Chocolate Frosted Orange Donuts

I have something really embarrassing to tell you.

So I pretty much never know the correct way to store my baked goods. Either I wrap it all up super close in an airtight container when it is still entirely too warm resulting in a big gooey mess of cookies/cupcakes/etc. basically unbaking themselves; or I leave everything out chillin’ with all the breezy air flowing freely throughout my house resulting in stale baked goods in something like 48 hours.

It is a particularly sad experience to spend 75% of your life baking cookies, only to end up not being able to enjoy them the next day. Life is hard when you have a food blog.

Okay, but we’re not even to the embarrassing part yet. This happened when I chose option B, letting my baked goods hang out (read: I was lazy, and didn’t store anything properly). You see, this became a problem because I was unbelievably head over heels for these donuts. That’s part of the reason I didn’t store them in the first place. They were so tempting. I was scared to keep them.

Well, my plans to trick myself into not eating all of the donuts failed miserably when I found myself picking at the lone stale donut still standing 3 days later. That’s the embarrassing part. But if you baked  the most perfect tasting orange donuts that were melt-in-your-mouth soft, and covered with sweet chocolatey goodness, you would be picking at the stale leftovers too.

Oh, and by the way, they’re vegan, and gluten-free.

Chocolate Frosted Orange Donuts

yield 8-10 donuts

For the donuts:

• 2 cups almond meal
• zest of 1 orange
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• dash salt
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup honey or agave
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/2 tsp orange extract

For the frosting:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2-4 tbsp hot water
• 1 and 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

Directions:

1. Start with the donuts. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray donut pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together almond meal, orange zest, corn starch, baking powder and salt. Stir in almond milk, honey/agave, orange juice and orange extract until combined.
3. Fill donut molds about 2/3 – 3/4 full. Bake for 12-16 minutes until golden and set. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack (I flipped mine over onto the rack and they came right out) to cool completely.
4. To make the frosting, place powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Slowly add in water 1 tbsp at a time, stirring constantly, until it reaches a spreadable glaze consistency. Stir in melted chocolate. If glaze becomes too thick, add an other tbsp hot water. Spread glaze on top of cooled donuts.
5. Top with extra orange zest and/or sprinkles if desired. Store in an airtight container (so you don’t pick at stale donuts) for up to one week.

**Note: If while spreading the glaze it becomes too stiff, stick the bowl in the microwave for 10 seconds, and it will thin out again.