Chocolate Donuts With Candied Orange And Ginger

Ingredients

donuts

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup cane sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup club soda
6 tablespoons almond milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (not coconut)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 large organic orange
1 heaping tablespoon crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Icing

100 grams good quality dark chocolate (1 standard bar)

Candied Oranges

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2-3 mandarin, clementine or tangerine oranges
few sprigs of mint, optional for garnish

Instructions

Candied oranges

This can be done 1-2 days ahead of time. Slice the mandarins about 1/8 inch thick and set aside. (Only 6 slices are needed for this recipe but I always like to make extras).
Fill a wide shallow pot with the sugar and water and stir. On medium heat bring to a boil. Add the orange slices. Turn the heat to low, making sure that it is still bubbling. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, gently turning the orange slices over a few times to make sure that all sides get immersed. After 10 minutes the liquid should have reduced to about half and thickened.
Carefully transfer the orange slices to a cooling rack. For best results let them sit to dry uncovered at room temperature for at least 24 hours. The cooking liquid can be saved and used as a sweet orange simple syrup. Pour the syrup into a glass jar and keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. The candied oranges will last for 2-3 weeks in a sealed container in the fridge.

Donuts

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 6 hole donut pan. I find that coconut oil works best for this. If your coconut oil is solid you don't need to melt it. Just use a paper towel to scoop out a bit and spread it on the pan, similar to how you would using butter.
In a medium sized bowl mix the dry ingredients - almond flour, oat flour, potato starch, cocoa powder, instant coffee, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Make sure that there are no clumps.
In a small bowl or measuring cup mix the wet ingredients - club soda, almond milk, oil, vanilla extract and orange zest.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently stir until almost incorporated. Add the chopped crystallized ginger and fold until incorporated, making sure not to over mix. The batter should be quite moist like a cake batter.
Using a piping bag or ziplock bag, pipe the mixture into the greased donut pan, filling each mold all the way to the top.
Bake for 15 minutes. Let the donuts cool for 20 minutes in the pan before removing onto a cooling rack.

Chocolate Icing

Once the donuts have cooled to room temperature, melt the dark chocolate. This can be done in a double boiler or in the microwave. For the double boiler method fill a small pot 1/4 of the way up with water. Bring to a low simmer. Break up the chocolate into a large bowl and place it on top of the pot, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts, about 10 minutes. For the microwave method break up the chocolate into a bowl and microwave at 30 seconds intervals, stirring at each one. Make sure not to over heat as chocolate burns very easily.
Dip each donut into the chocolate and place back on the rack. Add a slice of candied orange to the top. Garnish with mint if desired. The donuts are best eaten the same day (they tend to get slightly dry the next day) but can be kept in the fridge overnight in a sealed container. Bring to room temperature before eating. Enjoy!

Notes

*Clementines, mandarins or tangerines works best for candying. They hold their shape and do not break apart when heated. Regular large oranges like navel oranges break apart when cooked. If large oranges are the only ones available I recommend candying thin strips of the peel, using the same method in the recipe.

*I don't recommend to use coconut oil in this recipe because it makes the donuts more dense.

* For the icing I recommend using good quality dark chocolate instead of chocolate chips. My favourite high quality vegan dark chocolate bars are Camino, Endangered Species, Theo and Lindt 70% just to name a few!

Nutrition