Dairy-free & gluten-free pumpkin cake donuts! The most delicious baked treats that pack in all that delicious fall flavor, made with simple ingredients and topped off with a maple icing glaze.
Pumpkin Cake Donuts
I’m usually a fan of yeast donuts over cake donuts, but after this recipe, I think that may have changed! These pumpkin cake donuts are seriously irresistibly good, and made with real pumpkin puree.
The batter is made with almond flour, oat flour, coconut sugar, pumpkin puree, olive oil, plus a few other pantry basics. They’re the perfect little treat to pair with your coffee or tea.
The donut batter is not overly sweet, which I personally prefer since the glaze adds more than enough sweetness. The texture is moist and fluffy, and packed with warm flavors. It’s seriously the perfect fall treat.
What you’ll need to make gluten-free pumpkin cake donuts
- Pumpkin puree- be sure to grab a can of pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling
- Almond flour- the almond flour adds the perfect light texture. I love using a fine almond flour for best results
- Oat flour- I haven’t tested any other flour substitutes for this recipe, so I suggest sticking to the recipe as listed!
- Eggs- the eggs work as a binder, but also help achieve the perfect fluffy texture
- Oil- I used a light olive oil for this recipe, but any melted oil will do the trick
- Coconut sugar- light brown sugar would be a good substitute
- Non-dairy milk- I always opt for unsweetened almond milk, but feel free to swap your favorite milk for these!
- Flavorings, like pumpkin pie spice & vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar and maple syrup for the glaze
- A donut pan! I love my 12-count donut pan, but you can make turn these into larger donuts with a 6-count donut tray
Tips to making the perfect donuts
1. Pipe the batter into the donut mold, or smoothen out the tops with wet fingers
The batter may be on the thicker side, so in order to get “cleaner” looking donuts, I like to transfer my batter into a large ziplock, cut a hole at the bottom tip of the bag, and pipe the batter into the molds.
Alternatively, you can spoon the batter into the molds, and flatten out the tops with wet fingers to even them out.
2. Let the donuts cool completely
Since this recipe makes about 20 smaller donuts, you’ll need to bake these in batches. Be sure to let your first batch of donuts cool completely before removing them from the pan, otherwise they’ll break apart
3. Glaze the top part of the donuts for a prettier look
To achieve the perfect looking donut, I suggest glazing the tops of the donuts that were baking directly in the tray. The upper exposed side may be a little bumpy, so this is an easy way to achieve a smoother look.
These donuts are easy to make, so delicious, and just scream fall! You guys are going to love them 🙂
More pumpkin recipes you may like:
Gluten-free Pumpkin Pancakes
White Chocolate Chip Walnut Pumpkin Cookies
Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread with a Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
Gluten-free Pumpkin Cake Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup sugar, I used coconut
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk, I used unsweetened almond
- 3 tbsp oil, I used olive
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp water
Directions
Prepare the batter
- Preheat your oven to 350 F
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, vanilla, and milk.
- Add in the almond flour, oat flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well with a spatula until smooth.
Bake the donuts
- Grease your 12-count donut tray with cooking spray and spoon the batter into the molds. The batter may be a little thick, so you can flatten out the tops with wet fingers to even it out it its lumpy. Alternatively, you can transfer the batter into a large ziplock bag, cut a hole at the bottom tip, and pipe the batter into the molds for a cleaner look.
- Bake the donuts for 15 minutes, then let them cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the molds. After you’ve removed them, grease the pan again and bake the remaining batter.
Add the glaze
- Once all of the donuts are baked and cooled, prepare the icing by mixing together the powdered sugar, maple syrup and water in a bowl. If the icing is too thick, add more water by the 1/2 tsp until it’s smooth.
- Dip each top of the donut into the icing, and place it on a cooling rack or tray to set. Sprinkle some extra cinnamon on top and enjoy!
- The donuts can be frozen for up to 2 months, or stored in an air tight container for up to a week.
Hi Sandy, I’m sorry but I don’t currently offer nutritional information for my recipes
New to GF, so I was excited to try these and they are absolutely delightful! Being vegan for a while now, I’ve had some of your recipes on repeat. I’ll be adding this one to the list!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Brittany! So glad you enjoyed them
I have date sugar, can this be used instead of coconut sugar?