Chocolate Old Fashioned Donuts with Orange and Sea Salt
A classic chocolate sour cream donut base, fried, and topped with orange glaze
Servings 12
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp AP flour and more for dusting
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- Zest of 2 oranges
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 6 cups neutral frying oil
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 1 tbsp coarse sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- In another bowl, work together 4 tbsp of softened butter with the zest of 1 orange. Then, add your white and brown sugar.
- Beat with a hand mixer or vigorously mix with a spatula until the butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add your egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Then, add your sour cream and incorporate until fully mixed.
- Slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, adding 1/3 of the mix at a time. Fold with a spatula to avoid over-mixing.
- Bring your dough together into a cohesive mass and transfer to a flour-dusted pan or piece of parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours until firm.
- Dust your work surface with a generous amount of flour. Remove your dough from the fridge and place flour-side down on the floured surface.
- Dust the top of your dough with more flour and pat into a rectangle (about 12 x 18” and 3/4” to 1” thick).
- Once your dough is rolled out, cut out donut shapes with a 4" ring cutter. Then, use a smaller 1-2" ring cutter to remove a hole from the center.
- Transfer each donut and donut hole to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Save scraps of dough and form into a cohesive dough, rolling back out to 1” thick and cut more donuts until you have no dough left.
- Place all of your doughnut doughs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill in the fridge until ready to fry.
- In a large, deep pan (like a deep cast iron skillet) or a stock pot, heat your frying oil over medium/high heat until it reaches 350°F. Make sure your pan is not filled more than halfway.
- Fry donuts in batches of 3 or 4. Cook for 90 seconds on a side, then flip and cook for another 90 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
- Once all the donuts and holes are fried, let them cool slightly. In the meantime, make your glaze by adding powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl.
- With your remaining 2 tbsp of butter, heat in a microwave-safe dish until melted or cook until golden brown for brown butter. Add to the powdered sugar.
- Add your fresh orange juice and a sprinkle of salt. Whisk into a thick but pourable glaze (the texture of thin pancake batter).
- One at a time, dip your warm donuts into the glaze and let excess drip back into the bowl. Then, place donuts glaze-side up on a wire rack to cool.
- Garnish each donut, before the glaze sets, with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt and fresh orange zest.
Notes
- You can cut these thicker if you want! Try 1" to 1 1/2" for a more plump and rich donut.
- The butter in the glaze is for texture and flavor, but try using brown butter if you want for an extra richness.
- If your dough sticks to your work surface, add more flour and use a bench scraper.