Soft, fluffy, and moist, these Baked Donuts are so easy to make from scratch. This simple baked donut recipe comes together quickly and easily without frying the dough in oil. It’s perfect as a snack or for any breakfast or brunch gathering.
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!
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.
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.