Light, fluffy and incredibly moist, these Orange Olive Oil Baked Donuts are a real taste sensation. The pungent, fruity oil balances perfectly with the orange & the sticky glaze finishes them off perfectly!
Spring personified. That's what these Orange Olive Oil Baked Donuts are. There isn't actually all that long left of spring and I've been sitting on this recipe for a while now. I had actually forgotten all about it, then while scrolling Instagram last night, noticed that it is National Donut Day today. That reminded me, and I spent a frantic 30 minutes searching my hard drive for the photos which I took months ago.
I do a bit of free-lance work here and there and actually created this recipe for another website, then decided at the last minute that I couldn't part with it. It was meant for here and here only. These baked donuts are that good!
Any day that celebrates donuts has got to be a good one. I am pretty fond of them to say the least and I think that on National Donut Day it is perfectly ok to eat donuts for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I say we start the day with my Pumpkin Orange Donuts, have my Vegan Raspberry Donuts for lunch, then finish the day with these new Orange Olive Oil Baked Donuts.
You have probably noticed that I try to bake oil-free whenever I can, but I am not opposed to using a little bit of oil in my cooking occasionally and these donuts are so worth the indulgence. You might think orange, olive oil and donuts are a strange combination but it works.
It works so well!
I love to use good extra virgin olive oil in these baked donuts, but I understand you might be wary about the flavour combo at first and it's perfectly ok to use standard olive oil instead the first time if you want to play it safe. Standard olive oil has a much milder flavour and you probably won't taste it at all against the orange. If however you love extra virgin olive oil then be sure to use it the first time round. You are in for a treat!
The orange flavour totally shines through, even against the strong extra-virgin olive oil. I absolutely the love the fruity pungency with the zesty orange. There is something almost sophisticated about it....
Sophisticated donuts? ????
Humour me....It's as close to sophisticated as I'll ever get...????
As well as giving great flavour, the oil adds incredible moistness. The baked donuts are perfectly light, airy and moist. They also smell fantastic! When I was shooting the photos it was intoxicating!
The donuts are pretty awesome on their own, but in my world they only know one language: glazed. Dunk or drizzle. The choice is yours but whatever way you do it prepare to get messy!
I would love to know what you think of these Orange Olive Oil Baked Donuts. Be a ☆ and leave a comment below and snap a photo for Instagram too and hashtag it #AVIRTUALVEGAN. I’d love to see your donuts!
Recipe
Sticky Orange Olive Oil Baked Doughnuts
Author:Ingredients
For the doughnuts
- 135g | 1 cup all-purpose flour , sifted
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- â…› teaspoon baking soda
- â…› teaspoon salt
- 45g | ¼ cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons | ¼ cup olive oil , (use a light olive oil if you don’t want to taste it, or extra virgin if you do. I use extra-virgin. The flavor compliments the orange beautifully)
- 120mls | ½ cup plant-based milk
- 60mls | ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 orange , zest of , use the 1 orange to squeeze the juice and for it's zest
- A few drops of olive oil to grease the donut pan
For the frosting
- 100g | 1 cup natural powdered sugar
- 1 ½ - 2 tablespoons orange juice
For decoration (optional)
- 2 slices of orange , each cut small wedge shape pieces
- 1 tablespoon sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
For the doughnuts
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Grease a 6-hole doughnut pan with a little olive oil
- Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into a bowl.
- In a jug or another small bowl combine the olive oil, plant-based milk, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract and orange zest.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined and you can no longer see any dry flour. Do not over mix.
- Spoon carefully into the doughnut pan. Fill to the top and gently clear the middle area of batter.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
- Leave in the pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
For the orange decoration
- Line a small baking tray with parchment paper. Lay the orange pieces on the tray and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes or until the sugar has melted completely and is bubbling. Remove and allow to cool completely. They will still be slightly moist, but chewy.
For the frosting
- Gradually add the orange juice to the powdered sugar stirring well in between each addition. Stop when it reaches a very thick white frosting.
- Top each doughnut with a drizzle of frosting and a small wedge of the baked orange.
NOTES
Sandy P says
these are amazing! I don't like the flavour of olive oil so I subbed avocado oil and they turned out perfectly. Omnis in the house loved them as well so that is a HUGE bonus. Thank you for this recipe!
Lauren says
Can I make this in a loaf bread pan as like a pound cake?
Thank you so much
Melanie McDonald says
Technically yes it will work as a cake but you will need to increase the amount for it to fit the pan well.
Mary says
I have to say, I am not a vegan. Super far from it actually. But I needed a vegan option for my husband’s coffee shop. And geez, these are amazing!! I loved, loved, loved them!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's great Mary! I'm really pleased you enjoyed them. Thank you for stopping by to leave a review. It's much appreciated!