How’s your summer so far? While the calendar says that summer has indeed begun, our weather has not quite cooperated – the rain has been relentless with flooding and I swear the kamakaze mosquitos fly in formation with me as their number one target – oof!
I did manage to bake a batch of really lovely doughnuts – sour cherry doughnuts to be exact, but before I could take better photos, The Professor had grabbed one . . . make that two . . . you know he loves all things sweet, yes? So even though there is only a single photo taken with my iPhone, you’ll have to trust me on this one – these are really, really good.
And while I realize sour cherries are more than likely already out of season, you can file this recipe away for next year or substitute bing cherries – they won’t be quite as tart but they’re still going to taste delicious!
NOTES: Use your own favorite gluten-free flour mix here; I also recommend King Arthur or Cup-for-Cup. You’ll need a doughnut pan, two pans are ideal but if you only have a single pan, you can bake one batch, cool and bake the second batch. These are best when enjoyed the day they are baked; however, you can place unglazed doughnuts on a sheet pan until firm, then place in a zippered bag and return to the freezer. Simply thaw and glaze per the directions below – somehow, we never seem to have any left to freeze!
INGREDIENTS:
- 250 grams GF flour mix
- 200 grams sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (can sub psyllium powder as well – omit if your mix already contains either)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup tart cherries, pitted, reserve juice
- ¼ cup melted butter, unsalted
- ½ cup kefir (can sub milk or buttermilk)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup vanilla paste (not a typo – can sub extract)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons amaretto liquer
- 1-2 Tablespoons reserved cherry juice
METHOD:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Spritz two doughnut pans (6 doughnuts rings to each pan) with cooking spray and set aside
- In a large bowl, add flour mix, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum (or psyllium powder) if using, and salt; whisk to blend and set aside
- Melt butter over low heat, cool
- In a medium bowl, add kefir, eggs, vanilla paste and cooled butter; whisk until well blended
- Fold in pitted cherries
- Fill prepared pans about three-quarters full and bake for 8-minutes; rotate pans and bake an additional 7 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean
- Cool in pan for 10-minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely
TO MAKE THE GLAZE:
- In a medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, amaretto and reserved cherry juice until smooth and glossy; start with 1 Tablespoon of juice but add a little bit more juice if it’s too thick
- Dip the top half of the doughnuts in the glaze, turn right-side up and set on a rack to set