Soft and tender Gluten Free Vanilla Donuts that taste just like a freshly baked birthday cake! Simple ingredients, super easy, baked, and so delicious you’d never guess they’re sugar and dairy free too.

First time ever baking with actual gluten free flour, and it was a huge failure!

Okay the donuts did look pretty, but the texture was terrible. They were WAY too gummy coz I added xanthan gum to the dry mix – to add that elasticity that a normal gluten-ful donut would have – but turns out that powder wasn’t really needed.

Still ate those though coz I don’t like wasting food.

Small-batched round two, and it was such a big success, I wish I’d made extras this time.

Make these easy baked vanilla cake donuts made with gluten free flour, no yeast, no sugar, no oil and no butter for a sugar free and low fat doughnut that taste like birthday cake with a yogurt frosting!

What is Xanthan Gum and do you need it?

Xanthan gum is a common thickening agent and stabilizer added to recipes. When combined with liquid it forms a gel-like substance.

It’s used to stabilize foods like ice cream to get them extra creamy, or thicken sauces to prevent the ingredients from separating.

In gluten-free baking, Xanthan gum is used to add elasticity to the dough that would otherwise have come from the gluten in a typical flour.

If your gluten-free flour already contains xanthan gum (check the ingredient list) then you don’t need any. Another case you won’t need it is if the flour contains tapioca and potato starch, since this combination would also serve as a binder.

Healthy baked vanilla glazed donuts made with gluten free flour and and a bit of xanthan gum for a delicious homemade doughnut complete with a greek yogurt icing.

Ingredients For Vanilla Birthday Cake Doughnuts

Gluten Free (All Purpose) Flour
1:1 Zero Calorie Sugar Substitute – I use Lakanto, but regular confectioners sugar should work fine, as long as its the same consistency and quantity
Stevia Sweetener
Baking Powder
Eggs – Keep them at room temperature, this is important
Almond Milk – Room temperature again
Coconut Oil – Melted and just a tiny bit, so these are still low fat donuts
Vanilla – A little extra here 🙂

Make this fluffy baking powder donut recipe by baking the doughnuts in the oven with a muffin tin or donut pan - healthy and no deep fryer needed!

How to make Healthy Baked Vanilla Donuts

These donuts are super easy to throw together!

Mix together all the dry ingredients: gluten free flour, zero calorie sugar, stevia and baking powder.
In another bowl whisk together the milk, eggs, coconut oil and vanilla.
Add the wet mix to the dry and fold it with a spatula to combine.
Grease the cavities of a donut pan and use a spoon or piping bag to divide the among 8 of them.
Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes.

Low fat and low calorie baked vanilla doughnuts that taste like birthday cake!

A Sugar free Yogurt Glaze for the Vanilla Birthday Doughnuts

Yogurt – I used Non-fat Greek Yogurt. Use a coconut yogurt to keep these donuts Paleo friendly.
Almond Milk – Any milk would work here.
Vanilla Extract
Stevia Sweetener – You could also use a 1:1 sugar-free substitute, but I’d really recommend the stevia instead for a low calorie vanilla frosting.

Whisk together the ingredients in a shallow bowl, dunk the donuts in, and place them on a cooling rack – dry side down – to set. That’s it!

If you’d like, add some sprinkles to make the donuts look pretty like a classic birthday cake.

Can I Keep These Gluten Free Glazed Vanilla Donuts?

Yes! These homemade baked doughnuts can keep really well.

I left mine for about 4-6 days in the fridge in an airtight container. This can be with or without the frosting.

To store them at room temperature, keep them in an airtight container again for 2-3 days, but un-frosted.

If you do put the vanilla yogurt frosting on, then you can leave them out only for a few hours.

Do I Need A Donut Pan To Make Homemade Vanilla Cake Doughnuts?

If you have a silicon or metal metal donut pan use it; Be sure to grease a metal pan with cooking spray or oil.

If you don’t have a donut pan, use a muffin tin!

Here’s 2 ways to make donuts in a muffin pan:

Make little balls of parchment paper or foil, place them in the middle of the muffin cavity, and then spread the batter around it using a piping bag.
Cut a piece of foil, place it on top of your index finger, and fold down and up the sides to make a donut cavity. Then grease the inside of the foil and place it in your muffin tin. Fill the batter into the foil cavity. Here’s what it should look like:

Some Tips For Baked Vanilla Cake Donuts With Gluten Free Flour:

Check whether or not your flour needs xanthan gum before adding it. Example: Something with gum already, or a blend of rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch will not need any.
Use your stevia brand’s conversion chart to get the right stevia amount equivalent to the sugar specified.
Not all sweeteners are the same. Some are also a blend of stevia and erythritol so the conversion for those would be a lot different.You might end up with an extra sugary donut.
Lightly grease the donut pan – this is not needed if your pan is silicon.
Let the donuts cool completely before frosting them.

More Gluten-free Donuts and Desserts?