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Light and fluffy baked blood orange ricotta doughnuts dipped in naturally pink blood orange glaze make the best breakfast! If you’re a baked doughnut fan, you’ll love these soft and tender cake doughnuts flavored with blood orange zest and a touch of almond extract. Recipe makes 12 baked doughnuts.
I love making baked doughnuts because they come together quickly (in just about 30 minutes) and bake in under 10 minutes. These easy blood orange doughnuts emerge from the oven fluffy and golden, the perfect anytime treat!
How to Make Blood Orange Ricotta Doughnuts
Room Temperature Ingredients – Bring buttermilk, ricotta cheese, and eggs to room temperature before beginning.
Doughnuts – Place cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, whisking to combine. Combine buttermilk, ricotta, eggs, melted butter, blood orange zest, vanilla, and almond extract in a medium bowl, whisking until smooth. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and fold in just until incorporated (don’t overmix).
Pipe Doughnuts – Transfer the batter to a large piping bag and fill each doughnut cup about 3/4 full. Tap the pan sharply to settle the batter and reduce air bubbles.
Bake Doughnuts – Bake doughnuts for about 8 minutes, until golden and the tops spring back when touched. Turn doughnuts out on a wire rack to cool completely. If you only have one doughnut pan, let the pan cool completely and re-spray with nonstick spray between batches.
Blood Orange Glaze – To make the naturally pink glaze, whisk together melted butter, powdered sugar, salt, blood orange zest, and blood orange juice in a bowl until smooth.
Glaze Doughnuts – Set rack with cooled doughnuts over a piece of wax paper or parchment and dip doughnut tops into glaze. Top with sprinkles and let the glaze set before serving.
Best blood orange desserts:
- Blood Orange Bundt Cake
- Blood Orange Lemon Cupcakes
- Almond Blood Orange Pound Cake
- Blood Orange Ricotta Cookies
Blood Orange Ricotta Doughnuts
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 33 minutes
- Yield: 12 doughnuts
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Light and fluffy baked blood orange ricotta doughnuts dipped in naturally pink blood orange glaze make the best breakfast! Recipe makes 12 baked doughnuts.
Ingredients
Doughnuts
- 2 cups cake flour (see note below)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, at room temperature
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp blood orange zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp pure almond extract
Glaze
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp blood orange zest
- 2 Tbsp blood orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and spray a standard doughnut pan with nonstick spray. Whisk together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Combine buttermilk, ricotta, eggs, melted butter, blood orange zest, vanilla, and almond extract in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture and fold in just until incorporated.
- Spoon batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and fill each doughnut cup 3/4 full. Tap the pan sharply to reduce air bubbles.
- Bake about 8 minutes, until the tops spring back when touched. Turn doughnuts out on a wire rack to cool completely (loosen doughnuts from pan with a spatula if needed). Repeat with remaining batter, allowing pan to cool completely and spraying with nonstick spray in between batches.
- For the glaze, whisk together melted butter, powdered sugar, salt, blood orange zest, and juice until smooth. Set rack with cooled doughnuts over a piece of waxed paper. Dip doughnut tops into glaze. If desired, top with sprinkles and let set before serving.
Notes
To make your own cake flour: place 2 tablespoons cornstarch in an empty 1-cup measure, then top up with flour. Sift the mixture several times to evenly distribute the cornstarch.
Baking powder: Use an aluminum-free baking powder to prevent the doughnuts and glaze from turning blue/discoloring.
These donuts are great! And they come together really quick.