Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I just can't imagine how expensive it would get to constantly be using 1/4 - 1/2 cup of vanilla at a time! So I won't be buying this. But I do kinda want to try the donut recipe.

Here's the babycakes donut recipe from the Daily Candy email today. My personal opinion is that the donut are nothing special. they taste pretty good, but not as good as the cupcakes and nothing like donuts. Plus, they are TINY and cost about $2.75! I love some stuff at Babycakes, but their cookbooks peas me off.

BabyCakes Plain Cake Donut
Makes one dozen

Ingredients
1/3 c. canola oil or melted refined coconut oil, plus extra for brushing the trays
1 c. vegan sugar
¾ c. white or brown rice flour
1/3 c. garbanzo and fava bean flour
½ c. potato starch
¼ c. arrowroot
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. xanthan gum
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda
6 tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
¼ c. vanilla extract
½ c. hot water

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Brush two six-mold donut trays with oil and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flours, starch, arrowroot, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and baking soda.

3. Add oil, applesauce, vanilla, and water. Continue mixing with a rubber spatula just until the ingredients are combined.

4. Using a melon baller or tablespoon, drop 2½ tbsp. of batter into each mold. Spread the batter evenly around the mold with a toothpick.

5. Bake for 8 minutes, rotate, and continue to bake until donuts are golden brown, about 7 minutes more. Let them cool in the molds for 5 minutes if sprinkling with toppings such as cinnamon sugar, 15 minutes if using glaze or icing.

6. Run a knife around the donuts in the molds, lift them out, and place them on a baking sheet.

7. Coat them in your choice of topping. Cinnamon sugar sure is fast and easy: In a small bowl, whisk together ¾ c. vegan sugar with 2 tsp. ground cinnamon and a pinch of salt.

8. Try not to eat them all. Doh!

Thanks for posting it! I have to try them, because I bought a donut pan and then was not crazy about the VYY blog recipe, so I'm on the hunt for one I like.

Mama Peas has a couple of donut recipes

http://peasandthankyou.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6000702&prev_term=donut

http://peasandthankyou.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6000739&prev_term=donut
I've made these pumpkin protein donuts, and they were ok-ish. I think the off thing was the protein powder that I had though. OH, and I don't like stevia at all.

I only want this for the pretty pictures, I have the other babycakes book and I have never used all the oil called for in the recipes either. I would definitely not use all that vanilla, but then I don't mind if I deviate from original recipes.

Has anyone tried any of this without all the vanilla? I only have about a tablespoon left but really want to bake something!

OK, so I won't be getting this Babycakes cookbook either, no matter how much I'd like to play around with GF baking. Not only have I heard numerous times about the first one being hit-or-miss, I'd go broke following multiple recipes that call for that much vanilla extract!

I made the pancakes for breakfast this morning. They were delicious and filling. I ate 2 at 9:30, and I'm not hungry for lunch yet which is a small miracle.

did they reply about the vanilla extract? Trying to decide whether to get this cookbook or not!

I've never seen a recipe that calls for that much vanilla! Weird!

So, a couple of days ago I saw this book in a bookstore and had to buy it (it's so pretty!). And my copy doesn't have the crazy amounts of vanilla mentioned here. The plain cake donut recipe only has 2 teaspoons of vanilla. The other recipes are all the same- 2 teaspoons max. The inside cover says first edition, so I don't know what's going on. All the ingredient measurements are by weight too, not cups (as opposed to the recipe posted above).

This is over a year late from this conversation. But I was googling why some bakers use so much vanilla. I was interested in this book not because of the some GF recipes but because I was trying to find other sugar options (but not stevia). But I would like to sometimes enjoy some sweets without feeling like shiitake.

Anyway I did make the donuts and I was amazed how much vanilla this recipe required. But I have to admit the donuts were amazing. I even used the wrong gum ingredient and it still came out so good. Maybe I was just hungry?

Now that being said I am not a fan of babycakes book. I just made a reg vanilla cake (just to experiment for my sisters vegan birthday cake) and I was reluctant to use so much vanilla 3tablespoons and I did use less. I haven't tried the cake yet, but I tasted tiny piece and it was so over powering with vanilla and agave. So I shake my head at yet another failed recipe from this book. But I will make this work.. Watch out for the amount of cinnamon she uses. Again over powering taste...

Maybe she requires so much vanilla because it effects how the texture comes out? Try her app by the way it does explain so much (of course it's not free). Oh and her frosting in her book thats shiitake and blah has changed. It's different and less expensive, it's in her app.. Haven't tried it yet but good luck finding rice powder. Soy powder doesn't really pay to buy. It doesn't taste bad but it's just so blah... Not magic as she claims thats for sure. If you bought this book and your not doing anything with it. It may be well worth to buy the app since she explains some stuff. But not why she uses so much vanilla. Still my un-answered question. She will annoy you though...