Coconut and Cacao Donuts

As a happy two-month blog-iversay to Nourishing Amy, I have a special treat for all of you…

Coconut and Cacao Donuts with Chocolate Coconut Glaze.

I always say to eat more hole-foods! Donuts fit the bill perfectly.

Coconut and Cacao Donuts

Joking aside, I am super proud of these ‘un-bakes’ and I am not afraid to say so. I, like so many people, lack self-confidence and the self-assurance to take a step back to appreciate the hard work I have put in and to acknowledge the outcome. So, yes, I am proud of these Coconut and Cacao Donuts. They turned our beautifully first time, thanks to years of raw energy ball making, although the glaze did take me a couple of attempts. Warning: do not add maple syrup to the glaze as it will thicken to a stiff paste and curdle. Not good.

This glaze, however is great. It’s not too sweet as it uses raw unsweetened cacao rather than cocoa powder, but it balances out the sweetness of the base perfectly.

When I told my family I was making donuts, these are most definitely not what they had in mind, so before allowing them to sample my creations I re-described them as donut-shaped energy balls with chocolate – and that seemed to do the trick.

Coconut and Cacao Donuts

These beauties are inspired by the delicious and nutritious donuts and pronuts offered at Raw Press Co in London, where I was recently treated to their Matcha Donut. It was such a delicious raw treat and I highly recommend them. But I may just recommend my Coconut and Cacao Donuts slightly more. Then again, I am biased. They are decadent, indulgent and have the wow-factor, but they are nutritious, simple to make and totally addictive. Plus, we all know that cacao is a superfood! Are you ready to get your donut on?

One last thing: I LOVE this coconut and cacao jam which I kindly received and was only too happy to incorporate into my creations. If you don’t have any (then why not?! Go out and buy some!) I’m sure you can replace them with extra gooey dates.

Coconut and Cacao Donuts
Makes 9

Ingredients:
Donuts:
100g dates (soaked in boiling water for 10 mins if they are dry, then drained)
100g coconut and cacao jam
100g cashew nuts
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
40g buckwheat groats
40g desiccated coconut
Cacao Glaze:
100g coconut butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
To Decorate:
1 tbsp each: cacao nibs, toasted coconut flakes, hemp hearts

Method:

1. Place the soft dates and the coconut jam in a food processor and blend until a smooth paste forms, scraping down the sides as needed.

2. Add the cashew nuts and cacao powder and pulse to break down the nuts and form an even mix, using a spatula to scrape down the sides.

3. Now add the buckwheat groats and coconut and pulse a few times to evenly distribute throughout the mix.

4. Roll the mix into 9 balls, placing them on a lined baking tray. Flatted each ball slightly with your hand and cut out a small hole in the center (this is the donut hole) either using a cut-out or I used a wine stopper!

5. Place the tray into the freezer and leave for 1 hour to allow the donuts to firm up.

6. To a bain-marie, add the coconut butter and coconut oil and stir over a medium heat until fully melted. Take off the heat and stir in the cacao powder, continuing to stir to a smooth paste.

7. Remove the donuts from the freezer and drizzle over the cacao glaze (you will have glaze left over, use this to pour over yoghurt, ice cream or spread on toast). While the glaze is still wet decorate with the cacao nibs, coconut flakes and hemp hearts, or use toppings of choice. 

8. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week.

Coconut and Cacao Donuts

I had such a fun time making these Coconut and Cacao Donuts and I hope you will, too. I cannot wait to see what you think of this recipe, please leave a comment below and tag me in your creations. I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy.

This post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own – I genuinely love Coconut Merchant products and thoroughly enjoy an outing to Raw Press Co.