Whoever came up with the phrase “too much of a good thing” obviously never tried a swoonut….and these red velvet swoonuts with cashew creme frosting are no exception.

Red velvet traditionally refers to a dark chocolate cake with a hint of red in the crumb. This is usually created with red food colouring, but some clever cookie started using dried beetroot instead. They also threw in some delicious spices like vanilla and cinnamon, and a new style of red velvet cake was born.

I created a red velvet latté blend in this style (you can find it here), which ended up being the inspiration for these swoonuts.

Truth be told, I made a batch of this red velvet blend but I used a different brand of beetroot powder. The result was, well, not good. The beetroot wasn’t finely ground enough, so when I made a red velvet latté, I ended up picking little bits of beetroot off my tongue.

Not delicious, or fun.

Needless to say, I put the remainder of that red velvet blend to use in a batch of chocolate swoonuts. They turned out so surprisingly well that I ended up making them a couple more times – just to be sure, of course.

Like the original spiced vanilla cake swoonuts, this red velvet version has a lovely soft, melt in your mouth texture with a subtle hint of spice. They can be whipped up in around 20 minutes, and best of all, they’re completely dairy, gluten and refined sugar free.

If you’re a red velvet purest then you’ll like yours topped with cream cheese frosting. As these swoonuts are dairy free, I’ve added a recipe for a cashew creme frosting that’s essentially a vegan version of the traditional frosting. Equally, these red velvet swoonuts are just as delicious when simply dipped in sugar! Enjoy.

Red Velvet Swoonuts with Cashew Creme Frosting

Makes: 12 donuts
Prep time: 20 minutes Bake time: 10 minutes

Dry Ingredients 
50g rice or buckwheat flour
100g raw cacao powder
40g beetroot powder
50g ground almonds
75g coconut sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
1 tsp vanilla powder
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt

Wet Ingredients
2 eggs
100g coconut yoghurt
200ml coconut or nut milk of choice
3 Tbsp rice syrup, raw honey or pure maple syrup
4 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
extra coconut oil for greasing

Cashew Creme Frosting (Optional)
1/4 cup cashew butter
3 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp pure maple syrup, rice syrup or raw honey
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp nutritional yeast
pinch pink Himalayan salt

Preheat the oven to 180ºC fan bake and lightly grease a donut pan with coconut oil. If you don’t have a donut pan you can also bake these as muffins.

Gently melt the coconut oil if solid.

Place all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir until evenly combined.

Place all the wet ingredients, except the coconut oil, into another bowl and whisk until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until evenly combined, then add the coconut oil and mix to combine.

Drop spoonfuls of donut mixture into the prepared donut pan and spread evenly to fill the holes 3/4 full.

Place the donut tray in the centre of the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until just cooked through. The secret to a good baked donut is not over-baking them. You want them to be just cooked through so they stay lovely and soft on the inside.

The donuts are ready when they bounce back when lightly pressed and knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove the donuts from the oven and allow to rest a few minutes before tipping them out onto a wire rack. They should come out easily. If not, try gently teasing the donut sides while holding the tray upside down.

Allow the donuts to cool completely before either coating with granulated sugar or spreading with the cream cheese frosting.

Store the donuts in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze up to 1 month.

To make the cashew creme frosting: place the coconut oil in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of steaming water with the heat turned off. When melted, remove the bowl from the heat. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir until well combined. Alternatively, add them to a blender and blend until smooth.

POPULAR POSTS