Cream-Filled Gingerbread Donuts (vegan)

Make the Dough

Divide the almond milk and sugar in half. Combine ½ cup of the warm almond milk and half of the sugar into a small bowl. Mix until the sugar dissolves slightly. Add the yeast and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. The yeast should begin to bubble and froth up after a few minutes.

In another large bowl, cream the remaining sugar with the vegan butter. Add the Just Egg, the remaining almond milk, and coconut oil. Add the vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, clove, and salt (if using). Add the frothy yeast mixture. Mix to combine.

Add the flour to the liquid mixture, 1 cup at a time, stirring until it forms a soft dough. You should be able to easily form a ball with the dough, but it shouldn’t be too sticky to the touch.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for 4 minutes until the outer surface is smooth. Oil a bowl and place the ball in it. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or paper towel, and let rise for about 1 ½ hours or double in size.

Gingerbread Pastry Cream

While the dough rises, in a small saucepan, combine the ingredients for the gingerbread pastry cream. Heat on medium-low heat, whisking continuously until the sugars dissolve and the mixture begins to thicken (about 10 minutes).

Remove from the heat and place in the fridge to cool for at least an hour.

The Cream Filling

In a medium-sized bowl, cream the vegan butter with the powdered sugar until frosting-like consistency forms. Add in 3 tablespoons of the gingerbread pastry cream and mix until well combined and fluffy.

Cover and place in the fridge until ready to fill the donuts.

The Royal Icing & Glaze

Mix the powdered sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla, and aquafaba together until it forms a very thick but still pourable paste-like consistency. Divide in half.

Mix one half of the royal icing with the remaining gingerbread pastry cream to make the donut glaze.

Cover the glaze and the remaining royal icing with a damp cloth and set aside until ready to glaze the donuts.

Make the Donuts

After rising, the dough is ready to roll out when you poke it and the indention keeps its shape.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle about ¾ of an inch thick. Using a gingerbread person-shaped cookie cutter, cut the dough.

Place the cut donuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with a tea towel. Let rise again until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F.

Line your air fryer basket with parchment paper and spray with oil. Place the donuts about 2 inches apart from each other in the basket. You may need to do multiple batches to cook all of the donuts depending on your air fryer's size. Spray the tops of the donuts with more oil.

Air fry for 6 minutes. Then remove from the basket and let cool on a wire rack.

Decorate the Donuts

Once the donuts are cooled, using a chopstick or straw, poke a hole into the top of the donuts. Spoon the cream filling into a piping bag, and fill each of the donuts by squeezing the filling into the top of the donuts. It's okay if some of the filling comes out of the top of the donut.

Glaze the donuts by dipping one side into the gingerbread glaze. Let the glaze harden before decorating. To speed this up, you can place the donuts into the freezer for 5 minutes.

Spoon the remaining royal icing into the piping bag and decorate the donuts as you’d like. (Faces are cute!)