Hallowe'en Mini Pumpkin Donuts

After my Mini White Chocolate Donut success the other day, I decided I wanted to try and make a slightly more diet-friendly donut for us to take on our Hallowe'en camping trip to the Lake District. I also had plenty of yummy pumpkin leftover from Tuesday's Pumpkin Pasta adventure and had wanted to try making pumpkin donuts for some time.

Again the donuts were really easy to make and even less time consuming as I decided to do away with the piping bag which didn't affect the quality of the donuts at all.

Although most of the donuts are safely packed away in a tin ready for us to eat on our camping trip, Bailey and I did have a few cheeky donuts with a cuppa and we really liked them. They didn't taste boring or healthy at all and had quite a nice cakey texture. They sort of reminded me of carrot cake in a way. Also Bailey discovered they can instantly become a really naughty treat when you put a blob of Arequipe / Dulce de Leche on top of the donut before popping it in to the mouth!

I'll definitely be trying this recipe out again soon, maybe with courgette, carrot or beetroot once the pumpkin-dominated Hallowe'en festivities are behind us!

Recipe (makes 44 mini donuts):
250g flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
50g brown sugar
10g Splenda
230g Pumpkin
2 eggs
4 tablespoons semi-skimmed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4-5 teaspoons granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Chop up the pumpkin and add to a microwave-proof container. Cook the pumpkin in the microwave for 3 minutes until tender. Leave to cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, bicarb, nutmeg and cinnamon together in a large mixing bowl.

Add the sugar and Splenda to the mixing bowl and stir. Mix the cooked pumpkin, the eggs, the milk and vanilla extract in a measuring jug and beat together.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and gradually add the liquid, stirring well after each addition to avoid lumps. When you have a smooth, thick batter, add two teaspoonfuls of the pumpkin donut batter to a mini donut pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Place into the oven for around 15 minutes or until the donuts no longer feel squidgy to the touch.

Take the donut pan out of the oven and allow the donuts to cool for a few minutes before popping them out onto a board and allowing to cool.

Taking about 10 donuts at a time, place them inside a tupperware box and sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar. Shake the box so that all of the donuts get an even coating of sugar to give them a bit of crunch.

The donuts are now ready to be eaten and enjoyed as a Hallowe'eny treat. Have a spooktacular time!