Sweet Potato Doughnut bites topped with Chai Spice caramel. (baked) Vegan

So I was planning on baking up some sweet potato Gulab Jamuns(but the problem with baked goods is that the color doesnt darken to a deep brown like a fried donut..

So once these mildy sweet balls of fluffyness came out of the oven, I decided to drizzle them with a little sticky caramel sauce.. and the sauce was spiced with our favorite home made Indian Chai spice(recipe included below)! I bet some gingerbread spice would be fun in the sauce too! You can make these glutenfree by using your favorite doughnut recipe and top them with this caramel sauce! Here's a glutenfree version at Nannette in the raw.

These are baked and low fat, but of course a decent amount of sugar in the caramel sauce, almost healthy.. Its cold out here, so serve these up with a nice cuppa hot tea!

I have too many to do lists right now, too many draft posts, too many recipes to make and just too many things to do! And when I have one too too many, I cannot decide which one to pick first, which draft to post today and so on.. oh well.. coin flip.. doughnut it is:)

For doughnut balls - makes 12

2/3 cup self rising flour Or all purpose flour + 2/3 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup mashed sweet potato(I boiled mine and mashed it)

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

3-4 Tbsps water

1 Tablespoon coconut or organic canola oil

3 Tbspns raw sugar or equivalent sweetener of choice (the doughnuts are mildy sweet to balance the caramel)

1/8 teaspoon of cardamom powder or chai spice blend (chai spice recipe below)

Mix the sugar in the sweet potato mash and add all the other ingredients except water and mix for a few seconds. Add a Tbsp of water at a time and mix/knead into a soft non too sticky dough.

Oil hands, Divide mixture into an inch balls and place on parchment.

Bake in preheated 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops do not look liquidy.

Chai spice Caramel sauce

Mix 3 Tablespoons sugar in 1 teaspoon water/non dairy milk and heat at medium heat till it starts to melt(3-4 minutes). Add in 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil, 1/2 teaspoon chai spice, 1 Tablespoons coconut milk and keep mixing continuously, until you get a flowy sticky sauce. Add more coconut milk if needed. (I kept the sauce thin, since I dont like a very thick sugar coating on the small balls.)

Pour this sauce over the doughnuts and let it cool a bit before digging in!

We drink loads of tea, light, black, with cream or whichever way. But the tea is always loaded with chai masala!

Hubbs favorite tea involves boiling some nice east Indian tea leaves, along with the chai masala, freshly grated ginger and sugar to a rolling boil. Then adding non dairy milk or creamer and sipping the aromatic concoction every morning. I have been experimenting with different non dairy milks and will do a post on how they work in the Indian Chai soon, and which one seems to work closest to the creamy Tapri chai(tea you get in corner shops in India).

So, a bonus Indian chai masala recipe! Our chai masala is cardamom heavy. Thats the way we like it in the indian tea:). You can use half the quantity of cardamom, if the main purpose for using the spice blend is baking and not indian tea.:)

Chai Spice/Masala blend:

Grind 3/4 cup green cardamom pods, 1/4 cup cinnamon sticks or 2 Tablespoons cinnamon powder, 1/4 cup cloves, 2 Tablespoons whole black pepper, 2 Tablespoons ground ginger. 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds(optional). Store in airtight container!

These doughnuts are heading to Slightly indulgent Tuesdays and Hearth and soul bloghop.