Soft & fluffy completely oil-free baked Vegan Raspberry Donuts with a smooth, pretty in pink glaze. All infused with sweet raspberry flavour & so delicious. (Don’t worry if you don’t have a donut pan because they can also be made as muffins!)
Is anything better than pretty pink donuts? I think not. And here they are just in time for Valentine’s Day so you can treat your loved one or yourself ♡.
Ooey-gooey Vegan Chocolate Caramels were last year’s Valentine’s Day offering. Whilst they are incredible, if you aren’t a chocolate person (apparently people who don’t like chocolate do exist ????), then you might prefer today’s Vegan Raspberry Donuts.
My husband and I aren’t really what you would call a romantic couple but any excuse to eat pretty, delicious desserts or baked yums is a good thing. And because these gorgeous morsels can be whipped up from start to finish in under thirty minutes they are just perfect for a last minute Valentine’s treat.
COMPLETELY OIL-FREE DONUTS!
These delicious donuts are baked and not fried and the batter is completely oil-free. The only oil you will need is a tiny bit to grease your donut pan. If you are lucky enough to have a USA Pan Donut Pan then you will probably get away without any. I never do with mine and it’s the best donut pan I’ve owned.
I have learnt from bitter experience how heartbreaking it is to have a perfect looking pan of donuts come out of the oven, only to end up breaking them into pieces while trying to prise them out of the pan ????. The moral of the story is, if you don’t have a donut pan yet and are thinking of buying one, spend a little bit more and get a decent pan that will last. It totally saves you money in the long run.
If you don’t have a donut pan and want to make these donuts right now, then make them as muffins. They might need another five minutes or so in the oven as they will be a little deeper, but other than that nothing needs to be changed.
PRETTY IN PINK
[clickToTweet tweet=”Pretty in pink, soft & fluffy oil-free baked Vegan Raspberry Donuts. Ready in under 30 mins!” quote=”Pretty in pink, soft & fluffy oil-free baked Vegan Raspberry Donuts. Infused with sweet raspberry flavour & so delicious.”]
Both the batter and the glaze in these Vegan Raspberry Donuts are infused with delicious raspberry flavour. The glaze is a lovely baby pink colour and the donut sponge is also tinged pink. They are so pretty.
They don’t need any decoration other than the glaze to look good, but if you wanted to, a fresh raspberry or two stuck in the frosting would be lovely. Don’t be tempted to use frozen raspberries for decorative purposes, as when they defrost they become soggy and wet and will bleed all over the lovely pink glaze.
NO SMURFS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THESE DONUTS
Things weren’t always so pretty. First recipe trials didn’t go as planned and if you follow me on Instagram and saw my story you will know why.
I accidentally made Smurf Donuts ????
I used to love The Smurfs when I was a child. If you remember their cute little characters, you will know that they are blue. Well my donuts went into the oven pink and came out blue ????.
I always buy aluminum free baking powder but when I ran out last time my husband picked some up for me at the store. He bought a different kind which has aluminum in it.
Yes, the powers that be put aluminum in some baking powder. Another unnecessary additive that really isn’t good for us and it’s always best to seek out aluminum free varieties when you can.
I forgot all about this when I made my pretty pink donuts and the acidic raspberry reacted with the aluminum and turned them blue. Luckily they still tasted ok. Sometimes when this happens you can also get a metallic taste and no-one wants donuts that taste like a hubcap…
To avoid Smurf issues, I highly recommend you use aluminum free baking powder for this recipe. It makes your donuts prettier and is much better for your insides too ????.
VEGAN RASPBERRY DONUTS
I can’t wait for you to try these Vegan Raspberry Donuts. Be a ☆ and let me know what you think below or share a picture on Instagram. I am @avirtualvegan. Use the hashtag #avirtualvegan to be sure I don’t miss them.
Vegan Raspberry Donuts
Ingredients
- 105 g | 1 cup, measured while still frozen defrosted frozen raspberries
- 150 g | 1 very full cup spooned in and not scooped, then brushed off with the back of a knife sieved all purpose flour
- 100 g | ½ cup sugar paler varieties are best otherwise they will affect the pink colour - I used organic cane sugar
- 1¼ teaspoon baking powder MUST be aluminum free - if you don't have aluminum free baking powder your donuts could turn blue
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 60 mls | ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons light coconut milk from a can and shaken well
- 1½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar can sub this for lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the glaze
- 180 g | 1 cup natural powdered sugar
- 5 teaspoons light coconut milk
- a few drops of leftover raspberry juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a 6 hole donut pan. Grease it if necessary.
- Take your defrosted raspberries and put them in a sieve over a bowl, liquid as well. Push the raspberries through the sieve with the back of a spoon. Keep going until all the liquid has passed through the sieve and what's left looks dryish. Put the seedy bits in a small bowl and set aside as you might need them later.
- Measure out 85mls of the strained juice. Set aside and keep any leftovers separately.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a bowl.
- In a jug or another small bowl add the light coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract and the 85mls of raspberry juice you measured out then stir together really well.
- Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Mix only just enough that you can't see any dry flour. Do not over mix as it will affect the texture/rise of the donuts.
- Spoon or pipe the mixture into the donut pan being careful not to cover the middle part of it. Work as quickly as you can.
- Put in the preheated oven and bake for 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. If you are using a muffin tin they will take about 5 minutes more.
- When ready remove from the oven and turn out very carefully onto a cooling rack.
- Leave to cool completely before glazing.
- When the donuts are cool make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar with the light coconut milk until very smooth. Add the raspberry juice a drop at a time until you get a baby pink colour. You should have enough leftover juice to do this but if not, check the seedy mush in the bowl you put aside earlier as a little bit more juice will have seeped out. You literally only need a few drops to get the light pink colour and you should be able to pour it off carefully. Failing that just squeeze a bit of juice from 1 more frozen raspberry instead. Do not add too much liquid. You need the glaze to be very thick but pourable.
- Dip the nicely rounded side of each donut face down into the bowl of glaze then return to the cooling rack. After dipping the last donut, start again with the first. We want to double dip them to get a nice thick glaze.
- Leave on the cooling rack until the glaze has set.
Notes
Estimated nutrition per serving:
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Kim Arsenault says
I have made these twice and they are so delicious!!!! I find I need to use more raspberries to get enough juice, but that’s fine. We love these and will make them time and time again!
Cory says
I can’t beliee these are vegan and oil free but so good! We loved them. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Sandy says
I am used to baking vegan and oil free and have been for years. These turned out terrible, did not rise or come together. I weighed them as you said and have an enormous goopy mess.
Melanie McDonald says
Is there a chance you made a mistake when measuring the ingredients, when following the directions, or did you perhaps substitute an ingredient? These have consistently great reviews and I make them myself frequently. They are so light and perfectly fluffy and always turn out well. They can’t fail to rise with baking powder, baking soda and the acid from the vinegar and raspberries. COuld your baking powder or baking soda be past its best? You don’t make it clear whether your “enormous goopy mess” is before cooking or after? I would help you troubleshoot with a bit more information to go on.
Samantha says
I only have fresh raspberries, do i have to freeze them first? Or can i just add the quantity to 1 1/4cups?
A Virtual Vegan says
You could use fresh raspberries, but you likely won’t get as much liquid out of them as you would frozen so you will need to use more. As long as you have 85 mls of their juice though you will be good to go.
Cheri mello says
THANKS for Sharing ! I Also quit using Aluminum Baking Power , AND deodorant/anti-perspirant in it!! ???? I DO have a Question . Can I Substitute CANE SUGAR with XYLITOL? G-d Bless ♥️
A Virtual Vegan says
I have never cooked with xylitol so I have no idea how it would work in these. Sorry!
lindsay says
I love these donuts but every time I make them they turn out purple. I am using aluminum free baking powder.. do you know why this might be happening?
A Virtual Vegan says
How strange. Is there a possibility that your pan is made from aluminum or do you use a spoon that might have aluminium in it? Other than that, or the baking powder containing it I have no idea why they would turn purple. Mine are always pink as long as I use aluminium free baking powder. Perhaps try a different brand next time just in case there is a trace in there that they aren’t disclosing. I tend to use the Bob’s Red Mill one. I’m glad you are enjoying them regardless though!
Guest says
These look really good. I was showing the recipe to my coworker and she commented about how high the sugar was.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you. With regards the sugar, these donuts aren’t intended as a health food. They are an indulgent dessert. They don’t have any more added sugar than most other frosted cake recipes and remember that there are a lot of raspberries in them so some of what you see in the nutritional breakdown is natural sugar from the fruit. I do have lots of healthier baked goods on my site if you prefer.
Lianne says
These look amazing! Do you think homemade cashew milk would work in place of the coconut milk?
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Lianne! You do need to use the coconut milk in this recipe for the best results. The fat from it is needed because there is no other added oil of any kind. I tried it with regular cashew milk when testing and they weren’t nearly as good. Hope that helps!
Tina Terracciano says
Hi I am wondering if you tried these gluten free or have any suggestions? They are for Easter I have large crowd of vegan gluten free Thank you for your time
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven’t tried these gluten-free. They might well work with the addition of some xanthan gum but I would hate for them to be a flop when you are having guests around so it’s probably best to use a recipe that is already gluten-free to be safe unless you have time to experiment and risk some fails before. I found this recipe and they look pretty similar although they are vanilla flavour sponge http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/vanilla-baked-donuts-raspberry-glaze They looks good. I also have a few other recipes that are gluten-free. If you have access to certified gluten-free oats these chocolate cookie bars are awesome https://avirtualvegan.com/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookie-bars/ , and so is this raspberry tart https://avirtualvegan.com/raspberry-chocolate-fudge-tart/ .
Amy says
I love oil free baked goods and these are absolutely amazing!
Brandi says
So pretty! I’m absolutely in love with them!
Sina says
I have made these about 5 times now and everyone loves them!
kim says
Woah! I would have never guessed that about the baking powder. Mine is fortunately aluminum free and these were amazing! So pretty in pink!
Alisa says
Beyond amazing!
Sophia says
My kids enjoyed making these to take to a princess party.
Linda says
So delicious. I could easily have eaten them all but I did share in the end!
Jenn says
I LOVE that pic that shows the inside of the donut – so light and fluffy. I want to take a BIG bite!! Got to make them soon. I don’t remember seeing your “smurf” donut attempt – but that is pretty funny. A great science experiment for the kids! :)
All That I'm Eating says
I love the colour of these – great tip about the baking powder, I never knew that!