Samoa Donuts

By court15smith

Ingredients

• For the Donuts
• 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (such as Honeyville)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• A scant less than 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened or liquid
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Lemon juice
• 3 whole large room temp eggs
• Coconut caramel topping
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups), I used guar gum-free Natural Value
• 1/2 cup mild flavored honey or maple syrup,
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1 rounded tablespoon ghee or butter (can sub palm shortening or coconut oil)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup finely shredded coconut, plus 2 more tablespoons for garnishing
• For the Dipping Chocolate
• 1 bag Enjoy Life Chocolate chips (melted in a double boiler)

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from paleomg.com

Preparation

Step 1

1.Preheat your mini donut making machine OR preheat the oven to 350 degrees if you are using a regular donut pan or making into muffins.
2.In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking soda and salt.
3.In another bowl, combine the honey, oil, vanilla, lemon juice and eggs.
4.Add the oil/honey mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix till just combined.
5.Add about 2 tablespoons of batter to each mould in the donut machine or scoop the batter into a ziplock bag, twisting the other end to close it. Snip the end off of one of the corners with a scissors. Start with a small cut. You can always make it bigger if you need too. Squeeze batter into moulds.
6.Close the lid and allow to cook for about 2 minutes. Times will vary with each machine. Open the machine and flip over each donut using the forked ‘skewer’ that comes with most machines. Close the lid again cook for about one more minute. Remove donuts and let cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
7.If using a regular donut pan, fill each well-greased mould about ¾ full. Smooth the tops if needed and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
8.Makes 12-15 mini donuts or 6 regular sized ones (depending on how much batter you eat during the prep time.)

For the Coconut Caramel
1.In a small-medium heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring the coconut milk, honey and salt to a boil over medium high heat, being sure that they are well combined. Reduce to a simmer (low medium heat, on my burner it’s a “4”) and let the mixture cook down for 35-40 minutes. You can gently give it a stir if you think it needs it, but don’t disrupt the simmer. (Tip: Thinner aluminum sauce pans tend to have uneven heating which can cause burning more easily)
2.Add the ghee and vanilla, stirring it in till well incorporated. Return to the heat and continue cooking for another 5-8 minutes, stirring often. Don’t rush the process. It should be a nice deep golden color. Depending on how hot your burner is this process could be faster than 8-10 minutes or slower. So keep an eye on it.
3.Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and let cool for 5 minutes then stir vigorously until it’s creamy, shinny and smooth.
4.While the caramel is cooking, spread the coconut out on an ungreased cookie sheet and toast the coconut in a 325 degree oven. Stir often till golden, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
5.Mix the toasted coconut into the caramel minus a tablespoon or so for garnishing later. Use coconut caramel while still warm for best spreading results. Caramel can be made ahead of time and reheated in a double boiler.

Assembly:
1.Chill a parchment paper covered cookie sheet in the freezer (this will help later with setting the chocolate)
2.Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
3.Dip the bottoms of each donut in the melted chocolate. Let the some of the chocolate drip off then place on the chilled cookie sheet (chocolate side down). Repeat with the rest of the donuts and place them in the freezer for a few minutes but not longer than 10 min or condensation will develop.
4.Once the chocolate is set, remove donuts from the freezer. Spread a little coconut caramel on the tops of each donut.
5.Add the rest of the melted chocolate to a small zip lock bag and make a tiny snip off the end. Drizzle diagonal lines of chocolate over the donuts. Leave them to set or return to the freezer for a few minutes.
6.These are best served right away but can be kept at room temp for a few hours if the room isn’t too warm. Otherwise, keep them chilled in the refrigerator in a covered container.