RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts

Who’s ready for another donut recipe?! This may or may not be the last one I share for a while…we’ll see. I’ve been eating WAY TOO many sweets lately – one of the downfalls to running trials for dessert recipes. So, I’m thinking I’ll focus on savory after this 😉 If you follow me on Instagram, you got a sneak peek for this recipe…I think the chocolate-y goodness on top lured you in. I wrote this recipe almost six years ago and have drastically changed it and also added one of my favorite teas! The first few trials I ran, I steeped a couple of tea bags in almond milk and then added it to the batter, but the flavor just wasn’t there. It was also being covered up by the strong garbanzo bean flavor (from the all purpose flour) and a couple other ingredients, so after several trials, I finally got the flavor down – it also helped that I took a chance and ground the contents of the tea bags and added it to the batter. Once again, I intended to create an oil-free recipe, but all of the ingredients I tried substituting, took away from the chocolate-earl grey flavor. BUT this recipe is (as always) gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free AND can easily be made nut-free!

If you know me, you know I LOVE Numi teas – they’re one of the few companies I trust when it comes to tea. They’re organic, fair-trade, nothing artificial (no “natural” flavors), just pure ingredients AND use safe, non-toxic packaging materials (no genetically modified corn, pesticides or carcinogens). I buy a wide variety of their teas from Natural Grocers and occasionally from Whole Foods. Here’s the ingredient list for their Organic Chocolate Earl Grey:

Fair Trade Certified organic cacao powder, Fair Trade Certified organic Assam black tea, organic orange peel, organic vanilla beans, organic bergamot oil.

numi

Numi Organic Tea - Chocolate Earl Grey
Before and After
Enjoy Life’s All-Purpose Flour & King Arthur’s Gluten-free Multi-Purpose Flour (they do not contain garbanzo bean flour). Both are pricier than your standard flour. I have found that Vitacost carries the Enjoy Life flour for the best price and Natural Grocers currently has the King Arthur Flour on sale…so go grab a box!

BAKED CHOCOLATE EARL GREY MINI DONUTS {gluten-free, soy-free, refined sugar-free, nut-free option}

Makes 24 mini donuts

What you need:

{DRY}

  • 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour that doesn’t contain garbanzo bean flour (I use King Arthur or Enjoy Life)
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or your choice of granulated sugar)
  • 3 bags of Numi’s Chocolate Earl Grey tea*
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt

*You can use chai tea or espresso powder instead. For those who only use loose leaf tea, use a tablespoon of finely ground tea.

{WET}

  • 1 flax “egg” (1 Tablespoon ground flax + 3 Tablespoons water)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened plant milk (I use almond)
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3 Tablespoons avocado oil
  • 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup(optional)**

**If you like a really sweet donut and have no plans to glaze them, I recommend adding the maple syrup.

How to:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease your donut pan(s).
  2. In a small bowl, prepare your flax “egg” and set aside for at least five minutes.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients (milk, ACV, vanilla, flax “egg” and avocado oil). Whisk until thoroughly combined. I used my stand-up mixer.
  4. Next, cut open the tea bags and empty out the contents into a spice grinder (or coffee grinder). Grind until it resembles a fine powder (see photo above). Should amount to approximately a tablespoon’s worth. Add this and your other dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until just combined. I recommend sifting your flour & sugar to get the clumps out. The batter will look a bit like pancake batter or creamy almond butter (not as thick and sticky as my previous donut recipe).
  5. Spoon a tablespoon’s worth of batter into each donut “cup” – somewhere between 1/2-2/3 full.
  6. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick (tester) comes out clean. My oven is awful and always requires a longer cooking time. The donut should spring back to the touch.
  7. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and allow to set for five minutes. Then transfer the donuts to a cooling rack.
  8. Enjoy plain or with a simple chocolate glaze (see recipe below). I store my leftovers uncovered on a cooling rack in the oven, but you can also leave them on the counter (on the cooling rack) with a piece of parchment paper loosely draped over them. Plastic airtight containers will change their texture significantly.

RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts

RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts

RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts

Simple Chocolate Glaze:

  • 1/2 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips
  • 2 Tablespoons unsweetened plant milk (I used almond)

Over low-med heat, melt the mini chips and milk in a double boiler – stirring frequently. Once melted, remove from heat and dunk the tops of the cooled donuts in the chocolate. Eat right away or allow them to set longer for a firmer glaze. Make sure the chocolate glaze has firmed up before storing them away.

RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts

RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts

RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts

RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts

RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts
This is how the chocolate glaze looks once it has been set.

RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts

My little helper (and photo assistant) took some photos of her own – she was so proud of them, I had to share them with you!

RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts

Thanks for stopping by!

Comments

14 responses to “RECIPE: Baked Chocolate Earl Grey Mini Donuts”

  1. tedanddiana Avatar

    Oh my these look so good! I’ve never used tea in a recipe before – how creative! I will make these soon (after I make your pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Be Sol-Ful Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful

      Thank you, sweet friend!!! I’m a bit of a tea addict, but this was my first time adding it to baked goods…I’m guessing it won’t be my last. ❤

      Like

  2. Strength and Sunshine Avatar

    The tea doughnuts!! I’ve been waiting! They look perfect and so yummy! ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Be Sol-Ful Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful

      Haha! Yay! I figured that I enjoy a donut with a nice cup of coffee or tea, why not add it to the actual donut! ❤

      Like

  3. Julie Avatar
    Julie

    Tea in donuts? That’s awesome. Have to get the tea first and hide from Jay bc he loves tea😊. Love Willow’s pics! Can’t wait to try 💕💕

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Be Sol-Ful Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful

      Thank you, love! The tea is wonderful…I have yet to try a tea by Numi that I didn’t love – but the Indulgent Teas are amazing!!! Haha! She LOVES to take pictures of everything – I guess I’m to blame for that! Let me know if you try these ❤ XO

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  4. Natalie Avatar

    The perfect chocolate coating is definitely what lured me in, but I’m very intrigued by the tea inside too! Such a fun idea Mandy, your donuts just keep amazing me! And I’m glad you brought up the beany gf flour issue, I really dislike the garbanzo based ones for baking. I haven’t trie the Enjoy Life one yet but I want to. And I have no clue how you managed the 4-high donut stack, but that picture is amazing ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Be Sol-Ful Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful

      Right?!!? I was a big fan of Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour for a long time, but then when I discovered all purpose flours without garbanzo bean flour, it changed the world of baked goods! Everything just tasted better and cleaner, if that makes any sense. I absolutely love the Enjoy Life one because it has 5 grams of protein in just 3 tablespoons and almost no fat. Haha!!! That stack toppled over after snapping a couple of pictures! Willow was the one who pushed it with the four-high stack! Thank you, friend! ❤

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  5. veggiesdontbite Avatar

    Those are so cute! I bet Willow loved them and her pictures are adorable. What a great treat for the kids!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Be Sol-Ful Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful

      Thank you so much, Sophia!! Haha! She has been really into taking pictures of anything and everything these days! These are so simple to make and really are a nice treat. Happy weekend, friend! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  6. The Vegan 8 Avatar

    Mandy! I could have sworn I already commented on these, but I’m clearly losing my mind, hahaha! These are absolutely beautiful! The chocolate and earl grey tea is just brilliant my friend!! I love that you used tea in these! I have only used tea in a dessert once before and it was lemon and chamomile which I used for lemon bars and I loved the depth it added, so I can imagine how amazing these are. I swear, you really do have some of the best recipes out there!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Be Sol-Ful Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful

      Haha!!! I do that ALL THE TIME! I’m that way with responding to emails or texts sometimes, too…I guess I respond in my head! Oh, what?!? Those lemon bars sound incredible! I bet the tea gave them that extra boost of flavor. Wow, you are way too sweet! And that seriously means SO much coming from you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, my friend!! ❤

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  7. Audrey @ Unconventional Baker Avatar

    So I’m sitting here reading this as I’m sipping on my Numi chocolate earl grey tea! 🙂 And these donuts look the cutest. I didn’t realize how tiny the were until a few shots down too. ❤

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    1. Be Sol-Ful Avatar
      Be Sol-Ful

      Hahaha!! No way?! Isn’t that tea the best? I love Numi teas…especially the Amber Sun Turmeric tea. Yep, these are pretty tiny and if it weren’t for the photos of me holding one, you’d never know! They’re perfect Willow-size donuts and you don’t feel as guilty if you have more than one in a sitting. ❤

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