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Orange Creamsicle Cake Doughnuts

Orange Creamsicle Cake Doughnuts

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking power
  • 1 tsp grated orange zest
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp orange extract
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 5 tbsp melted (and cooled) butter

For the glaze:

  • 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 1/2 tsp light corn syrup
  • 1 tsp orange extract
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp hot water
  • orange food coloring, if desired
  • LOTS of vegetable oil, for frying (I used about 10 cups, but it all depends on the depth of your pot!)

Instructions

  • *Make the dough:* Whisk together flour, baking powder, orange zest, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with sugar until thick and creamy. Slowly beat in milk and melted butter.
  • Pour wet mixture over dry mixture and stir with a large wooden spoon until thick dough forms.The dough should be soft and a little sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
  • Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness on a well floured surface. Cut out doughnuts using a well-floured doughnut cutter, and place on a wax-paper covered baking sheet to rest for 20 minutes. *If you need to re-roll dough to make more doughnuts, only do so once or the dough will get tough. If you do keep re-rolling the dough, use it for doughnut holes instead of whole doughnuts.
  • *For frying:* You’re going to want a sturdy pot that you can fill at least 2 inches deep with vegetable oil while you still have another four inches or so of space between the oil and the top of the pot (you don’t want to overcrowd the pot or have hot oil boil up at you!). Using a candy thermometer, heat the oil to 375. Transfer a few of the doughnuts in carefully; I took Joy of Cooking’s advice and slid them in using a spatula that has been dipped in the hot oil.
  • Fry on each side for about minutes, or until golden brown, then flip carefully with a wooden chopstick. Once brown on both sides, carefully remove with chopstick and let excess oil drip off for a moment before setting down to cool on a cooling wrack layered with paper towels.
  • *Make the glaze:* whisk all ingredients together until a thick and smooth glaze forms. If it seems to thick, add a little bit more warm water as needed to thin it out. Dip half of doughnut in glaze, let excess drip off, then set back on cooling rack until frosting sets. *To make a drizzle: dye the leftover frosting a deeper shade of orange, pour into a sturdy ziploc bag, snip off a corner, and drizzle over tops of frosted doughnuts once the first layer is set.