Baked Vanilla Cake Donuts

These donuts are delicious and super easy! If you’re looking for a simple, soft, baked donut with no frying required – look no further. The ingredients are likely already in your kitchen cabinet, and you can be creative with your toppings!

Since there is no frying required, you will need to purchase a donut pan to make these. My favorite pan is here!

The spongy texture and rise of these donuts comes from the use baking powder and buttermilk. Don’t have buttermilk? It can be very easily substituted.

I rarely have buttermilk on hand, so every time I need it for a recipe I create my own. Rule of thumb is to add one tablespoon of white vinegar to a cup of milk (1 cup minus a tablespoon). Simply pour a tablespoon of vinegar into a measuring cup and fill the rest with the milk that you have in your fridge. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes, then you have your buttermilk! I included the substitution amounts in the recipe below.

Why buttermilk? Buttermilk is made by adding culture to milk, similar to yogurt. It’s commonly used in baking to provide a tangy taste and/or to help keep baked goods moist and light. The acid in buttermilk reacts to the bases in the recipe (in this case, the baking powder) to create carbon dioxide. This creates bubbles and gives the baked good a light and airy texture without the use of yeast.

The end products are these perfectly moist, light and spongy donuts! I preferred to cover mine in cinnamon and sugar, but they could also be glazed or dipped in chocolate or vanilla icing.

Baked Vanilla Cake Donuts

These donuts are delicious and super easy! If you're looking for a simple, soft, baked donut with no frying required – look no further. The ingredients are simple and likely already in your kitchen cabinet, and you can be creative with your toppings!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Coating Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 18 donuts

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups all-purpose flour sifted or spooned and leveled
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup buttermilk substitution: add 2 teaspoons vinegar to a ¾ measuring cup, fill the remainder with milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons oil vegetable or canola oil recommended
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Chocolate Icing

• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ cup water add additional teaspoons of water until you reach desired consistency

Vanilla Icing

• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• ¼ cup milk add additional teaspoons of milk until you reach desired consistency
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Thoroughly grease donut pan.
3. Stir flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt together, then sift. Or measure flour by spooning and leveling in measuring cup, then whisk together dry ingredients.
4. Stir in buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla. Beat until combined.
5. Fill each donut well ¾ full.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the donut begins to brown on the edges.
7. Immediately invert on to cooling rack and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
8. Create desired donut topping.
9. If coating in cinnamon and sugar, immediately toss them in the mixture upon taking them out of the oven.
10. If adding icing, allow the donuts to cool then dip the top of the donut in the icing and top with sprinkles or other candies.