Chestnut Mochi Donuts with Maple Glaze
Our friend Kate Ray shares this donut recipe. We encourage you to sign up for her substack for many more amazing recipes — most are vegan and many focus on Hudson Valley and Northeast regional ingredients.
Kate Says:
I never read Redwall as a kid (LOTR hardcore) but I followed a Twitter bot for several years that tweeted quotes about the food in the books and I think I get the vibe: “They put the basket down on a mossy knoll and began setting out food: a little chunk of hazelnut, almond, and chestnut cheese, small farls of soft wheat bread, a few elderberry muffins...Mushroom soup provided by the otters; a large flagon of elderberry wine; Friar Skurpul’s famous hazelnut cream pie; raspberry muffins; meadowcream trifle with almond icing; and cask of honey an’ blackberry cordial brewed by the hedgehogs...etc etc.”
It references a nostalgic British pastoral that likely never existed any more than a meadowcream trifle (what could that possibly be??) but nevertheless all that food just sounds like the most wholesome shit you could put into your furry rodent belly. Anyway, I always feel like a little mouse baker when I use chestnut flour, and these chestnut-buckwheat donuts are like something I would serve at my woodland B&B with cups of sweet milky tea.
Ingredients
Makes 6 donuts
Dough:
50 grams (¼ cup) neutral oil
227 grams (1 cup) soy milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
20 grams (2 tablespoons) ground flaxseed
½ teaspoon salt
40 grams (⅓ cup) sweet rice flour (see Note)
30 grams (¼ cup) tapioca starch
80 grams (¾ cup) white sugar
60 grams (½ cup) fine chestnut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Finish:
60 grams (¼ cup) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
50 grams (2.5 tablespoons) maple syrup
Crunchy salt for sprinkling
(Optional) Chopped, toasted pecans or walnuts for garnish
Notes
Sweet rice flour (aka glutinous rice flour) adds a density and spring to the donut that I find pleasant. I also tried a version using buckwheat flour that tasted really great, but was a little more cakey. If you prefer that, substitute buckwheat flour for the rice flour, and add 1 tablespoon additional soy milk.
Method
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, soy milk, and apple cider vinegar until emulsified and a little foamy. Whisk in the flaxseed.
Add the salt, rice flour, tapioca starch, and sugar. Sift in the chestnut flour. Whisk until no lumps remain.
Let the batter rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F and lightly spray a nonstick donut pan (if you spray too heavily, the oil might pool and cause cracks in the donut).
Mix in the baking powder and baking soda.
Scoop the batter into each of the donut cups to fill them evenly.
Bake for 17-18 minutes, until lightly browned on top.
Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from pan to finish cooling.
If eating immediately, glaze while still slightly warm. Otherwise, store in a plastic-wrapped tray at room temperature for up to a day (the donuts will get moister over time — you can include a desiccant packet in the tray with them, and/or heat them up briefly in the oven when ready to eat).
To finish: Whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and maple syrup. Pour over the donuts. Sprinkle crunchy salt on top. Garnish with chopped, toasted walnuts or pecans if you want.
Try without the glaze and a spot of tea