Speculoos Baked Doughnuts

Photo and recipe by havecakewilltravel

Ooohh Heavenly doughnuts, who can resist those lovely treats, I don’t know about you but me I am ready to dig in! Follow recipe below:


Yield: 12 doughnuts


Ingredients
For the doughnuts:
1/2 cup (120 ml) any vegan milk (plain or vanilla)
1/2 cup (100 g) Sucanat
2 teaspoons ginger powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup (56 g) vegan butter, melted or 1/4 cup (60 ml) peanut oil or other neutral-flavored oil
6 ounces (170 g) any vegan yogurt (plain or vanilla)
6 tablespoons (90 g) Speculoos spread
2 1/2 cups (300 g) whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
Non-stick cooking spray
For the speculoos-flavored chocolate ganache:
1/2 cup (120 ml) vegan creamer (plain or vanilla, I like to use unsweetened MimicCreme)
1 cup (176 g) vegan semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons (30 g) Speculoos spread
About 10 vegan speculoos cookies, crushed to sprinkle over ganached doughnuts


Directions:
To make the doughnuts: Combine milk, sugar, spices, salt, butter, yogurt and speculoos spread in a small saucepan. Whisk while heating to lukewarm on low heat, until the butter is melted. (If using oil instead of butter, just combine everything and heat to lukewarm.) Do not let the temperature rise higher than lukewarm, or it will kill the yeast. Use an instant-read thermometer to check that the temperature is around 100°F (38°C).


In a large bowl, combine flour, instant dry yeast, and baking powder. Add wet ingredients into dry, vigorously stirring with a rubber spatula for a couple of minutes until thoroughly combined, or using a stand mixer. Scrape the sides with the spatula and gather the dough in the center of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 60 minutes. There won’t be such a noticeable rise during this rest, the doughnuts will mostly rise while they’re in the oven.
Coat two standard doughnut baking pans with spray.
Using an ice cream scoop. divide the sticky batter into the pans, about 3 tablespoons of batter per hole. Lightly moisten your hands with water to keep the sticky batter from adhering to them, and use the index of each hand to spread the batter evenly in each hole. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand another 50 minutes.


Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5). Bake for 16 minutes, or until golden brown. Carefully remove from pan and transfer onto a wire rack to cool.
To make the ganache: Heat the creamer in a small saucepan, on medium-high heat. Once hot, remove from the stove, adding the chocolate chips and speculoos spread, stirring until the chips are melted and the mixture is perfectly smooth.
To decorate the doughnuts: Dip the doughnuts into the ganache, letting the excess drip off. Sprinkle crushed cookies on top.