Spook your guests with these frightfully good Halloween donuts! These baked donuts are also full of warming spice and chocolate orange yummies!

Do you celebrate Halloween?  It’s a (relatively) new thing here in the UK and even though we don’t have children we still often decorate the house, get dressed up, invite our friends and basically have a good giggle, lots of themed food and silly party games.

True story:  One year we invited our friend who works in the Royal Navy.  He’d never met the other family we’d also invited yet chose to hide (in full witches costume and heels) behind the curtain before they arrived.  Bear in mind the father of that family also happens to be a fifth Dan black belt and an anti-terrorist officer.  I think I almost died from laughing that night!

One of my favourite things about Halloween is, of course, the food.  It’s the chance to get really creative and ghoulish.  Embrace our darker side.

Halloween can also be the holiday of the sugar coma.  So I’ve lightened these Halloween donuts up a little by baking them and by using Sweet Freedom’s range of natural sweeteners.  Made with natural fruit extracts I am a HUGE fan of their whole range.

For these Halloween donuts I’ve used their Vanilla Syrup and Choc Shot Orange Spice in the donuts and their Choc Pot for the easiest and quickest chocolate frosting.  No melting, no dripping, just spread it on for a beautiful shiny glaze – I did the same for this gorgeously light and fluffy Chocolate Cake.

One thing to note – the Vanilla Syrup IS limited edition.  But it can easily be subbed with either their Fruit Syrup or any agave or maple syrup and adding an optional dash of vanilla extract.

Did you also know that a lot of sprinkles aren’t vegan?  Check the labels as colourings used often contain animal derivatives including cochineal (made from crushed insects) and shellac (a resin secreted by the female lac bug)

I’ve used these Galactic Gatsby vegan sprinkles from Baking Time Club.  They come in a fantastic range of colours and arrive delicately wrapped in tissue inside a letterbox friendly flat box.

Whilst these Halloween donuts are beautifully light and fluffy, they’re also decadently rich and chocolatey.  I’m a little ashamed to admit that the first time I made them we ate all 12 in one day.  There was no giving away, no sharing the Halloween donut love.  We scoffed the bloody lot.

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