Meringue Frosted Butterbeer Baked Doughnuts (Vegan)

Hey, hey, hey you guys! I’ve got another nerdy one for you today!

I’m pretty excited to share this one, not gonna lie. Okay, first things first; This recipe! Before I say anything I’m giving you full warning that I’m kinda, sorta…..a really big Harry Potter nerd! (Deal with it.) Hey, I can’t help that one of the situational hazards of being born in the 90’s was the HP craze, (It’s the fandom that chooses the fan. It’s not always clear why.) Did I take that too far? Feel free to throw your head back and roll your eyes at me here.

Anyway, these are so much fun to make and they’re really not too difficult. I think the part that I was most in love with is the ultra light and fluffy meringue topping. I don’t know if everyone know’s this, but you can make a great meringue out of a very surprising ingredient. Do you know which one I’m talking about? That’s right, garbanzo bean water, or as it’s more commonly referred to; aquafaba. In fact, I’d say this type of meringue holds up much better the your traditional meringue ingredients and it’s so much healthier. I mean, yes there’s still a lot of sugar, but at least you don’t have to worry about any raw ingredients.

Alright, so there’s that, and then there’s the soft and deep-flavored doughnuts themselves. I think creating treats from fictional stories is just the best because it gives you so much creative freedom. The caramel on top is sort of optional but I think it gives them the best finishing touch.

So do any of you remember when I made butterbeer floats last year? Omg, they were simply THE BEST! I’ve had butterbeer near the top of my list of flavors to do, so when I had the urge to make some baked doughnuts the other day it was a total lightbulb moment. All I had to figure out was how to capture the flavor of a drink, that’s based on a fictional book’s description by the way, in the form of a doughnut.

If you somehow missed getting pulled into the tide of Potter fans and are wondering what butterbeer is, well, essentially it’s butterscotch flavored cream soda. Like I already mentioned though, it’s not a real thing, so many people have come up with their own interpretation of what it tastes like and what it should be. When I make it I start with a butterscotch caramel and use that as my drink base to add sparkling water and cream to. Although, I had to think outside the box to doughnut-ify this flavor since you can’t make a fizzy doughnut outside of a J.K. Rowling book. Instead of using caramel, which is hard to do and still get good texture, I used some shortcuts to create the flavor I wanted without having a dry cake.

Shortcut number one is to add coconut sugar to give it them a note of caramel. You can replace it with dark brown sugar if you don’t have coconut sugar on hand though. Okay, and the other things I added were a little dark coffee because it adds depth, and then a splash of real scotch just to give it that hint of warm and cozy flavor you have in butterscotch. It’s all part of the final masterpiece! If you don’t want to use the scotch that’s totally fine. I’ve skipped it before and found that it can be left out and you’ll still have an awesome treat.

After I made the doughnuts I spent a while in trying to choose how best to top them. I wanted it to be reminiscent of the froth on top of a float. That’s when I remembered my s’mores cookie cake and the marshmallowy fluff I made for it. Bingo, I had to do that and I’m pretty glad I did!

So I really hope you are as excited to make these now as I am in sharing them with you. If you were looking for the ultimate way to indulge in imaginary tastes from the wizarding world, I don’t see how these could disappoint!

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Meringue Frosted Butterbeer Baked Doughnuts (Vegan)

If you've never made a recipe from Harry Potter are you even a super fan? These doughnuts are the perfect treat to make for your next HP marathon or party!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 14 doughnuts

Ingredients

Dark Butterscotch Caramel Sauce:

• 1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons scotch whisky optional
• 2 tablespoons dark black coffee
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Doughnuts:

• 2 tablespoons Flaxseed Meal
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 cup coconut sugar you can also use dark brown sugar
• 1 13.5 oz can coconut cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure maple extract
• 2 tablespoons strong black coffee
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 cups flour plus more for dusting pans (*see note)

Meringue Frosting:

• 1/2 cup aquafaba liquid from a can of garbanzo beans
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

Caramel:

1. Combine brown sugar, cocnut milk, molasses, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Bring to a soft boil and stir occasionally, scraping sugar from sides of pan, for about 10 minutes or until it starts to get thick and develops a dark amber color. Add the scotch and coffee and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 5 minutes until sauce is thickened, then stir in vanilla and cool. Store any extra caramel in an airtight container until in refrigerator.

Doughnuts:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C) and grease 2 6-count doughnut pans lightly with oil and flour well then shake out any excess.
2. Mix the almond milk, flax meal, and vinegar in a medium mixing bowl and allow it to set for at least 5 minutes. Sift the flour into a separate bowl and stir in salt, nutmeg, and baking powder.
3. Now stir in the coffee, molasses, maple and vanilla extracts, coconut sugar, and coconut cream into the almond milk mixture until well combined.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into wet mixture and use a large rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients together (Leaving a few small lumps is fine. It's more important not to overmix.).
5. Divide the batter into the doughnut pan slots and fill just to the rim (You should have enough for about 14 doughnuts so you might need a third pan or simply to rotate pans after baking the first ones.). Bake for 25 to 28 minutes until the top edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and cool for at least 10 minutes. Once cooled, carefully loosen the doughnuts from pan and place on a wire rack to finish cooling completely while you make the frosting.

Meringue Frosting:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, start beating the aquafaba and cream of tartar on medium speed and increase speed a little after every minute for about 5 minutes until soft peaks form. Now add the sugar, vanilla, almond, and salt and beat on high until stiff peaks form. At this point it should be very stiff and hold its shape well.

Assemble:

1. To finish, top each of the cooled doughnuts with a generous amount of the frosting and use a small spoon to make little peaks as desired. Drizzle them lightly with as much of the caramel as you'd like and serve as soon as possible. Store in an airtight container.
2. For maximum enjoyment eat these while having a full on Harry Potter marathon. Not a requirement but highly recommended!)

Recipe Notes

*If you'd like to make these gluten free you can easily replace the flour with your favorite gluten free baking flour.