PROCEED WITH CAUTION!
Warning: This post may deter you from your regularly scheduled work day duties and have you driving around like a lunatic in search of a doughnut pan and/or calling into work “sick” in order to stay home and hop onto cloud 9, thanks to these doughnuts.
If the name weren’t enough to make you drool, hopefully the photos will be. I’ve tried several baked doughnut recipes and some have been better than others. They’ve all been great, but alas, here’s the new favorite. I would love to think there’s something even better out there, just for fun…but I’m strongly doubting the possibility. Mhhhmm, that good.
Doughnuts are best when covered with something ooey and gooey. This we know. Check!
Second, we know that doughnuts have to be sweet. They are an indulgent treat, after all. Check!
And lastly, there has to be a clincher. Nuts, sprinkles, fun flavors, etc. Enter blueberry and orange. Check!
The fact that the are 98 calories and just 0.5 grams of fat per doughnut just seals the deal. No need to stop at 1 or 2…but maybe put the breaks on at 3 because you’ll want a glass of milk and doughnuts to welcome in the next day, too.
Orange Glazed Blueberry Doughnuts slightly adapted from Gingerbread Bagels, doughnut recipe adapted from Wilton
2 cups cake flour (or 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup cornstarch)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp orange zest
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
2 eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup blueberries, halved
Orange Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp whole milk
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice + more to thin out, if desired
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Mix. Add in the orange zest and mix it in.
Pour in the buttermilk and add in the eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Gently mix the ingredients together. Be careful not to over-mix the batter. Fold in the halved blueberries carefully.
Lightly grease a doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully spoon the batter into the doughnut pan. You want to fill each one up 1/2 of the way. Bake the doughnuts at 400 F for 8-9 minutes.
While the doughnuts are baking, make the glaze.
Put the powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add in the orange juice, milk and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. If the glaze is too thick, add additional orange juice or milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Once the doughnut are done baking, let them cool in the doughnut pan for 4 minutes. Then remove them from the pan.
Dip one side of each doughnut in the glaze. Set the doughnuts on top of a cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath. Allow the glaze on the doughnuts to dry and serve immediately. Yield: ~21 doughnuts.
Nutrition Information (per doughnut): 98 calories; 0.5 g. fat; 21 mg. cholesterol; 172 mg. sodium; 22 g. carbohydrate; 0.14 g. fiber; 1.9 g. protein (Note: Mr. P insisted on adding nuts to “his” doughnuts – not accounted for in nutrition information.)
Result: Best baked doughnuts to date! I think the key to a light, fluffy doughnut is in using cake flour. I even subbed out all the butter for unsweetened applesauce and halved the glaze recipe. The original recipe also called for glazing the entire doughnut, which I reduced to just one side. We were both impressed with how the blueberry and orange flavors popped and made these packed with fun summer flavor. Enjoy…guiltlessly! 😀
[/print_this]I had planned to post about one of last week’s menu items, but this just had to take precedence. You can thank me later 😉
Question: What food has been putting you on cloud 9 as of late?
Love,
oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh. I’m linking to this on my FB Like page. My peoples gotta know about this. LOL!
This sounds amazing! 🙂
I’m not even a huge doughnut person and I’m drooling over the photos! I will definitely have to get a doughnut pan and make these!
Oh my gosh, these donuts are dangerous! I could definitely down the whole batch in one sitting. Maybe I’ll half the recipe… 😉
Oh my gosh……these look amazing!!!! I’ve been saying forever that I need to buy a donut pan, and this recipe just might push me to actually buy one!
These look SO good. I think I need a donut pan now. 🙂
Yum! I guess I’ll have to try these first with the new doughnut pan. Anything that has buttermilk in it is sure to be moist and delicious!
P.S. We had a mail carriers strike with Canada Post so I think that’s why it took so long to arrive.
Oh my goodness..delicious! I desperately want to buy a doughnut pan, but I’m afraid I would eat the whole batch!! Yum!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…. I NEED to get me a donut pan! STAT! 🙂
Oh my goodness…I think I need to put the rest of my day on hold and go make these!! They look incredible, Nicole!
Holy shizz – um, yes those are insulin worthy!! And I have a donut pan – bookmarked!!
I have seen so many posts with baked doughnuts lately and they’ve made me go on the hunt for a pan!!!! These look stellar Nicole!!!! With the addition of blueberries and orange, they’re practically health food, right??? 🙂 Maybe not, but they look amazing, thanks for sharing, have a wonderful day!!!
Oh my – I dont even know what to say, these sound amazing. I NEED to find a donut pan.
YUMMMMMMMMMM! GONNA MAKE THESE THIS WEEKEND YUMMMM AND DO XTRA EXERCISE TURBOFIRE ADVANCED WORKOUT THEN I WONT FEEL SO CONVICTED! WHAT MODERATION WILL HELP ME NOT FEEL CONVICTED OH O.K. BUT THESE DONUTS SURE LOOK TEMPTINGLY GOOD BUT I WILL BE MODERATE 1/2 ONE IS WHAT I WILL EAT. PROMISE TO SELF 🙂
Oh my gosh – they look amazing!!! Chinese food has me on cloud 9 at the moment 🙂
Omg I am in serious need of a doughnut pan! Orange + blueberry?! Love the idea
absolutely convinced I NEED to order a donut pan today! holy moly!
This post alone has convinced me to buy a donut pan for a bridal shower that I have to go to. I am going to enclose this recipe along with it!!!
oh yes! I must make these!!
I don’t think anything can be a good, fluffy homemade (baked) donut! I love orange added to baked goods. So glad you shared!
Do you think this would be good if I replaced the orange with lemon? I wanna try!
Author
Yes! I think it would be delish!
These look FANtastic!!! I’m loving my donut pan. So much fun 🙂
I have these in the oven right now!! I can’t wait to try them 🙂
Just checking..is this calorie info. per donut made in a regular donut pan or a mini donut pan?
Author
About 4″ diameter…regular size 🙂
woohoo! I thought it was too good to be true but that’s great news 🙂 Im also assuming that accounts for a quick dip in the glaze?
Author
You betcha!!
Great site. A lot of helpful info here. I’m sending it to some friends ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thanks on your sweat!
I made these just this past weekend and they were light, fluffy and just plain delicious! Thanks for the great recipe. 🙂
Shut the front door. This looks SO GOOD. Question: does one really need a doughnut pan? Could it just be like a bread pan or would that not work so well? As a poor, starving (for these!) college student I don’t think I can swing buying a pan. Any thoughts?
Author
Hi Sarah! I would use a muffin tin. I think a bread pan may be a little too deep for the donuts to do their rising. You could also just use a spoon to spoon the batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. That has worked well for others. Hope that helps!
I didnt think healthier donuts were possible. These look fabulous and I cant wait to try these. Can you freeze them? Great pictures as well. Thanks for this recipe.
Author
Anjali: I haven’t tried, but I don’t see why not!
I wonder if you can make them in those cute donut makers (my MIL loves buying me things like those – and gave me one for Christmas this year). Even if not – I’m totally making them in a muffin tin! YUMMA!!
Thanks for the recipe! I made these today with strawberries because I’m not a blueberry fan. They were terrific! I just left out the orange zest and even left off the glaze and they were still delicious.
Looks delish! I will be looking for a donut pan for sure 🙂
How much butter?
I see it mentioned in the instructions but not the ingredients? Am I blind?
Author
Hi Sarah! I apologize – there’s no butter…I used applesauce instead. The ingredient list is correct and I just updated the directions. Thanks for noticing and asking 🙂
Thank you & Sure! I am serious about my carbs 🙂