These fun Earth Day Donuts are decorated as an ode to Earth Day and made 100% from whole food plants! They're easy to make, tasty, and might I say - cute! Baked instead of fried and filled with clean, healthy ingredients. The sweet buttercream frosting is colorful with all-natural plant dye: blue and green spirulina powder. Donuts are a great breakfast treat, midday snack, or share with friends.
This vegan donut recipe was perfected; seriously, I made them four separate times, getting the flavors just right. After the second time, I wasn't sure if it would work. It turns out that cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger make the perfect spiced donut!
I'll also share two different icing options, a vegan buttercream piping or a smooth, traditional donut glaze.
You probably stumbled on this post by searching for Earth Day dessert ideas! If you're looking for healthy dessert options that are plant-based, check out my Rosemary Chocolate Chunk Cookies or Creamy Avocado Cacao Mousse! They SLAM!
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Doughnuts or Donuts?
Technically doughnut is the correct way to spell this tasty American baked good. While donut is the abbreviation. For me, the donut abbreviation feels right and aesthetically looks right.
How's the texture of these donuts?
Traditional donuts have many popular flavors like chocolate glaze, sprinkle donuts, and vanilla glaze. This easy recipe can be adapted to whatever flavor you desire!
The texture of the donut is a fluffy, cake-like donut - the type you'd like to dunk in a warming beverage or wash down a bite with an iced coffee.
Although the ingredients are made from whole foods, you'd never know they are made without eggs, dairy butter, or cow milk. I'd compare them to the traditional donut texture.
These healthy donuts will be hard to keep around, and not only because they're so tasty! Since they are only made with clean, simple ingredients, the freshness expires. Which also means that you'll need to devour them within three days.
Vegan buttercream icing
Remember that the printable recipe with full instructions is at the bottom of the post.
This recipe shares two options for vegan icing. Both will result in a sweet, delicious donut topping. Either icing is prepared in minutes while the donuts cool, and both use a natural dye like spirulina, beetroot powder, or turmeric - depending on the color you'd like.
Monk fruit powder is used for both methods as a powdered sugar replacement. A piping bag is required to make the vegan buttercream if your choice is based on aesthetics.
Vegan buttercream icing
🍩Vegan butter - my preferred brand is Miyoko's Creamery, based on simple ingredients.
🍩Monk fruit powder - a sugar-free alternative to powdered sugar, the brand I use is Lakanto, linked here.
🍩Vanilla extract
🍩Natual dyes: blue or green spirulina, beetroot powder, or turmeric.
Traditional glaze
🍩Plant milk - coconut, cashew, oat, or almond.
🍩Monk fruit powder
🍩Vanilla extract
🍩Natural dyes: blue or green spirulina, beetroot powder, or turmeric.
So as you can see, vegan butter or plant milk is the difference. The traditional glaze will be a thin glaze that brings in sweetness while the vegan butter whips into a creamy cake-like frosting. You can't go wrong with either one!
Decorating the donuts
For the Earth day design with the buttercream icing, you'll need a simple piping bag with a point in a star shape. Since the icing is mainly made with vegan butter, whipped in an electric mixer, you'll need to work semi-fast. Don't worry, not super speed, just focused and uninterrupted.
Fill the piping bag with the blue ocean color first, leaving "holes" or gaps for the green land.
Stick a sweet strawberry on the side using a small heart, star, or flower-shaped metal cutter.
For the glazed icing, keep it in a bowl and dip the top of the donuts down halfway. Place the donut face up on a wire cooling rack, and in minutes, the icing will become dry and harden.
How long do these donuts keep?
About three days. If you're not planning on eating the donuts within two days, leave them uniced in the refrigerator. That way, you can reheat them and ice them before eating.
Can they be frozen?
Yes! Freeze them, uniced for up to one month. I do prefer mine fresh since they're easy to make, but if frozen is necessary, that works!
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Earth Day Donuts
Equipment
- 1 donut tray
Ingredients
Donut:
- 1 cup oat flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder (aluminum-free)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened nondairy milk (Plant milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- Oil to grease the pan
Vegan Buttercream Icing:
- 1 cup vegan butter (sticks)
- 2 cups monk fruit powder, shifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, omit if salted butter is used
- For Earth Day Donuts: blue and green spirulina powder Add a pinch, very small, then add more as you mix until desired color is reached.
- Optional: small strawberry cut into flower or heart
Vegan Traditional Glaze Icing:
- 1 cups monk fruit powder sifted to remove clumps
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons plant milk of choice (Coconut milk is my preferred)
- Optional: blue or green spirulina powder Add a pinch, very small, then add more as you mix until desired color is reached.
Instructions
Donuts:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly oil a nonstick donut tray.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, add all wet ingredients and mix.
- Using a stand mixer or a wooden spoon, slowly add in the wet ingredients until a thick donut batter is achieved. The batter should be thick but pourable. Add more plant milk if needed.
- Add the batter to the greased donut pan with a piping bag (you can make a homemade piping bag with a plastic bag by cutting a corner).
- Bake for 12-15 minutes; remove when the donut has risen to a golden brown top and the top is firm. Check by piercing with a knife; it's ready if the knife comes out clean!).
- Keep the donuts in the baking tray until cool, and wiggle the sides before removing the donuts. While the donuts cool, prepare the icing.
Prepare the Buttercream Icing:
- Chop the vegan butter into cubes and add to a large bowl. Beat the butter until creamy with an electric mixer.
- Add vanilla and salt to the bowl and beat until combined.
- Add 1 cup of sifted monk fruit powder until combined. Add the other 1 cup (2 cups total) and mix fully.
- Once combined, smooth, and fluffy transfer to separate bowls and add spirulina colors. Whip until the desired color is achieved.
- Transfer colored buttercream into a piping bag and decorate cooled donuts.
Tradtional Glazed Icing:
- Mix all ingredients together until correct consistency - you want thick but runny.
- Add in any coloring powders, if using.
- Keep the icing in a bowl and dunk the top of the donut in halfway.
- Place the donut on a wire rack face up.
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