Rich and tender cake doughnuts infused with fresh orange zest and topped with deep fuschia blood orange glaze – blood orange cake doughnuts are an obsession!
*This recipe was developed in partnership with Kerrygold USA. All opinions are my own, as always. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Lion’s Bread possible.
What’s the difference between cake doughnuts and yeast doughnuts?
Yeast doughnuts, as the name suggests, are made from dough leavened with yeast, similar to bread such as challah and brioche. On the other hand, cake doughnuts are traditionally made from a kind of cake batter that uses a chemical leavener like baking powder or baking soda.
Both are incredible, and there’s no need to try to figure out which is superior. There is plenty of space in the doughnut-loving world for both, and each can be completely irresistible.
Want more doughnut recipes? Check out:
Old Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts
Sufganiyot (Traditional Jelly Doughnuts)
How to make a bright blood orange glaze
If you’ve seen blood oranges in real life, you know that their flesh is a dark burgundy color, which gives the oranges their name! The juice on it’s own is very vibrant, but when mixed with powdered sugar for the glaze, it tends to turn a bubblegum pink color.
I wanted to maintain the deep moody shades of the fresh orange juice, so I add a bit of homemade cooked blueberry puree to the glaze to enhance the deep purple tones.
It sounds fancy and complicated, but it’s really just cooking a few fresh blueberries in a small sauce pan with sugar for a few minutes. Then I press them through a small strainer to extract the juice, and voila! The perfect deep hue of fuschia ever.
How to make homemade doughnuts
Start by making a rich cake doughnut dough using milk, butter, and eggs in a stand mixer. The beauty of making cake doughnuts at home is that you don’t have to wait for the dough to rise, like yeasted doughnuts. Then pour the dough out onto your floured work surface. Roll the dough out to about 1/3″ thickness.
Then, use a doughnut cutter or a 3″ biscuit cutter to cut out as many rounds as possible. Then punch the hole out of the center of each round, and set them aside. I often use a large piping tip to punch the doughnut hole out.
The dough is really tender, soft, but this makes the most tender cake doughnuts! Don’t be intimidated by it. Make sure that your hands and the board are floured very well.
Once the doughnuts are cut, get ready to fry them as soon as possible.
How to Fry Doughnuts
It’s not hard or complicated, I promise, but here are a few tips to get it right every time!
Heat up your deep frying oil in a large heavy bottom pot. You’ll need at least 2.5 inches of oil for a good fry. Use a heatproof candy thermometer, or this very cool laser thermometer. The frying oil should be 350 degrees F, which ideal for deep frying. The temperature of the oil is actually really important. Try to keep an eye on the the temperature of the oil, and keep it as consistent as possible while you’re frying up all of the doughnuts. If the temp drops, wait a few minutes between batches to allow the temperature to come back up again.
Next, fry the doughnuts! This should take about 2-3 minutes per side. I like to use a chopstick to flip the doughnuts halfway through. Let the fried doughnuts drain and cool on a baking rack with a sheet pan underneath. Once all of the doughnuts are fried, dip them in the vanilla glaze. I like to dip one side and let the excess glaze drip down. It’s the perfect amount for me, but let me know how you like to do it!
How to Store
Eat your blood orange cake doughnuts when they’re fresh! The glaze takes about 20 minutes to set, then enjoy them right away. Of course, if you have any leftover, store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature.
Get creative with the flavors of the glaze here, the sky is literally the limit! Some other delicious options are vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, or dipping them in a cinnamon sugar mixture.
Make sure to tag me @lions.bread on Instagram and comment below if you make these Blood Orange Cake Doughnuts. I love seeing my recipes come to life in your kitchens! To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card or on any of the photos above.
Did you make the recipe? Please rate and comment below, I’d love to know what you think 🙂
Blood Orange Cake Doughnuts
Ingredients
Doughnuts
- 1 tablespoon blood orange zest
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons Kerrygold Unsalted Butter softened, 113 g
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup whole milk room temperature, 120 g
- 1/4 cup full fat sour cream room temperature, 60 g
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour 330 g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Blood Orange Glaze
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 cups powdered sugar 390 g
- Juice of 2 blood oranges
- pinch of kosher salt
- 5-6 cups neutral oil for frying
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the granulated sugar and the grated blood orange zest. Use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar. It should be very fragrant. Add the soft butter to the bowl, and begin mixing on medium speed with the paddle attachment.
- Beat until the mixture is light in color and starts to look fluffy.
Add the eggs, milk, sour cream, and pure vanilla extract to the bowl. Beat on medium low speed for 2 minutes until well combined. With the mixer off, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. Use your fingertips to gently mix the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes until the dough comes together, and all of the flour is incorporated, with no dry patches remaining. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure all of ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Pour the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the dough tightly, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Fill a medium heavy bottomed pot with 3 inches of a neutral oil (vegetable, canola, avocado). Use a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature, and bring the oil up to 350°F over medium heat.
Dust the work surface with flour, unwrap the dough, and place on the work surface. Roll out the dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Use a doughnut cutter, or a 3-inch biscuit cutter to stamp out as many doughnuts as possible for the first roll. Set them aside. Gently press the scraps together, re-roll, and cut out the remaining doughnuts.
Place a wire baking rack on a baking sheet, set aside. Fry the doughnuts in batches, usually about 3 at a time, 3 minutes on the first side, then flip, and another 2 minutes until golden brown. It’s important to maintain consistent temperature of 350° when frying the doughnuts, for even cooking. Let the fried doughnuts drain on the baking sheet lined with the wire rack.
Make the glaze. In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries and granulated sugar. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until the blueberries begin to burst and break down. Use a spoon to mash the blueberries and stir until a bright purple syrup forms. Set aside.
In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, blood orange juice, and salt. Then add only the syrupy juice from the blueberry mixture (this brightens the color of the glaze naturally). Whisk until you reach your desired glaze consistency. To thin the glaze, add more orange juice. To thicken, add more powdered sugar.
Dip the doughnuts into the glaze, shaking off any excess, and place back on the wire rack to set (about 15 minutes). Enjoy!
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