Baked Gingerbread Donuts with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pam Cooking Spray. Thank you for supporting cool brands like Pam that make it possible for me to keep creating new recipes and fun content for you to enjoy. 

You may have noticed that I've been making quite a few baked donuts lately. I actually have had these donut pans for a couple years, but it wasn't until earlier this year that I started using them regularly.

I confess that part of the reason has to do with laziness on my part. Though the pans were sold as being "nonstick," that was SO not the case in reality and I was always using 2-3 donuts per batch. So I'd have to make sure to grease them well, but greasing and flouring a donut pan by hand is a bit finicky since you have to work the butter or oil into the little round crevices, then repeat with the flour.

Bah! I'd much rather just butter one bowl, make a big cake, and go about my day.

But then I decided to try out Pam Baking Spray. This handy little spray has flour in it so that you literally just do a quick spritz and you're done. Less than a minute to grease and flour 2 trays, and I was that much closer to my favorite part.

(Yes, by that I mean the eating part.)

I was a little worried that it might have a strange taste or leave weird sticky residue on my baking pans (something that I've experienced with other sprays), but it does neither, which Eugene particularly appreciates since he usually gets the job of cleaning the pan when I'm done.

(He also gets to join in on the eating part.)

This spray is also my lifesaver with the really tricky pans, like my fancy bundt pan, and my old fashioned cake molds. Whenever I use it, I don't have to cross my fingers and pray that the cake will come out easily. It just...always does!

If you're entertaining as much as I am this holiday season, you'll understand how nice it is to have just one less thing to worry about.

Now about this recipe!

These Gingerbread Donuts are an AWESOME dessert to serve at a holiday party.

The easy batter is spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, and gets it's lovely sweetness and color from dark molasses-rich brown sugar. If you can find some really good stuff (like muscovado), I would recommend trying it out here, although regular dark brown sugar will work, too.

The topping is a lovely, velvety cream cheese frosting scented with pure orange and vanilla extracts. If you prefer, you can just dust these with powdered sugar, but I think that cream cheese and gingerbread are a classic combination.

(Honestly, these would be a killer Christmas Day breakfast idea, too.)

And the whole thing is done in less than an hour!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of PAM Cooking Spray. For more information, visit http://www.pamcookingspray.com. All recipes, photos, and opinions are (of course!) my own.
 
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Baked Gingerbread Donuts with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 12 Donuts.

Ingredients
For the donuts:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (if you have access to muscovado sugar, it would work really well here)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the topping:
4oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream + more if needed

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two doughnut pans with baking spray (I like Pam Baking), and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the wet to the dry and mix until smooth and completely combined.

Divide into the doughnut pans and bake in the preheated oven about 20-25 minutes, or until puffed up and spring back to the touch. Let cool in pan about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

For the icing
In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, orange extract, and 1/3 cup heavy cream, and beat until light and smooth. For thinner icing, add additional heavy cream, a couple tablespoons at a time until it's the desired consistency.

Once the donuts are completely cooled, ice and serve. These are best served during the first 12 hours after baking.

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Baked Apple Cider Donuts

If there is one thing I'm rarely able to resist, it's the Apple Cider Donuts at the Union Square Farmer's Market.

Sold by the apple farmers alongside steaming vats of hot apple and pear cider, they're one of my favorite autumn treats.

As much as I love those donuts, the Union Square market is a bit of a hike from my uptown apartment, so it's rare that I actually make it down there. But I recently learned that there actually is a farmer's market held every Tuesday just about half a mile from where I live! Excited to potentially have a market (and these donuts) within walking distance, I packed up Hudson and few grocery bags and walked up there earlier this week. I rushed past the stalls piled with hearty greens and dusty root vegetables in search of the apple vendors and excitedly pushed through once I saw them.

They had a dozen or more varieties of apples, and they had hot steaming cider, but sadly...

No donuts.

The dog and I walked home, enjoying the crisp fall air and crunchy leaves, but with an unsatisfied craving for donuts.

By the time we got home, I'd already decided to make my own.

Real apple cider donuts are fried--something which I do actually plan to do in the future--but for now I wanted something a little quicker.

Hence these Baked Apple Cider Donuts.

It's a quick batter that is then baked in donut pans (or use muffin tins if you don't have donut pans), and then dipped in butter, cinnamon, and sugar. I made sure that they got a great apple cider flavor by doubling the usual amount and then reducing it down to a more concentrated cider.

If like me, you've got a craving, these are definitely a great way to satisfy it (a little bit).

Enjoy!

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!  

Baked Apple Cider Donut Recipe
Makes 12 Donuts. Adapted slightly from Eat Live Run.


Ingredients
1 cup apple cider
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the topping:
6 tablespoons (2/3 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two doughnut pans (6 doughnut wells each).

Place apple cider in a small saucepan over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and let cook 5 -7 minutes, or until cider is reduced by half. Remove from heat and let cool completely (can be done in advance and chilled).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon and set aside. In the base of a mixer or by hand, beat the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and cider reduction. Pour into the flour mixture and mix gently just until completely combined with no dry bits.

Divide into the doughnut pans, filling each about 3/4 of the way. (I use a piping bag for this, but a spoon and wet fingertip works well, too!), and bake in the preheated oven about 20-25 minutes, or until puffed up and golden. Let cool in pan about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

For the topping
Melt the butter and place in a shallow bowl. Whisk sugar and cinnamon and place in another shallow bowl. Dip the donuts into the butter then into the sugar until fully coated. Repeat until all donuts are coated. Let set for a few minutes, and then serve.

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Always Order Dessert on Ramshackle Glam

I have a guest post on lovely lifestyle blog Ramshackle Glam today. Click on over to check out a recipe for donut muffins. Enjoy!

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Sweet Carrot Zeppole

The pizzeria we passed every afternoon sold the zeppole I loved. Only a dollar fifty for six, they were fried to order then tossed into a brown paper bag with a heaping scoop of powder sugar.

I ate these too often, shaking the hot bag as I walked down the sidewalk home from school, feigning interest in football and pop bands just to have things to say to these kids whose passions were so different from my own loves of books and hamsters and extra-terrestrials.

Amidst the awkwardness I clutched my bag tightly, wishing I was home and alone with my messy nuggets of sugary fried dough and the next chapter in whatever book it was that week.

I tried, though. I offered them one, hesitantly tilting the steaming greasy bag in their direction until they shook their heads and recoiled, hands self-consciously smoothing down the sides of their little cheer skirts like women twice their age. Already possessing curves where they still had angles, I use to marvel at the way the fabric fell primly over the straight hips and imagined they way it would twist and flare out inappropriately over my own. Their refusal felt like judgment, leaving me simultaneously relieved and rejected as they flittered off to paint each others faces.

At home alone I delighted in the discovery of a seventh fritter added carelessly or secretly by the large-bellied grump behind the counter. Young enough to eat without guilt and thoughtless abandon, the little puffs would disappear quickly, while I, too, disappeared from my room into the pages.



Some weeks ago, I was consumed with the sudden desire to recreate them at home. Somewhere between the stove and the refrigerator, inspiration struck and I started mixing in things I didn't expect. The results were these orange snowballs you see above. Unlike the traditional zeppole of my youth, these fritters are redolent with autumn spices and sweet ground carrots. A cross between funnel cake and carrot cake, they are surprising and playful. Dust them delicately with sugar and serve while still practically too hot to touch. Make them for breakfast or forget dinner tonight and eat these instead. Warm cider and a novel, I think, would make a fitting companions.

Sweet Carrot Zeppole

Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional if dough is too wet
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 vanilla bean (optional)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
2 tablspoons bourbon or dark rum
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded carrots
coconut or vegetable oil for deep frying
confectioners sugar for dusting



1. Pour about 4 inches of coconut or vegetable oil in a medium dutch oven or pot with a heavy bottom. Set on medium heat with a thermometer in place to check the temperature. The oil will be ready for deep frying when it reaches 350 degrees. (should take about 10 minutes)

2. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves).

3. In the base of your electric mixer or by hand, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape in the seeds. Whisk until incorporated. Add the bourbon or dark rum and the heavy cream and beat quickly until incorporated.

4. Gently mix in the dry ingredients and mix well until fully incorporated.

5. Fold in the carrots. The dough should be wet, but still stiff enough to scoop and hold a loose shape in the oil. If it's too watery, sprinkle in some additional flour until it thickens slightly.

6. Check the oil with a candy/deep fat thermometer and see if it has reach 350 degrees. If so, use a cookie scoop or spoon to drop round spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil in batches (about 2 tablespoons each), being careful not to crowd the pot. Let fry for about 2-4 minutes, or until the fritter is golden on all sides.

7. Remove the fritters from the hot oil and let drain on paper towels while you continue frying the rest.

8. Serve immediately, dusted with confectioners sugar.

Cook's note: The fritters should be eaten immediately, but the batter can be prepared up to 2 hours in advance and kept refrigerated in an air-tight container.

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