These baked donuts are soft and cakelike with warming flavours of ginger, cinnamon and orange. They’re simple to put together and make a fun and festive treat for the holidays.
The Batter
The donut batter is quite simple and should have the consistency of a cake batter. There is one key ingredient to these donuts that helps to keep it light which is club soda! It acts sort of like yeast creating small little air pockets resulting in a lighter and less dense texture. Because as you probably know, vegan gluten free baked goods can be quite dense!
The main flavours in these donuts are fresh orange zest, cinnamon and crystallized ginger. I love adding chopped crystallized ginger to baked goods, especially this time of the year. It can be easily bought at most supermarkets/health food stores, or you can make it at home with this simple recipe How To Make Crystallized Ginger, skipping any additives and preservatives.
Candied Oranges
Candied oranges are the best orange candies in my opinion! They’re sweet, chewy and bursting with fresh, natural orange flavour. They’re delicious on their own and believe me when I say that you can eat a whole lot of them at one time. They’re on the top of my list of favourite edible decorations.
Making candied oranges is actually very easy, only sugar and water is needed. I find that manderin, clementine and tangerine oranges work best for candying because they hold their shape and colour when cooked and have thin skins which are easy to eat. Large oranges like navel oranges will start to break apart when immersed in the hot sugar mixture. If large oranges are all that is available, I recommend candying thin strips of the peel instead of whole slices.
The oranges only need to be cooked for 10 minutes and will become soft and sticky. They can be used the same day but will be a bit ‘bendy’ and may sink into the donut holes. If kept out overnight to dry they will become stiffer and sit nicely on top of the donuts.
After candying the oranges you’ll be left with a thick orange simple syrup. Make sure to keep it! Store it in a glass jar in the fridge and add it to drinks or drizzle it on top of desserts. It an even be used in replace of maple syrup or honey in some recipes.
Chocolate Icing
My favourite way to ice donuts is dipping them in melted dark chocolate. It makes them less sweet than dipped in a traditional icing sugar glaze and the rich dark chocolate compliments the flavours in these donuts so well. (And also it’s easier!) I always recommend using good quality dark chocolate rather than chocolate chips since they tend to have added ingredients. No added oil is needed when melting high quality dark chocolate. My favourite vegan dark chocolate is Lindt 70% but there many great vegan brands available now.
Why You Will Love These Donuts
✓ Soft, cakelike texture
✓ Dark chocolate, orange and ginger blend perfectly together
✓ Not too sweet
✓ Allergy friendly holiday dessert
✓ Leftover candied oranges and syrup can be used in other holiday bakes
Looking For More Donut Recipes?
- Coffee Ganache Donuts Vegan Guten Free
- Mini Matcha Donuts Vegan Gluten Free
- Chai Spiced Donuts Vegan Gluten Free
- Baked Pumpkin Donuts Vegan Gluten Free
With rich dark chocolate, candied orange, cinnamon and crystallized ginger these donuts are a warming and decadent treat that is sure to be a crowd pleaser whether you’re vegan gluten free or not! I hope that you get to try these donuts this holiday season and love them as much as I do. Wishing you the warmest and happiest of holidays and happy eating always!
Chocolate Donuts With Candied Orange And Ginger
Ingredients
donuts
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup club soda
- 6 tablespoons almond milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (not coconut)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 large organic orange
- 1 heaping tablespoon crystallized ginger, finely chopped
Icing
- 100 grams good quality dark chocolate (1 standard bar)
Candied Oranges
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2-3 mandarin, clementine or tangerine oranges
- few sprigs of mint, optional for garnish
Instructions
Candied oranges
- This can be done 1-2 days ahead of time. Slice the mandarins about 1/8 inch thick and set aside. (Only 6 slices are needed for this recipe but I always like to make extras).
- Fill a wide shallow pot with the sugar and water and stir. On medium heat bring to a boil. Add the orange slices. Turn the heat to low, making sure that it is still bubbling. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, gently turning the orange slices over a few times to make sure that all sides get immersed. After 10 minutes the liquid should have reduced to about half and thickened.
- Carefully transfer the orange slices to a cooling rack. For best results let them sit to dry uncovered at room temperature for at least 24 hours. The cooking liquid can be saved and used as a sweet orange simple syrup. Pour the syrup into a glass jar and keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. The candied oranges will last for 2-3 weeks in a sealed container in the fridge.
Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 6 hole donut pan. I find that coconut oil works best for this. If your coconut oil is solid you don't need to melt it. Just use a paper towel to scoop out a bit and spread it on the pan, similar to how you would using butter.
- In a medium sized bowl mix the dry ingredients – almond flour, oat flour, potato starch, cocoa powder, instant coffee, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Make sure that there are no clumps.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup mix the wet ingredients – club soda, almond milk, oil, vanilla extract and orange zest.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently stir until almost incorporated. Add the chopped crystallized ginger and fold until incorporated, making sure not to over mix. The batter should be quite moist like a cake batter.
- Using a piping bag or ziplock bag, pipe the mixture into the greased donut pan, filling each mold all the way to the top.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Let the donuts cool for 20 minutes in the pan before removing onto a cooling rack.
Chocolate Icing
- Once the donuts have cooled to room temperature, melt the dark chocolate. This can be done in a double boiler or in the microwave. For the double boiler method fill a small pot 1/4 of the way up with water. Bring to a low simmer. Break up the chocolate into a large bowl and place it on top of the pot, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts, about 10 minutes. For the microwave method break up the chocolate into a bowl and microwave at 30 seconds intervals, stirring at each one. Make sure not to over heat as chocolate burns very easily.
- Dip each donut into the chocolate and place back on the rack. Add a slice of candied orange to the top. Garnish with mint if desired. The donuts are best eaten the same day (they tend to get slightly dry the next day) but can be kept in the fridge overnight in a sealed container. Bring to room temperature before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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