My easy baked donut recipe will go into your regular rotation to make old-fashioned cake-style donuts without deep frying! Baked donuts have a softer crust, but they’re so much easier to make than fried donuts—this recipe takes just 30 minutes from start to finish!
I tested my recipe rigorously to ensure these baked cake-style donuts are moist (never dry!) and taste delicious. Buttermilk and baking powder in the batter work together to make donuts that are fluffy, not dense. And you can choose your topping: cinnamon sugar or old-fashioned vanilla glaze. Don’t have a donut pan? You can still make this recipe with my tips for using a muffin pan!
A reader, Ella, says: “These are the best baked donuts EVER! Fantastic flavor and texture. I made both cinnamon sugar and vanilla glaze, both so delicious. My 6-year-old said he prefers these over fried donuts sold in stores.” ★★★★★
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love My Baked Donut Recipe
There are so many reasons to love these easy baked donuts!
- Tender and Fluffy Texture. Buttermilk’s acidity tenderizes the donut batter, and baking powder gives them the perfect lift for a fluffy, cake-like texture.
- Stays Moist. I use a combination of butter and vegetable oil for the best results. Butter gives the baked donuts a lovely flavor. Oil keeps them moist and soft once they’ve cooled (since it remains liquid at room temperature).
- Two flavor options. Choose to top the donuts with a classic cinnamon-sugar coating or an easy vanilla glaze. Or top half the batch with cinnamon-sugar, and the other with glaze (details in the Topping Options section).
Baked Cake Donut Ingredients & Substitutions
These are the main ingredients you need to make these easy baked donuts. You can find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below.
All-purpose flour — some cake donuts call for cake flour, but when I was testing this recipe, I found all-purpose flour to produce excellent results. And, there’s no need for a specialty flour!
Baking powder — this is a no-yeast donut recipe, so it relies on baking powder to help them rise well and prevent them from being dense.
Buttermilk — you can use whole buttermilk or low-fat buttermilk for these donuts. Not only does it tenderize the crumb for a cake-like texture, but it also adds an ever-so-subtle tang that is an excellent complement to the sweet toppings.
Oil — vegetable oil adds richness to this easy baked donut recipe, and also keeps them wonderfully soft. Any neutral-flavored oil (like canola oil, for example) will work.
Butter — butter provides a rich flavor to my recipe that many baked donuts can lack since they aren’t fried in oil. Using all butter would cause the baked donut recipe to harden a bit as they cool (since butter firms up at room temperature) and would make the donuts feel dry. So, I use it in combination with vegetable oil.
Spices — ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract infuse the baked donuts with plenty of flavor. You can switch up these spices or flavorings as you like for the donut batter.
Cinnamon-sugar coating — all you need is granulated sugar and ground cinnamon for the sweet, flavorful coating.
Vanilla glaze — vanilla glaze is so easy to make with powdered sugar, whole milk, and a little vanilla extract. You can choose if you want it thicker or thinner based on how hot the donuts are when you glaze them and how much milk and sugar you use (details below!).
Topping Options: Cinnamon Sugar or Vanilla Glaze
I have two excellent topping options you can choose between for this baked donut recipe: cinnamon sugar or vanilla glaze. Both options are incredible on these cakey donuts; it just depends on what you’re in the mood for.
For baked cinnamon sugar donuts, coat the donuts while they’re still warm so the coating can stick to the donuts properly. If the donuts cool down too much, you can brush them with melted butter and then coat them in sugar.
For vanilla-glazed baked donuts, there are two options. For a thick glaze coating, coat baked donuts once they’re completely cool. If you want a thinner glaze, coat the donuts with glaze while they are still warm. The glaze will melt into the donuts and run off, more like an old-fashioned donut topping.
If you want the best of both worlds, coat half of the donuts with cinnamon sugar and the other half with glaze! Just cut the topping recipes in half and coat 6 donuts with each one.
Other Flavor Ideas
You can add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the glaze, or make a simple chocolate ganache to make chocolate-covered donuts. Or crush freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries to add to the vanilla glaze. Alternatively, you can coat the donuts with powdered sugar for delicious powdered sugar donuts.
To add toppings other than sprinkles to glazed baked donuts, zest a lemon, add cookie crumbs, flavored cereals, or sprinkle with toasted coconut or chopped nuts to the tops of the donuts right after glazing them. Have fun with it!
Can I Make Baked Donuts Without A Donut Pan?
Yes, use a 12-cup muffin pan instead! Pipe the baked donut batter equally among 12 cavities of a greased muffin pan. Bake at 400°F for 2 to 3 minutes longer than directed in the recipe. The donuts won’t have a hole in the center, but they will taste the same!
Pro Tips For The Best Baked Donuts
Measure the flour correctly. Using too much or too little flour will affect how baked donuts turn out. Using too much will turn them dry and crumbly, and too little can yield sticky donuts that spread in the pan. The best way to measure flour is with a scale. If you don’t have one, fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup until it is mounded slightly above the rim, and use a knife to level it off. This avoids overpacking the measuring cup and using too much flour.
Use room temperature ingredients. Use room temperature ingredients for this baked donut recipe so the batter mixes together easily. Take the egg and buttermilk out of the fridge about 30 minutes to an hour in advance.
Don’t overmix the batter. When mixing the wet ingredients and dry ingredients, don’t overmix the batter. Once they’re just combined and all streaks of dry flour disappear, stop whisking, or the gluten in the flour will over-develop, resulting in tough baked donuts.
How To Make Baked Donuts
Below, I’ve highlighted portions of the recipe in step-by-step process images along with instructions for making baked cake donuts. You can find the full set of instructions in the recipe card below.
1. Make the batter by whisking together the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients—buttermilk, egg, melted butter, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk until everything is well combined.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine fully. Stop once you don’t see any dry streaks of flour in the bowl.
4. Transfer the baked donut batter to a piping bag. Divide the batter among two 6-well donut pans greased with baking spray. You’ll pipe about ¼ cup into each cavity. Bake at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until the donuts are puffed and very light golden brown. Immediately transfer the baked donuts to a wire rack. If you let them cool in the pan, they can stick.
5. For cinnamon sugar donuts, coat them immediately in the sugar so the coating sticks to the hot donuts. If you opt for a vanilla glaze coating, let the baked donut recipe cool completely on the wire rack. When they’re cool, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and sugar in a small bowl.
6. Dip each donut in glaze and set them back on the wire rack. If adding sprinkles, do this immediately, while the glaze is still wet. Then let the donuts sit until the glaze hardens.
Baked Donut Recipe
Equipment
- Donut baking pans
- Piping bag or zip-top bag
- Wire rack
Ingredients
For the Donuts:
- 2⅓ cups all-purpose flour (280g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1½ cups whole or low-fat buttermilk (360ml)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cinnamon-Sugar Coating:
- 1 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Vanilla Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar (240g)
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
Donuts:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray two (6-well) donut baking pans with baking spray. (This is a non-stick spray that contains flour, designed for baking!).
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, butter, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, whisking until fully combined. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag.
- Pipe about 1/4 cup donut batter into each well. Bake until donuts are puffed and lightly golden, about 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately invert onto a wire rack and coat with cinnamon sugar or vanilla glaze.
For the Cinnamon Sugar:
- In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon. When the donuts come out of the oven, let them cool for 2 minutes, then immediately toss them in cinnamon sugar. (If the donuts are too cooled and the sugar mixture is not sticking, brush lightly with melted butter then toss in the sugar mixture.)
For the Vanilla Glaze:
- When the donuts are cooled completely, in another small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla. Dip the cooled donuts in glaze and return to the wire rack. Immediately add sprinkles, if desired. Let stand until the glaze is set.
Notes
- If you want a really thick glaze for those delicious, iconic donut-shop treats, make a very thick glaze with 3 to 4 cups of sugar and 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk. Spoon or pipe the glaze on the top of the donuts. It should slowly settle and slightly drip down the sides. Top with sprinkles before the glaze dries.
- Storage: If you have leftover donuts, keep them for 1 week in an airtight container. Store the donuts in a single layer to keep the glaze from sticking to each other. You can reheat them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. Keep the intervals short or the glaze will melt off.
- Make-ahead: Baked donuts have the best texture when they are eaten the day they are made (or in the first 24 hours), so I don’t recommend making them multiple days in advance. If needed, make them the night before and serve them the next morning.
- Can I freeze the donuts? Freeze the baked donuts without the glaze in a single layer on a lined sheet pan before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag for 2 to 3 months. Thaw them for a couple of hours at room temperature. Glaze them or warm them up in the microwave for a few seconds before coating them with sugar.
Nutrition
FAQs & Troubleshooting Baked Donuts
If your donut pans are a bit too full, the batter can rise over the center and close the hole. You can leave them as-is, or cut the center out with a small knife or the end of a piping tip. The flavor and texture aren’t affected at all.
This happens when they’re over-baked. Bake the donuts for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they’re puffed and lightly golden in color. Using too much flour can also yield dry donuts, which is why I always recommend weighing the flour with a kitchen scale.
Over-mixing the batter will yield dense, tough baked donuts. If you continue to mix the ingredients together after they’re fully combined, you will keep developing the gluten network, which makes it too strong and tight. This will create a tough, chewy baked donut.
Cake-style donuts like this baked donut recipe are denser than yeasted donuts (which are typically used for a jelly donut or custard-filled donut). Baked donuts are therefore not easy to fill. However, you could spoon or pipe a filling into the center hole of each baked donut when serving them if you’d like!
More Donut Recipes To Try
Apple cider donuts are a wonderful fall treat. They’re crispy on the outside, pillowy on the inside, and topped with sweet cinnamon sugar.
Classic glazed donuts are always a crowd-pleaser! They work equally well as a sweet breakfast treat or after-dinner dessert.
Top my fluffy pumpkin donuts with a rich maple glaze for the ultimate autumn dessert. But they’re just as good with a cinnamon-sugar coating.
Baked chocolate donuts are tender, chocolatey, and rich. I love topping them with decadent chocolate glaze and colorful sprinkles.
Did you know you can make donuts in the air fryer? Air fryer donuts are moist and crispy, and so easy to make from scratch!
If you’ve tried this easy baked donut recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
ismael says
I rate this recipe a 10/10
Ashley says
Just made them, they’re delicious! Can this work as a base recipe for other flavors?
Carmen says
Great recipe! Tasty and fluffy.
Ella Champion says
These are the best baked donuts EVER! Fantastic flavor and texture. I made both cinnamon sugar and vanilla glaze, both so delicious. My 6 year old said he prefers these over fried donuts sold in stores. Thank you for this wonderful recipe 😊
Bilal Shain says
Fluffy and not too sweet. Perfect recipe. My thanks John!
Wendy McBride says
What an easy recipe. I love a cake donut and now I can make my own. Preppy never fails for recipes. I have never had a fail.