As much as I like turmeric, I haven’t really experimented with using it in sweet recipes, apart from adding a pinch to smoothies. Usually, I just stick to savoury turmeric recipes like tofu scrambles, curries and the like. But I’m always down to indulge my sweet tooth so when I had the idea for these vegan baked golden milk donuts I decided to run with it.
[Tweet “Baked #GoldenMilk Donuts #vegan #turmeric #healthydessert”]
Before we get into the recipe, let’s talk about what golden milk even is. It’s been the talk about (blog) town recently but if you don’t know, golden milk is a beverage made by warming milk with turmeric, ginger and cinnamon and/or black pepper. It’s great for inflammation and fighting colds, sore throats, headaches and more and has an awesome golden yellow colour, hence the name.
That’s as far as my knowledge goes, so check out these articles for more deets on turmeric tea and/or golden milk. For now, let’s get into the recipe for these bomb AF golden milk donuts.
Vegan Baked Golden Milk Donuts
After my first sip of turmeric tea, I knew I had to incorporate it into a sweet recipe somehow. My first thought was oatmeal but I just shared this quinoa porridge recipe a couple weeks ago, so naturally, the next step was donuts. Kidding. Obviously there were some other ideas in between but once I thought of golden milk donuts, I couldn’t imagine making anything else.
At first, I decided to modify my orange poppy seed donuts by skipping the orange juice and zest and adding turmeric and black pepper. But it turns out, baking with turmeric is a bit trickier than I thought. Because my first batch of donuts came out red. Yes RED. Great, if I was trying to make red velvet donuts, not so fun when I expected bright yellow golden milk donuts.
After some research, I found out that turmeric turns red when heated with a base, in this case baking powder but is more yellow in the presence of an acid.
So, I went back to the drawing board and ended up adding the orange juice back in, doubling vinegar and reducing the amount baking powder. I also switched the coconut sugar for agave because I find coconut sugar darkens my baked goods considerably.
Spoiler alert: The second time’s the charm cuz that batch of golden milk donuts was actually golden.
I topped them with some coconut cream frosting that’s ridiculously easy to throw together and finished with a sprinkle yellow shredded coconut that I dyed with turmeric and water. Dyeing the shredded coconut is totally optional but is also easy AF so I highly recommend it.
And that’s it. Super simple baked golden milk donuts that are perfectly spiced and slightly sweet with a hint of coconut. Bonus points cuz they’re healthy, vegan and delicious to boot.
If you make these golden milk donuts, I’d love to hear what you think. Leave a comment and rate the recipe or take a pic and tag me @ExSloth on Instagram!
- 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water
- ¼ cup coconut or almond milk
- ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed citrus juice (I used orange)
- 1 cup light spelt flour*
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp turmeric
- a pinch each of black pepper and salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil at room temp (soft but not liquid)
- ⅓ cup agave nectar
- ½ tsp vanilla or coconut extract
- 1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
- 2 - 3 tbsp agave nectar, more or less to taste
- Optional: ¼ tsp coconut extract
- ¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut**
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp water
- Whisk together ground flax and warm water in a small bowl and set aside
- In another bowl, whisk together the milk, vinegar and citrus juice and set aside
- Preheat oven to 350F, grease a donut pan and set aside
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and other spices
- In another bowl beat the coconut oil until fluffy then beat in the agave, flax egg and vanilla or coconut extract
- Whisk in the milk mixture then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix the dough
- Pour dough into a ziplock bag and snip the edge off of one corner. You can also use a pastry bag if you have one
- Pipe the dough into the donut pan. You should fill 5 - 6 cavities. Fill any extras with water for even baking
- Bake for 10 to 13 minutes. Let cool in pan for a couple minutes then turn over onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting and topping with yellow shredded coconut (recipes below)
- Scoop the coconut cream from the can of coconut milk and put it into a medium sized bowl. You should get about 1 cup of coconut cream. Discard the water or reserve for something else
- Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the cream until smooth and creamy
- Add in the agave and optional coconut extract and whip until fully incorporated
- Refrigerate until you're ready to use
- Mix together the turmeric and water and set aside
- Add the shredded coconut to a ziplock bag, pour in the turmeric/water mixture and shake until the coconut shreds are well coated
**I used sweetened shredded coconut because that's what I had on hand but unsweetened should work as well
Want more donuts? Try these:
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WHAT ABOUT YOU?
- Have you had golden milk before?
- What other golden milk inspired recipes would you like to try?
- Have you ever had turmeric in sweet recipes like these golden milk donuts before?
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Doughnut ming-blown <3 Sweet turmeric is where it's at! I try to add turmeric to just about every meal I eat! I fully believe in its magic "healing" powers!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine recently posted…Freedom Feature: Celine Ikeler “Karma Baker”
These really look phenomenal! Your photography is amazing 🙂 As you know, I just tried golden milk last week and now I want to experiment even more. Although I need to wear gloves because that sh*t STAINS haha.
Emily @ My Healthyish Life recently posted…Banana Nut Maca Energy Bites
Golden milk is my favorite thing in the entire world. I make it a few times a week to sip on before bed and I swear I’m asleep in 20 seconds BUT in doughnut form…may just have to get a doughnut pan for this one 🙂
Diana @ Live Lean Eat Green recently posted…Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle Marathon Goals
I’ve actually never had golden milk before but this is such a creative and delicious way to try it! Yum!
rachel @ athleticavocado.com recently posted…Minty Strawberry Avocado Salad With Citrus {Paleo, Vegan + Whole 30!}
These are the ULTIMATE donut. Best I’ve seen yet!!! AMAZING, GIRL.
I love these pictures! The colour scheme is awesome. Oh, and the donuts look good too. 😉
Chelsea’s Healthy Kitchen recently posted…Homemade Hummus with Canned Chickpeas
I’m all about that golden milk!! These are beautiful, Giselle! And your photos are absolutely STUNNING! <3
Alexa [fooduzzi.com] recently posted…Italian-Style Chickpea Burgers
You, my friend, are a certified baking GENIUS. Seriously these are amazeballs and now I need a donut pan ASAP.
Love the idea of using turmeric in baked goods! And the Turmeric coconut on top is perfect.
Holy crapola Giselle these look AMAZING. I love adding turmeric to pretty much anything, but have yet to try baking with it! You are seriously awesome.
Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen recently posted…Thai Slaw with Cashew Curry Dressing [ Healthy Summer BBQ Recipes ]
Oddly enough, I just impulsively purchased turmeric when I saw it at the store… maybe I’ll make these with it! I was just gonna blend it in a green smoothie!
Liz @ The Clean Eating Couple recently posted…Healthy Citrus Slushie
Did you use fresh turmeric or dried/ground turmeric for this recipe? I’ve found dried turmeric is very pungent in recipes and leaves a really bitter taste so I’ve started using fresh turmeric and absolutely love it. If you did use ground, how much fresh would you recommend I substitute?
I loathe turmeric but these are beautiful and your pictures and recipe have inspired me to give golden milk baked goods a shot =)
Hi, can I use almond meal? or almond flour? which one you recommend to make keto and still rise
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to far added agreeable from you! However, how can we communicate?