Vegan Baked Chocolate Chip Donuts

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly spray a regular size 6 donut nonstick pan with nonstick spray. It makes 8 donuts, so you will only be making 6 at first, so don't use all of the batter for the If making as muffins, line a muffin pan with 8 liners. I recommend the Reynolds "Staybrite" foil liners because they never stick.

Step 2

To a large bowl, add the spelt flour, potato starch, baking soda and salt and whisk very well to ensure no lumps.

Step 3

To the same bowl, add the yogurt, applesauce, syrup, vanilla and chocolate chips. Gently stir and fold the ingredients just until it all comes together and is smooth, making sure to fold from the bottom too. Be careful not to over-mix the batter so the donuts don't turn out tough. Refer to video for how the texture should look. It should be similar to a fairly thick muffin batter.

Step 4

With a small spoon, smooth the tops of the batter so they are all flat and even. This will ensure they rise and bake evenly.

Step 5

Carefully spoon the batter into the donut pan or 8 muffin liners. If making muffins, top with a few extra chocolate chips. I used a 6 regular size donut pan so I could only bake 6 at first. Bake the donuts for just 12 minutes, 15-18 minutes for muffins (my muffins took exactly 18). These cook really fast since they are low-fat. They should have risen beautifully and have a golden color. Check the toothpick at 12 minutes for it to be clean. Do not over-bake or it will dry them out.

Step 6

Remove from the oven and leave them in the pan for just 5 minutes, then flip over to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Step 7

Once the donuts/muffins are cooled, prepare the chocolate drizzle. To a small bowl, add the chocolate chips and yogurt. Heat for 30 seconds and stir until it all melts and is completely smooth and runny. Heat for a few more seconds if necessary. This combo gives a nice thick drizzle as seen in the pictures and firms up. If you want a thinner drizzle, add a touch of milk. It will be too thick to drizzle with a spoon, so add the chocolate to a baggy and cut the corner off. Drizzle each donut. Alternatively, you could spread some chocolate on the donuts with the back of a spoon. It only makes enough to drizzle the donuts, so if you prefer a fully coated donut for the tops, double the chocolate sauce.