This Baked Cake Donut Recipe creates fluffy vanilla donuts that are finished off with a dip in delicious chocolate frosting. A simple recipe for homemade donuts that will have you making them over and over again!
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Why We Love This Baked Cake Donut Recipe
- Super simple recipe with no mixer required!
- Baked not fried! Makes these donuts a lot easier and quicker to make, leaving little clean up and making them a little healthier.
- The outsides are crisp while the insides are tender and fluffy.
- All the ingredients are most likely sitting in your pantry and fridge as you read this. Go make these donuts!
Baked Cake Donut Recipe Ingredients
- Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- White Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Milk
- Egg
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Salted Butter
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Coconut Oil
- Sprinkles
Substitution Suggestions:
- All Purpose Flour: You can substitute with whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour. The whole wheat flour will create a little heavier donut, but will be just as delicious.
- Milk: Whichever milk you drink or have on hand will work. I mostly use 2% cows milk, but you could use any other cows milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: It is essential to always use pure vanilla extract. The imitation stuff is fake flavored water that is chemically made and you can taste it when you use it.
- Salted Butter: Unsalted butter may be used, but I suggest adding an additional ¼ teaspoon of salt to the donut batter.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Use your favorite flavor chips for the simple glaze. You can use milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, or even butterscotch chips would be divine.
- Coconut Oil: Coconut oil works best for setting the frosting faster. However, you could use shortening, canola oil or even butter. If you use any of those options, the frosting will take a lot longer to set and dry.
- Sprinkles: Sprinkles are the kids favorite, but I really like finely chopped peanuts or cashews too. Finely chopped chocolate bars or toffee bits would be delicious too!
This is such a great recipe for homemade cake donuts that the whole family is going to enjoy!
How to Make Homemade Baked Cake Donuts
- Heat oven to 350°F and liberally grease a 6 serving standard donut pan. I like to use coconut oil spray.
- Next, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together wet ingredients: milk, egg, and pure vanilla extract.
- Now, add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir together just until combined.
- Then, add the melted butter and stir until fully incorporated being careful not to over mix the batter.
- Spoon the dough into a piping bag or gallon size zip top freezer bag, snip about ½ inch off the corner.
- Pipe the dough into the greased donut pan about ¾ full. This recipe makes exactly 6 donuts, so use all the dough.
- Bake the donuts for 10-12 minutes until edges look golden brown, the donuts spring back when touched, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let the donuts cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack.
- In a microwave safe bowl, add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and coconut oil.
- Heat them for 30 seconds and stir. If needed, heat another 15 seconds and stir again until completely melted and smooth.
- Dip tops of the donuts in the chocolate glaze letting the excess drip off, and then immediately dip in shallow bowl of sprinkles or shake sprinkles over the frosting.
- Let donuts rest on wire rack until frosting is completely set.
This easy baked donut recipes with delicious glaze is for the donut lover in your family!
Storing Baked Cake Donuts with Chocolate Frosting
Storing: These donuts are best served the day of, but can be kept in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Make sure the container is deep enough so the lid doesn't touch the frosting.
Freezing: If you would like to freeze any extra donuts let them rest until the frosting is completely set and dry. You may even want to place them in the fridge for a little bit. Then individually wrap the donuts in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped donuts in a freezer safe air tight container or zip top bag and freeze for 3-4 months.
Thawing: Remove the plastic wrap from the frozen donut and let thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes or so.
Tips for Baked Cake Donut Recipe
- Always fluff your flour before measuring. Once fluffed then spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off. This helps eliminate the chance of too much flour being added to the dough, which can create tough donuts.
- Be careful not to over mix the batter. It can also create dense and tough donuts instead of soft and fluffy.
- Grease the pan well with non-stick spray. That way they will just slide out when you flip them over once done cooling.
- For best results use a piping bag or zip top bag. It's a much cleaner and easier way to fill the donut pan. Fold the top of the bag over and add the batter to the bag. Squeeze the batter down to one corner of the bag, then snip the corner of the bag, twist the top and pipe the batter into the donut pan.
- For the perfect donut don't overfill the donut pan. You want them to be about ¾ full. Any fuller than that and the donuts will bake around the center and there will be no donut hole.
- If you'd rather have a cinnamon sugar topping, brush the tops of the warm donuts with melted butter and then dip them into cinnamon sugar.
FAQs About Baked Cake Donuts
Absolutely! This recipe is a yummy baked vanilla cake donut that is dipped in sweet chocolate frosting.
Cake donuts can be fried or baked. This recipe is for baked cake donuts using a molded donut pan.
Cake donuts often have a leavening agent in them like baking powder and are a more dense donut. Raised donuts are made with yeast and will have large air pockets in them.
This recipe uses two simple ingredients to make the chocolate glaze: semi-sweet chocolate chips and coconut oil. Heat the chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave until melted, then dip the donuts in the glaze.
More Delicious Donut Recipes:
- Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Mini Chocolate Donuts
- French Toast Mini Donuts
- Chocolate Sour Cream Baked Donuts
- Mini Pumpkin Donuts
Baked Cake Donut Recipe
Equipment
- 1 standard donut pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease 6 serving standard donut pan with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together milk, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
- Add the melted butter and stir until fully incorporated being careful not to over mix.
- Add the donut batter to a piping bag or gallon size zip top bag. Push batter to the the corner or end of bag and snip about ½ inch off.
- Pipe the batter into prepared donut pan about ¾ full. This makes exactly 6 donuts so use all the batter.
- Bake donuts for 10-12 minutes until edges look golden brown and donuts spring back when touched.
- Let donuts cool in pan for 10 minutes then flip out and place on cooling rack.
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and coconut oil. Heat for 30 seconds and stir. If needed, heat another 15 seconds and stir until completely melted and smooth.
- Dip tops of donuts in chocolate glaze letting excess drip off, and then immediately dip in bowl of sprinkles or add sprinkles by hand.
- Place donuts on wire rack and let rest until glaze is set and dry.
- Enjoy!!!
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