Toasted Coconut Donuts

I have been stung by the baking bug, more like donutquitoo. If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed it here and here. 

..In Hindu tradition (varies from one household to another and I am not an expert when it comes to religion/tradition so feel free to chime in)whenever a new purchase/investment is made, it is customary to perform a puja (prayer) and offer the purchase/investment to God in which it involves breaking a whole coconut. My family performed the puja on my brothers new car, broke a whole coconut, and sprinkled coconut water all around the car in order to receive blessings and protection from God. The meat of the coconut is often kept as ‘prasad’ (holy food offering given to God during pujas) and eaten later. Even though I missed the prayer, I was excited to receive big chunk of fresh coconut meat. 

Fresh coconut meat is good by itself but when incorporated into a donut – I think it serves it’s purpose best. Just saying. 

If coconut donut is not your thing – use same recipe (below) but skip the grated coconut altogether & substitute coconut extract with vanilla extract. Use glaze of your choice or roll them in cinnamon sugar. Either way it will brighten up your day.

If you are not familiar with removing meat out of coconut’s shell – I highly recommend reading this. Grating coconut meat is also quite a task but worth it.. If you are anything like me – you will do one of two things : whine a lot or watch your mom do it skillfully. At the end, the crunchy, slightly nutty flavor of toasted coconut will steal the show as it sits atop soft, moist donut glazed with sticky sugar glaze. 

All I can say is half a dozen is not enough (for 2 people) and soon you will be back to the grind – grating more coconut.  

yields: 6 donuts

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon canola oil 
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon coconut extract 
1/4 cup milk ( i used unsweetened almond milk) 
1/4 cup grated coconut (i used freshly grated)
cooking spray

1/2 cup powdered sugar
2-3 drops coconut extract
2-3 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup grated coconut (toasted – directions to follow)

Donut pan
Large size ziplock bag or piping bag

– Preheat oven to 325F and spray donut pan and keep it aside.
– In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and grated coconut.
– Melt butter in microwave.
– In a kitchenAid mixer, add egg, milk, oil, coconut extract, melted butter then mix it. together. Add flour mixture and stir it until everything combines well. May use handheld mixer or use a strong whisk to combine ingredients.
– Pour the mixture into a zip lock bag, seal it, and make a hole at the end by cutting with a scissor or use a piping bag. Pour batter evenly in a greased donut pan filling 3/4 of it.
– Bake for 10-12 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
– Remove from oven, allow it to cool before frosting.

– Line baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly spread a layer of grated coconut.
– Bake it along with donuts. I placed grated coconut on top rack while donuts were on the middle rack.
– Remember to stir it – I stirred it once after 5-6 minutes.
– Remove from oven along with donuts or may leave little longer for extra crunch.

– In a small bowl combine the powdered sugar, coconut extract and milk. Blend it together to form a slightly thick paste.
– Take individual donut, dip in sugar glaze, then immediately adorn with toasted coconuts.

It’s best when served immediately.

On a side note: here’s a great article that discusses the hype regarding coconut oil by a fellow dietitian Gina@ CandidRD : Is Coconut Oil Really As Great As They Say? 

Do you or your family follows any tradition when new purchase/investment is made?
or just tell me about your favorite donut.