V-day is coming up fast. To me, it’s just another day, but I have to say, I do love eating those crunchy sweethearts and all the cheap candy. It reminds me of being a kid and everyone in the class had to bring valentines and drop them in your paper bag. 😁 I always hoped for fun dip. Anyway, these old-fashioned blood orange doughnuts are dense and moist, but cakey and tart like a good ol’ cake doughnut. Each doughnut is golden and crispy on each side, then dunked into a tart blood orange glaze. The pink glaze and bright flavors remind me of Valentine’s day so that’s the idea, but really, these are good all year-round, especially during citrus season.

I’ve been making a few blood orange things lately and donuts were really on my mind that week so I went for it. Normally, I don’t love to fry things because dealing with oil isn’t fun, but I have to say, doing it maybe once or twice a year is worth it!

When I’m at a doughnut shop, I’ll normally pick a nice big yeast doughnut, but sometimes I just want a nice dense cakey donut. This is just it! These blood orange doughnuts are dense and tender, but still, melt in your mouth and are delicious.

what you need

• Sugar
• Butter
• Egg Yolks
• Flour
• Baking Powder
• Sour Cream
• Oil for frying
• Blood Oranges
• Powdered Suagr

difference between yeast doughnuts and old fashioned

Yeast doughnuts are typically fluffy and light because the rising agent is, you guessed it, yeast. Old fashioned doughnuts are dense and more cake-like because the rising agent is a baking powder instead of yeast.

It depends on my mood, but I’m typically a yeast doughnut person, but a good cakey one is always the best. I don’t mean the dry cakey ones, but the buttery dense ones…mmm.

A bonus of the old-fashioned ones is that they take less time!

how to make the old fashioned blood orange doughnuts

As far as a fried doughnut goes, these are super easy and will be ready by the time the kids get up.

Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar in another bowl. Add eggs yolk and continue to mix.

Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix. Then, add half of the sour cream. Continue to mix and alternate until fully combined.

Form the dough into a ball. Add it to a lightly greased bowl and chill for at least 1 hour.

Once chilled, roll your dough on a lightly floured surface until 3/4″ thick. Use a doughnut cutter to cut out circles (or use a cup and then a piping tip for the center). Knead, cut, and repeat for the rest of your dough.

Pre-heat your large pot of oil to 325 F. 3-4″ of oil should do. Once the oil is heated, add 3 doughnuts to the oil and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. Make sure to watch the heat because it will fluctuate during the frying process. It will normally drop after adding them, but let it come back to 325 F before adding more. If your oil is too hot, the outside will cook faster than the center and be too brown.

Once fried, dry them on a cooling rack, then dip in your blood orange glaze.

savoring and storing your old fashioned doughnuts

Congrats! You did it! Now, take a bit of those goodies. Doesn’t the dense cakey doughnut just melt in your mouth? I still love a good yeast donut, but mmm, why not have cake and a donut at the same time??

Once you’re done indulging, add them to an air-tight container and store them for up to 2 days. They are really best eaten the same day, but they can last a few extra if needed.

If you’re a big citrus fan like me, now is the best time to make these while citrus is in season. Frankly, if you have some oranges lying around, you can use those too! Might I suggest a good weekend to make these easy old fashioned doughnuts. Doesn’t that pink color jsut look so pretty?

Love doughnuts? Check my favorites out:

• Baked Apple Cider Donuts
• Strawberry & Vanilla Stuffed Donuts
• Old Fashioned Chai Spice Donuts

Did you make these? Let me know below or on Instagram! I love seeing your baked goodies! Tag me @tuesday.treats or send a comment below.