Blueberry Cake Donuts

Last week we celebrated the start of blueberry picking season here in my neck of the woods, and now we are enjoying the pounds and pounds of fresh blueberries in and on everything. It may seem I'm a bit obsessed about fruit picking here in Michigan (and yes, I probably am :), but it also has become a part of our summer rhythm because we truly enjoy the fresh goodness. I love the connection of the mind-body-soul while out in the bushes of blueberries and the work it takes to accumulate these berries in your bucket. It does take time. It isn't an easy task, but when you connect the movements of your body and the focus of your mind to being among the trees that supply this gift of these berries. You will find your heart filling with abundant gratitude for this gift of food and for the Divine maker of it all. It is one of those moments that you can nourish your whole self though these beautiful berries.

We also love to enjoy these sweet blueberries all winter long. And they are the easiest berry to freeze in my opinion. I pick, come home and rinse under cool water, dry and lay out on a towel on the counter, and then when dried, I bag up in BPA-free quart or gallon sized zipper lock bags and stack them in the deep corners of my chest freezer. They freeze so nicely and easy to pull out for a winter crisp or you can easily make a sauce or jam throughout the winter too. But the week of our first pick of blueberries, I make a crisp or pie or even some fresh muffins to celebrate the season.

This year, the kids (and me too ;) were excited to try making donuts. So I tried my magic at making some traditional Blueberry Cake Donuts without eggs and dairy and of course the gluten.

They turned out super moist- but because of the bits of coconut flour still have structure and hold together. Blueberries are a fragile and delicate addition to the donut, but with a little care it makes them feel like jewels in a crown. They sparkle and melt all over these sweet treats. I hope you find some space to connect your body/mind/spirit to the earth and the food you nourish it with.
Much love and ENJOY!

Blueberry Cake Donut Recipe
{gluten, dairy, egg, soy, nut, seed-free}

1 cup of finely ground GF certified oat flour
1/2 cup of white rice flour
1/4 cup of coconut flour
1 TB of potato starch
1 TB of tapioca flour/starch
1/3 coconut palm sugar
1 ts. of baking powder
1/2 ts. of baking soda
1/2 ts. of sea salt

1/3 cup of maple syrup
2/3 cup of date puree paste*
1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar mixed with---
2/3 cup of coconut milk beverage (or other plant milk)
1/3 cup of oil (avocado or melted coconut)
1 ts. of pure vanilla
1 ts. of fresh lemon zest

1 heaping cup of fresh (or frozen) blueberries

*First make a batch of date puree by letting 1 cup of dates saok in 1 cup of boiling water and then blending in a high powered blender to make a puree paste. You can do this in any amounts of equal dates to equal parts water. I usuaally make a 4 cup to 8 cup batch and have it in jars in the fridge ready to use in recipes or in smoothies :)

In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients and then pour in the wet. Mix well together and then lastly fold in the blueberries. Use a spoon to pour in the batter into the donut pan. I usually grease my donut pan with a little coconut oil first to help the sticking. You can also decide to do muffins with this batter if you 'do not' have a donut pan :) 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-23 minutes until golden brown. Then let sit in the pan from the oven for at leats 10-15 minutes before popping donuts from pan to help decrease the amount of donut breakage and keep them all together. Then I continue to let them cool on a baking rack. If you want to add a drizzle of glaze (1/2 cup organic powdered sugar to 1 TB of water or milk or lemon juice) whisk together and drizzle with a spoon over cooled donuts. They are great without the added sugar too- but if you want to dress em up- thats a simple way to make it :)

Donuts make you feel like you are having an extra special bakery treat when you are gluten-free. These are the goodies that you can create for yourself and not feel like you are missing out on the donuts of the gluten world. Such a fun way to use some fresh berries too- Hope you give this recipe a try and ENJOY!

Much love as always :)