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Jam filled doughnuts on a wire rack

Easy Vegan Air Fryer Doughnuts


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5 from 4 reviews

Description

THE BEST VEGAN AIR FRYER DOUGHNUTS! Easy to make, fluffy with a delicious jam filling. They taste just like the real deal!!! 


Ingredients

Units Scale

Ingredients for the doughnuts

  • 130ml of dairy-free milk
  • 7g of active dry yeast
  • 30g + 1 teaspoon of caster sugar
  • 200g of plain flour
  • 20ml of sunflower oil
  • 40g of dairy-free butter

Ingredients for the filling and coating

  • 5 tablespoons of dairy-free butter
  • 80g of caster sugar
  • 1 jar of berry jam (I chose raspberry jam)

Instructions

Method (doughnuts)

  1. Pour the dairy-free in to a saucepan, place on the hob and heat on low until warm. You don’t want the milk to be too hot or it can kill the yeast, it just needs to be warm. Sprinkle in the yeast and a teaspoon of the sugar, stir to combine then cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 5-10 minutes to activate. You’ll know the yeast is activated when it’s frothy.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour and sugar. Stir to combine. 
  3. Melt the butter in a saucepan on the hob over low until fully melted.
  4. Once the yeast mixture has frothed up, pour into the dry ingredients along with the oil and melted butter.
  5. If you’re using a stand mixer, place the bowl on the mixer and attach a dough hook. Begin to knead the dough on a low speed until it starts to come together. You can also knead by hand on a floured work surface, but this will take longer. The dough should start to become smooth and elastic after 3-5 minutes. Once it looks like it’s coming together, turn out on a clean worktop dusting with flour and knead until smooth and elastic. It should feel soft and pillowy. Do not over knead!
  6. Place the dough into the greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Place the bowl into a warm area for 1 – 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. After 30 minutes, check on the dough. You should start to see the dough rising. If it isn’t, place the bowl into a warmer area. See notes for more proving tips*.
  7. Once risen and doubled in size, turn out the dough onto a floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle, around 1 inch thick. This dough doesn’t make too make doughnuts so try not to roll it too thin. If you roll them too thin, you risk them not puffing up in the oven. Use a cookie cutter (around 1 inch) to cut as many doughnuts out from the dough, and place onto a lined baking tray. Gather up the excess dough and repeat.
  8. Cover the doughnuts with a tea towel and allow to rest in a warm area for 1 – 2 hours or until risen and puffy again. 

Air fry the doughnuts

  1. Once the doughnuts have risen, preheat the air fryer to 180ºC and grease the inside of the air fryer with a little sunflower oil. Place a few doughnuts into the basket at a time, making sure they have room to puff up and bake.
  2. Bake the doughnuts in the air fryer for around 8 – 10 minutes or until they are golden in colour. You can check & flip the doughnuts half way through to make sure they are evenly baked and golden. Repeat until all doughnuts are baked.
  3. Remove from the air fryer and repeat for the rest of the doughnuts. 

Coating the doughnuts

  1. In a saucepan, melt the dairy-free butter. Dip or brush butter all over the warm, freshly baked doughnuts then roll them in caster sugar. Place the doughnuts on some kitchen paper, and repeat until all the doughnuts are covered.
  2. Fill a piping bag with raspberry jam and snip off the tip. Poke a hole in the side of the doughnuts and pipe in a generous amount of jam. 
  3. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

To store: Best enjoyed day of making, or store in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.

What dairy-free butter to use? You can either use a vegan butter or margarine for this recipe. I used Flora Plant Block.

Where should I prove the dough? The dough will want to prove in a warm area, so place it somewhere where it will have some warmth, like next to a radiator, in the conservatory (if warm and sunny), in the airing cupboard or next to a heater. You can even heat the oven to 50 degrees c, once its reached temperature, turn off the oven and leave the door open for 15 minutes. This will create a nice warm atmosphere for the dough to rise. Place the bowl in the oven, leave the door slightly open / wedge it ajar (do not close the door), so it has some air and leave for the proving time. if the oven is too hot, this can actually cook the dough and it wont be right to use! 

What dairy-free milk is best? The best vegan milk to use is soya milk, but almond, oat etc will work great too!

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
  • Category: Doughnuts
  • Method: Air Fryer
  • Cuisine: American