Easy Baked Cake Doughnuts

We seem to have less and less time to enjoy special breakfasts in my house. 😦 Overscheduled and overbooked, I’m afraid… Thankfully, we’ve made time to enjoy these baked doughnuts on a few occasions. Eating cake for breakfast makes up for less frequent indulgences!

This recipe was adapted from King Arthur Flour. My pans made smaller doughnuts, so I adapted the cooking time. I made the vanilla glazed and powdered sugar-coated versions but included recipes for cinnamon-sugar coated, as well as for chocolate and apple cider glazes. I won’t stop until I’ve tried them all. 🙂 Such a treat!

4 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 T vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, to taste
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11. 25 oz (319 g or 2 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (I used 1 percent)
cinnamon-sugar, Confectioners’ sugar, or assorted glazes
sprinkles, toasted coconut, or chopped nuts, for topping, optional

Preheat the oven to 425°F, preferably on convection. Lightly grease two doughnut pans with cooking spray.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth.
Add the eggs, beating to combine.
Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.
Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
Spoon the batter into the lightly greased doughnut pans, filling the wells to about 1/4″ shy of the rim. (I filled each well with 2 small cookie scoops of batter.)
Bake the doughnuts for 6-7 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and wait 5 minutes before turning them out of the pans onto a rack.
Finish with desired coating, glaze, and/or topping, as desired.
For frosted doughnuts, see the three easy doughnut glazes (recipe below). Sprinkle the glazed doughnuts with sprinkles, toasted coconut, or chopped nuts, if desired.

For Cinnamon Sugar-Coated Doughnuts:

For cinnamon doughnuts, shake warm doughnuts in a plastic bag with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup cinnamon-sugar.

For the Vanilla Glaze:

1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted to remove any lumps
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 to 2 tablespoons milk or water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir the ingredients together, adding extra liquid or confectioners’ sugar to adjust the consistency as needed.
Dip top of doughnuts in glaze, or drizzle glaze over doughnuts.

For the Chocolate Glaze:

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the ingredients together over low heat or in the microwave, stirring often. Add extra corn syrup if needed to make a smooth, shiny glaze.
Dip top of doughnuts in glaze, or drizzle glaze over doughnuts.

For the Apple Cider Glaze:

2 tablespoons bottled boiled cider
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup Confectioners’ or glazing sugar

Stir all of the ingredients together, adding additional sugar or cream if needed to make the glaze the consistency of molasses.
Dip top of doughnuts in glaze, or drizzle glaze over doughnuts.

One Year Ago:

Oatmeal Bread

Two Years Ago:

Three Years Ago:

Four Years Ago:

Five Years Ago:

King Cake

About Josette@thebrookcook

I live in Stony Brook, New York on Long Island. I love garlic and baking. My hobby (and love) is to try new recipes. My favorite recipe resources include The New York Times, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and Martha Stewart Living. Enjoy!

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