This gluten free pumpkin cake donut is dipped in pumpkin spice glaze, drizzled with salted caramel glazed and finally topped with pepitas! The ultimate 4 layer pumpkin spice donut!
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Gluten Free Pumpkin Donuts
These aren’t your ordinary pumpkin donuts. Not even close! They are pumpkin spice donuts, dipped in a pumpkin spice glaze, drizzled with a salted caramel sauce and topped with pepitas.
Now THAT is a pumpkin donut worthy of my time and attention.
I make plenty of donuts from scratch, but for this one I wanted to use a gluten-free cake mix as the base. It really is a great solution when you want the perfect cake donut consistency.
I opted for Pamela’s gluten free vanilla cake mix. You can get it here on amazon in a multi-pack or at most health food stores. I bought mine at Natural Grocers.
What is the Best Donut Pan?
I personally like to use these silicone mold donut pans. I find that the donuts stick less and it is so easy to pop the donuts out. Just pull the silicone to start loosening the edges and flip it over!
With the regular molds, if it sticks at all, you find yourself scraping the edges and ruining the donut!
That is just personal preference, though. Either the silicone or the regular will work!
How Long Will Donuts Last?
Since these gluten free pumpkin donuts are not filled with anything, you can leave them out overnight on the counter. I would eat them by the next day.
You can also store them in the fridge and get one more day out of it, but donuts aren’t meant to last too long.
For both cases, make sure to use an airtight container!
Can I Skip the Glaze and Toppings?
You sure can! In fact, I usually leave a few plain because one of my kids likes plain donuts and the rest like them lathered in goodness!
Sometimes it is fun to have a regular topping instead of a glaze. These gluten free pumpkin donuts use a powdered sugar and cinnamon topping. YUM!
How To Make Pumpkin Donuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a donut pan with a bit of coconut oil.
In a large bowl mix together the cake mix, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, almond milk, and pumpkin puree until smooth.
Fill each mold almost to the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. And this is what happens when you overfill the molds. It’s all good because they all taste the same!
When you flip them, they still look like lovely donuts!
While the donuts are baking make the caramel.
Place all caramel ingredients into a medium sauce pan and set over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low to a bubbling simmer.
Continue to stir frequently for about 15 minutes until it has reduced and thickened. Set aside to cool.
To make the glaze heat the almond milk over low heat and whisk in the sweetener, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth.
Keep on the lowest heat setting while dipping the donuts.
Assemble by dipping the donuts into the glaze, place on a wire rack. Drizzle with salted caramel and sprinkle one side with pepitas and the other with powdered sweetener.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 box gluten free cake mix (I used Pamela’s Vanilla Mix
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
Glaze
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup powdered sweetener I use low carb sweeteners
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Salted Caramel
- 1 13.5- oz can full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup granular sweetener I use low carb Lakanto monk fruit
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup I use sugar free Lakanto syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Toppings
- Raw pepitas
- powdered sweetener
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a donut pan with a bit of coconut oil.
- In a large bowl mix together the cake mix, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, almond milk, and pumpkin puree until smooth.
- Fill each mold almost to the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.
- While the donuts are baking make the caramel. Place all caramel ingredients into a medium saucepan and set over high heat.
- Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low to a bubbling simmer.
- Continue to stir frequently for about 15 minutes until it has reduced and thickened. Set aside to cool.
- To make the glaze heat the almond milk over low heat and whisk in the sweetener, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth.
- Keep on the lowest heat setting while dipping the donuts.
- Assemble by dipping the donuts into the glaze, place on a wire rack. Drizzle with salted caramel and sprinkle one side with pepitas and the other with powdered sweetener.
Nutrition
Trina Krug is a Holistic Nutritionist, Integrative Health Coach and host of the Carbless Conversations Podcast. With a Master’s Degree in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, her single mission in life is to facilitate self-healing in herself and those around her through awareness, lifestyle shifts and low-carb eating. As a current Doctor of Science student, she continues her studies in functional nutrition.