze dried fruits on top so it sets into the chocolate. Feel free to sprinkle a little salt at this point too.
If your chocolate starts to set in the bowl, simply re-melt it gently.
Repeat this with all of the donuts and pop them into the fridge to allow the chocolate to set. I like to drizzle a little extra caramel over the top once the chocolate has hardened as well as a sprinkling of sea salt (unless you added salt when the chocolate was still melted).
You can keep these donuts at room temperature, but I like the chocolate to have a bit of crunch to it, so I store mine in the fridge.