caramel donuts with caramel sauce (grain free, scd diet)

these baked donuts get their underlying caramel flavour thanks to medjool dates and almond butter, with an accompanying homemade, vegan caramel sauce to slather across them.

It has admittedly been wayyyyyyy (every single y was necessary) too long since I attempted a new donut recipe. That’s mostly because I had the worst donut pan after, and refused to buy a new one. Because, life. Basically, I had a non-stick Wilton donut tray I had purchased off Amazon, which did me well for maybe two batches of donuts/bagels? After that the non-stick coating began to lose its luster (or rather, it’s non-stick surface), and every time I would try to make my bagels or another donut recipe, I would have to go through hell and back just to pop them out of the tray, and then most of the time when I would finally get them out, there would inevitably be broken pieces everywhere. Sigh.

SO, I finally did the *adulting* thing to do, and I bought a NEW donut mold off Amazon, this time, a silicone tray. I first tried a whoopie silicone mold when I was experimenting with my sandwich bun recipe, and I was quickly converted. The silicone mold I bought for the sandwich rounds can also double as miniature cake or pie molds. And the donut mold, of course, can also serve you well should you choose to make my grain free bagels down the line too!

Enough ranting about silicone molds (but also seriously, why hadn’t I tried them before and who else is a convert???). The focus of this post should be on these beautiful caramel donuts.

Ok the caramel donuts: what can I say about them that isn’t immediately clear from these photos?

They’re a light and fluffy donut that’s made with coconut flour and lots of medjool dates for a caramel undertone, and then of course, the homemade and vegan (!) caramel sauce to slather all over the donut (it’s so good warmed up in the oven, with or without caramel sauce, but also, with!). Since we’re working with coconut flour, do not be alarmed by the number of eggs this recipe calls for (yes, it’s six!), and opt for smooth almond butter when possible to keep the caramel allusion in tact.

I will also add that, you do not *neeeed* to make the caramel sauce by any means– it definitely sweetens up these donuts quite heavily, and kids will certainly love it. If you prefer a much less-sweet donut, then a plain caramel donut might do. Either way, if you make the caramel sauce, you can always store it in the freezer and take it out to use as a topping for any dessert, or even throw it into your yogurt (SCD or otherwise!).

If you do try making this recipe, I’d love to know how they turn out. Please drop a comment and rate them below, or follow me over on Instagram @grainfreee and send me a photo of your donuts!

A few related recipes if you’re looking for some delicious grain free treats:

• APPLE PIE DONUTS (coconut flour)
• CARAMEL MACADAMIA COOKIE CAKE SKILLET (almond flour + coconut flour) 
• CHERRY PIE COOKIES (almond flour + coconut flour)
• CHUNK ROCKY ROAD COOKIES (almond flour)
• SOFT & CHEWY N’OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES (cashews + coconut)

caramel donuts with caramel sauce: ingredients

caramel donuts

• 6 medjool dates (softened by soaking in boiling hot water for 10-15 minutes, or soaked in room temperature water overnight. skins removed.)
• 3 tbsp water (use the water you soaked your dates in!)
• 3 tbsp smooth almond butter (runny is good)
• 3 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup grape seed oil (sub butter or coconut oil, melted)
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 6 eggs

caramel sauce

• 4 medjool dates (softened by soaking in boiling hot water for 10-15 minutes, or soaked in room temperature water overnight. skins removed.)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (can be liquid, not solid)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

caramel donuts with caramel sauce: how to

caramel donuts

1. Start by placing your pitted, softened medjool dates in the food processor, and add the water, and begin to blend on high.
2. Continue to blend, and scrape down the sides as necessary, until the dates are broken up and smoothed out a bit, although you will still see little date pieces. Add your almond butter, and blend more, until the date-mixture is basically entirely smooth.
3. Now add your vanilla extract, grape seed oil or butter and honey, and blend again.
4. Once combined, add in the coconut flour and baking soda, and blend, before finally adding in the eggs. Finish pulsing in food processor a few more times until everything is well combined.
5. Remove the blade from the food processor and pour the batter (it will be a bit liquid-y) into a prepared donut tray, I opt for a silicone tray (as of recently) and it’s been the best decision ever, in terms of ease of donut-removal. Just make sure your tray is non-stick prepared, whether that be with an avocado oil spray or otherwise.
6. Bake the donuts in a preheated oven at 350 for 24-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool *completely* before trying to pop out the donuts. 

caramel sauce

1. For the caramel sauce, you’ll need to clean out and dry your food processor to use it once more. Place all the dates, coconut milk and vanilla in the food processor, and blend until everything is smooth, scraping down the sides as you go.
2. Use a small spatula or butter knife to slather the caramel sauce on top of a warm or cold donut, alternately, you can also warm up the donut afterwards with the caramel sauce on top of it for an extra sweet dessert– the caramel sauce will sink into the donut. If you are serving these with caramel, they are best served immediately, otherwise you can store these donuts plain in between layers of parchment paper in your fridge or freezer (they freeze well, and will last awhile in there!) and add the caramel on top prior to eating.