Baked Vanilla Donuts

Tanya Eisenwasser

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Tender baked donuts made with cassava flour. Topped with a simple maple-vanilla glaze, or rolled in cinnamon sugar if you grew up on the bakery kind.

Prep 15 min

Cook 15 min

Serves 6

Gluten-freeDairy-free

Ingredients

Donuts

• 1 1/4 cups cassava flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/3 cup pure cane sugar (or coconut sugar for a deeper flavor)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
• 2 large fresh eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk, warmed slightly
• 1/4 cup melted ghee (or melted coconut oil for dairy-free)
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Maple-Vanilla Glaze

• 1/2 cup coconut cream (the firm top of a chilled can of full-fat coconut milk)
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
• Pinch of fine sea salt

Cinnamon Sugar (Alternative to Glaze)

• 2 tablespoons melted ghee or coconut oil (for brushing)
• 1/4 cup pure cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (Ceylon if you have it)

Instructions

Prep

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 6-cavity donut pan with coconut oil or ghee.

Mix the Batter

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the cassava flour, tapioca flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla powder.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Add the warmed coconut milk, melted ghee, and maple syrup, and whisk again until the wet mixture is even.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir with a spatula until just combined into a thick, scoopable batter. A few small lumps are fine; do not overmix.

Pipe and Bake

1. Transfer the batter to a large zip-top bag. Press out the air, seal, and snip off one corner to make a 1/2-inch opening.
2. Pipe the batter into the donut pan, filling each cavity about two-thirds full. Smooth the tops with a damp finger if needed.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops feel springy and a toothpick inserted into the donut ring comes out clean.
4. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing or coating.

Maple-Vanilla Glaze

1. In a small bowl, whisk the coconut cream, maple syrup, vanilla powder, and salt until smooth and pourable. If the cream is too firm, warm gently in a small saucepan over low heat for 30 to 60 seconds, stirring, until pourable.
2. Dip the top of each cooled donut into the glaze, lift, and let the excess drip off. Return to the wire rack to set, about 10 minutes.

Cinnamon Sugar

1. Brush each cooled donut all over with melted ghee.
2. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon on a plate. Roll each donut in the cinnamon sugar until fully coated.

Tips & Substitutions

• A donut pan is the right tool. Standard donut pans are inexpensive and produce a far better shape than muffin tin tricks. A 6-cavity pan is the most common size.
• Pipe, do not spoon. Cassava batter is thick and a spoon leaves uneven cavities that bake into uneven donuts. A zip-top bag with the corner snipped gives a clean fill.
• Do not overfill. Two-thirds full is the sweet spot. Overfilled cavities lose the donut hole and turn into rings of cake.
• Warm the coconut milk first. Cold coconut milk can seize the melted ghee. A quick 20 seconds over low heat is enough.
• Cinnamon is moderate, not low. Some people with histamine intolerance find cinnamon triggering. The maple-vanilla glaze gives you a cinnamon-free option, and cardamom can swap in for the cinnamon-sugar version if you want a warm, classic-tasting alternative.
• Pick an additive-free baking powder. Some brands include cornstarch and other fillers. Aluminum-free is the easy default; corn-free brands are out there if you need one.
• Save one for ice cream. A warm donut split in half and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or mango nice cream is one of the better uses for day-two leftovers.

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Why This Works

Cassava and tapioca flour. Both come from the yuca root, are generally well tolerated on a low histamine diet, and produce a tender, cake-like crumb without wheat or gluten. Cassava builds structure and tapioca adds a touch of softness.

Baking powder, not yeast. Yeast is a common trigger for people with histamine intolerance. Baking powder gives a quick rise so the donuts stay tender, without any rest or proof time.

Coconut milk and ghee. Coconut milk is generally well tolerated and replaces the milk in a classic donut batter. Ghee has the butter flavor without most of the milk solids, and coconut oil works the same in a dairy-free version. Dairy tolerance is highly individual.

Maple syrup. A natural sweetener that is generally considered low histamine when pure. Used in both the batter and the glaze so the flavor stays consistent.

Baked, not fried. Frying oils degrade as they sit, and most commercial fryer oils are aged. Baking sidesteps the issue entirely while giving you the same cake-donut texture.

Storage

Best within a few hours of baking, while the crumb is still at its tender best. If you are sensitive to leftovers, cool quickly on a wire rack and freeze unglazed donuts the same day rather than holding them at room temperature. Reheat from frozen in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 5 minutes, then glaze fresh.