Is it "donuts"? Or is it "doughnuts"?? I never know. I’ll go with what I think is the Australian version (doughnuts) shall I? Either way, since adopting a wheat free diet over 2 years ago, this girl has not had the opportunity to indulge in these childhood treats. Then the blog world jumped on board, and began teasing me with wonderful baked doughnut creations. Gluten free, vegan, the possibilities seemed endless. The only problem?? I did not have a doughnut pan in which to make said doughnut creations. Nor could I find anywhere in Australia or online that sold the pans. It was big drama, you know. That was….until now. Before we left for the US, I had a short list of things I wanted to buy while overseas. Vibrams, lara bars, some clothes….and most importantly, doughnut pans. And while it took me a while to actually find them, I literally skipped with glee when I finally had them in my hot little hands (much to the shop assistant’s amusement/concern). So I guess it goes without saying that the first sweet treat to be baked in the BBB household on returning from our overseas adventure was to be doughnuts. Inspired by Ashley’s recipe, along with a few tweaks of my own. I followed the same base recipe for both my full size and mini doughnut varieties, using both gluten free flour and spelt flour, but made adjustments for their cooking time and the toppings. The result? Soft vanilla doughnuts that smelled amazing fresh out of the oven. But, let’s be honest, when it comes to doughnuts, its all about the toppings! For the large doughnuts, I drizzled them with melted chocolate, then finished them with some fun sprinkles. For nothing says ‘fond childhood memory’ more than sprinkles! I couldn’t get over how adorable these doughnuts were… And not to mention… Photogenic!     So much so that I had a lot of trouble narrowing down which photos I would use in this post. Along with the regular sized doughnuts, I topped the batch of mini doughnuts with a mixture of ground cinnamon and sugar. The taste and aroma of which immediately took me back 20 years, when our family would stop for a big bag of warm cinnamon donuts on our car trip to the Victorian Coast. So very moreish indeed. I served these doughnuts for dessert at our Mexican fiesta last weekend, and with only a couple leftover, I am calling my first batch a success! But a big question now remains? What flavour to create next??? Basic Baked Doughnuts (makes 12-14 large doughnuts or 24+ mini doughnuts) (Adapted from here)

• 1/2 cup gluten free plain flour
• 1/2 cup spelt flour*
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk**
• 2 tbs apple sauce
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease the doughnut pan.
2. Sift the dry ingredients, then whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (the batter will be quite runny).
5. Pour the batter into the doughnut pan, filling only to halfway. You may need cook the doughnuts in batches depending on how many pans you have.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the doughnuts spring back when lightly touched.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before topping.

*To make a gluten free variety, you could substitute the spelt flour for gluten free flour or perhaps rice flour (although this will probably change the texture slightly). I used spelt flour as I am able to tolerate small amounts of spelt, and found that it gave the doughnuts a nice springy texture. ** You could quite easily substitute the milk for non-dairy milk such as soy or rice if you prefer. Chocolate glaze: Melt 1 cup of milk chocolate chips and 1/2 tbs butter in the microwave, stirring to combine. I heat the chocolate chips/butter for 30 seconds, stir, then continue to heat in 10 second increments until smooth and glossy. Drizzle over the cooled doughnuts, and allow to set. Cinnamon sugar: Combine 1-2 tbs caster sugar and 1-2 tbs cinnamon in a small bowl. Brush doughnuts with a little melted butter, then sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar until the doughnuts are well coated. What about you? What is your favourite doughnut variety? And is it ‘doughnut’ or ‘donut’???