Inspired by these chocolate ones, I decided to make some Vegan Matcha Baked Donuts. They’re easy to make, and also happen to be gluten-free and refined sugar free too!
I love using matcha in baked goods as it adds a lovely green colour, earthy flavour and multiple health benefits.
I’m really pleased with how the texture of these donuts turned out – tender and fluffy as opposed to hard and crumbly, which I find is often the case with gluten-free or refined sugar free baked goods.
The base for the batter is a mixture of gluten-free flour (you can use your favourite homemade or store-bought blend) and ground almonds, which help create that essential moisture and fluff-factor.
The combination of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda is really key for this batter too, as the acidic vinegar and alkali bicarb will react in the mixture and make the cake rise – this is how you can make a sponge rise successfully without eggs!
I found the amount of batter I used was just enough to fill the whole of the donut tin I have, but if you have some left over you can put them into cupcake cases and make some cupcakes.
And of course, if you don’t have a donut tin, this batter works really well for cupcakes, just remember to adjust the cooking time as necessary!
The final (optional but highly recommended) step for these donuts is a delicious 3-ingredient glaze – it’s shiny, perfectly sticky, and melts in your mouth – what more could you ask of a glaze? Then if you fancy, you can finish it off with a flourish of rose petals, desiccated coconut or freeze-dried berries!
I hope you’ll love these Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Baked Donuts! Looking for more matcha recipes? I love using matcha in healthier sweet treats, and have used it to make things like:
- brownies
- shortbread
- chocolate truffles
- panna cotta
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make these Vegan Matcha Baked Donuts:
glass mixing bowl
measuring jug
cooling rack
Vegan Matcha Baked Donuts (GF)
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 30 g (1/8 cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 115 ml (1/2 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 75 g (2/3 cup) ground almonds* (almond meal)
- 75 g (2/3 cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 1 heaped teaspoon baking power (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder to taste
For the glaze:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon matcha powder
To decorate (optional):
- Freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries
- Rose petals
- Desiccated coconut
Instructions
For the donuts:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other type of oil)
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the vinegar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and matcha green tea powder
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry
- Transfer mixture to the greased donut tin**
- Bake in oven for around 10 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean
For the glaze:
- Melt the coconut oil in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water or a microwave
- Mix in the maple syrup and matcha green tea powder
- Once out of the oven, remove the donuts from the baking tin and place on a wire rack
- Dip them into the glaze one by one and place back on the wire rack to cool
To decorate:
- If you wish to decorate, scatter over freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries, rose petals or desiccated coconut whilst the icing is still wet
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of these films, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Elaine Lo
Yum, these do melt in your mouth. I really enjoyed the maple-flavored glaze. Mine took about 15 min to bake, light brown edges of perfection.
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so glad you liked them!