Baked Vanilla and Pea Donuts

Peas? Yes, really! We use lots of vegetables and fruits to add natural sweetness to our baking, so why not peas? They are unusual, but rather fun, I think. These donuts are also equally delicious dipped in Chocolate glaze or spread with Choc avocado mousse. Garnish with frozen peas for added texture if you like.

Baked Vanilla and Pea Donuts:
Makes 12

300 g (10½ oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

140 g (5 oz/1 cup) frozen green peas, thawed, plus extra to garnish

125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) full-cream (whole) milk

100 g (3½ oz) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

100 g (3½ oz/¹?³ cup) Apple purée (recipe in Incredible Bakes)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

1 teaspoon liquid stevia

1 tablespoon slivered pistachios

Avocado coconut icing

1 ripe avocado, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon coconut powder

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice, plus extra if required

Baked Vanilla and Pea Donuts, how to:

Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F (fan-forced). Generously grease two 6-hole 80 ml (2½ fl oz/¹?³ cup) capacity donut tins with the extra melted butter. (If you don’t have two, don’t worry, they will be fine cooked in two batches.)

Sift the flour and baking powder together into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the peas, milk, butter, apple purée, eggs, vanilla and stevia, and then stir until combined. Put the batter in a piping bag fitted with a 1.5 cm (½ in) plain nozzle (or use a large sealable plastic bag with the corner snipped off) and pipe the mixture into the prepared donut holes (alternatively, you can spoon the batter in).

Fill each hole about two-thirds full. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until well-risen and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.

Carefully loosen the donuts and turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the avocado coconut icing, mash and stir the avocado until smooth. Add the coconut powder and lime juice and mix well. Add a little more lime juice to adjust the flavour balance and consistency if you like.

Spread the cooled donuts with the icing and sprinkle with the pistachios and extra peas. Serve immediately

Caroline Griffiths is an accredited cook and nutritionist, food writer, and food stylist based in Melbourne, Australia. She is a passionate food expert with over twenty-five years of food industry experience, including working for the Australian Women’s Weekly. She has contributed to many cookbooks, food magazines, and websites. Caroline loves to create recipes that are flavourful, wholesome, creative, and achievable. She recently published a baking recipe book with difference – Incredible Bakes.