This easy Baked Donut Recipe is a quick, no-fry method for making soft, cake-style donuts in a donut pan-no deep fryer or special skills required. These soft and tender baked donuts come together in just 15 minutes from mixing to oven, using a white velvet cake-inspired batter and a slightly higher baking temperature to create that light, fluffy crumb with a delicate dome.
Quick Glance at the Recipe
- Recipe Name: Best Baked Donuts Recipe
- Why You'll Love It: Soft, cake-style donuts with a tender crumb and a vivid, colorful glaze that are ready in under 20 minutes with no fryer needed.
- Time and Difficulty: 20 minutes to mix and bake + cooling time
- Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, buttermilk, butter, vegetable oil, egg, sugar, nutmeg, and a simple powdered sugar glaze.
- Method: Whisk wet and dry ingredients separately, combine until just mixed, pipe into a donut pan, and bake at high heat for 7-9 minutes.
- Texture and Flavor: Light and cakey with subtle warmth from vanilla and nutmeg.
- Quick Tip: Add a drop or two of white food coloring to your glaze before adding color. It makes the glaze opaque and gives you much brighter, more vivid colors.
These homemade baked donuts bake up with a true cake-like texture (not dense or dry like some baked versions), making them a reliable go-to whether you're whipping up a quick weekend treat, decorating colorful batches for birthday parties, showers, or special events.
Finish them with a bright glaze, chocolate coating, or simple dusting of sugar-and suddenly, you've got donuts that feel just as fun as they are easy. For more homemade donuts, try these classic cake donuts, which are fried rather than baked, and my sourdough discard donuts.
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Made these and they were AMAZING! They were light and fluffy and the glaze was perfect. The kids devoured them!
- Zalisha
Why This Recipe Works So Well
- Baked Instead of Fried: This baked donut recipe skips the deep fryer for glazed baked donuts that taste just as good as fried. This means less mess and a healthier donut.
- Ready in Under 20 Minutes: These donuts mix and bake in less than 20 minutes, and you can mix them up without needing an electric mixer.
- Great Texture and Flavor: Adapted from my professional White Velvet Cake Recipe, creating a donut texture that's similar to a slice of cake.
- Special Techniques: I share my professional cake decorator tip for getting a vibrant, colorful glaze on your donuts. Plus, these donuts bake at 450°F, which results in slightly crisper edges than baking at a lower temperature.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Food Coloring: Use any color gel food coloring for bold, vibrant color that won't mess up the texture of your glaze. I recommend starting with a small dab and building up to get the color you want. Adding a few drops of white food coloring to the glaze before adding color is the secret to a more opaque donut glaze. I also use this type of food coloring to make my red, white, and blue cake.
- Buttermilk: The buttermilk creates a more tender, flavorful crumb in your donuts. If you don't have buttermilk, you can use a buttermilk substitute, by adding a half tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a half cup of milk.
- Melted Butter and Oil: Butter adds richness and flavor, while the oil keeps your baked donuts moist longer. This combination also keeps these homemade vanilla cupcakes super moist during storage.
- Nutmeg: This is the little secret that gives baked donuts that unmistakable "donut shop" flavor. It's subtle, adding a warm, slightly sweet spice note that makes them taste like the real deal instead of just mini cakes.
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with quantities.
Baked Donuts Variations
- Glaze Flavors: Switch up the glaze to match the occasion or your cravings. You can easily make a rich chocolate glaze (check out my fried donut recipe for a great one to borrow) or add extracts like almond, maple, or citrus for a fun twist.
- Skip the Glaze: For a more classic finish, toss warm donuts in cinnamon sugar for that bakery-style coating, or dust them with powdered sugar for a simple, lightly sweet option.
- Batter Add-Ins: This batter is super flexible, so you can customize the flavor right from the start. Fold in sprinkles for funfetti-style donuts, add fresh lemon zest for a bright citrus flavor, or mix in a pinch of pumpkin spice for a cozy, seasonal version.
- Mini Donuts: You can use a mini donut pan (reduce the bake time slightly and keep an eye on them-they bake fast).
How to Make This Baked Donut Recipe
Gather all your ingredients, grease a regular-sized donut pan (I used a 6-cavity donut pan from Target) with store-bought or homemade pan release, and preheat your oven to 450°F before starting this baked donut recipe.
- Place the sugar and melted butter in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Add the egg, oil, and vanilla to the sugar and butter mixture, and whisk until combined.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a separate bowl and mix to combine. Whisk in half of the dry mixture into the wet mixture, until some of the flour remains, and then add all the buttermilk.
- After adding the buttermilk, mix a little, and add the rest of the flour.
Mixing Tip: Mix until just combined, using care to avoid overmixing, which develops the gluten and leads to chewy/dense donuts. The batter will be very wet, and there will be a few lumps.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag or a plastic bag with a corner cut off. Pipe the batter into each cavity, filling it ½ to ¾ of the way full of batter. You can also just use a spoon to distribute the batter and smooth out the tops.
- Bake at 450ºF (232ºC) for 7-9 minutes. Your donuts are ready when the tops are firm and bounce back when you touch them.
- Cool the donuts in the pan for 5 minutes and then flip them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Make sure not to glaze the donuts while they're still warm.
- To make the glaze, sift your powdered sugar. This will prevent your glaze from having lumps. Add the water or milk and whisk until the glaze reaches the desired consistency.
- For a more opaque glaze, add a few drops of white food coloring to the glaze and divide it into bowls. Add your favorite colors to each bowl and stir.
- Place the wire rack of donuts on top of a sheet pan to catch extra glaze drips. Grasp each donut by the sides and dunk it into the glaze.
- Hold the donut over the bowl, letting the excess glaze drain off for a few seconds.
- Flip over the donut and place it back onto the wire rack. Top with sprinkles immediately, as the glaze firms up quickly, in just a couple of minutes.
Expert Tips
- Glaze Consistency: Easily adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar if it's too thin, or more milk if it's too thick. Start with ¼ teaspoon of liquid at a time, and continue to add more as needed.
- Lumpy Glaze: The first step is to make sure you sift your powdered sugar. If you find lumps after mixing in the liquid, use a hand mixer to smooth them out.
- Don't Glaze Warm Donuts: This causes the glaze to thin, and it won't set properly.
- Want Vivid Colors? Adding a few drops of white food coloring makes the glaze less transparent, which makes the colors pop more.
- Donut Pan Type: You can use a metal or silicone donut pan for this baked donut recipe. Note that metal often browns faster, while using silicone may require slightly more time to bake.
- Storage: Store leftover donuts at room temperature in a container or bag for up to 3 days.
Oven Baked Donut Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can! The glaze does NOT freeze well, so for the best results, freeze them without the glaze for up to 2 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw them out overnight on the counter and then glaze the donuts after they're thawed.
Yes, you can use a muffin pan instead. This method makes more of a "donut muffin" shape, and they may bake a touch taller with a slightly softer edge (no classic hole or crisp ridges), but the flavor and tender, cake-like texture are just as good.
Dense donuts usually come down to a few common issues. Overmixing develops too much gluten, which makes them dense instead of soft. To prevent, mix just until combined. Also, cold ingredients don't blend smoothly and can prevent proper rise, so bring cold ingredients to room temperature. Last, avoid adding too much flour, which throws off the balance, leading to a heavier, drier crumb. It's best to weigh your flour or use the spoon and level technique instead of scooping to avoid adding too much flour.
No, this batter is best baked right away. Baking powder starts working as soon as it's mixed with liquid, so letting the batter sit can lead to flat, dense donuts. Instead, bake the donuts, let them cool, and freeze them; then thaw and glaze when you're ready to serve.
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Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Donuts
- 7 ounces all-purpose flour
- 6 ounces granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 ounces vegetable oil
- 4 ounces buttermilk room temperature
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 3 ounces unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze
- 10 ounces powdered sugar about 2 cups
- 2 Tablespoons water or milk add more water for thinner glaze, more sugar for thicker glaze
- 2 drops white food coloring I use Americolor gel
- 1-2 drops food coloring I use Americolor electric pink and
Instructions
The Donuts
- Preheat your oven to 450ºF (232ºC) and weigh out all of your ingredients, bringing the buttermilk and egg to room temperature.
- Place the sugar and melted butter in a large bowl and combine smooth with a whisk.
- Add the egg, oil and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Mix to gently combine.
- Add half the dry mixture into the wet mixture, whisk gently until some of the flour remains, then add all the buttermilk, mix a little, and add the rest of the flour. Mix until just combined, do not over mix. The batter will be very wet and there will be a few lumps.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag or a plastic bag with a corner cut off. (You can also just use a spoon and smooth out the tops.)
- Grease the donut tray with cake goop or your favorite pan release, and fill each cavity ½ to ¾ of the way full of batter.
- Bake at 450ºF (232ºC) for 7-9 minutes. When the tops are firm and bounce back when you touch them, they're done.
- Cool the donuts in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Make sure to not glaze while warm.
The Glaze
- Sift your powdered sugar, this will prevent your glaze from having lumps.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and water (or milk) until desired consistency. Add ¼ teaspoon more water at a time until it's as thin as you like. If it becomes too thin, add more powdered sugar. If your glaze has lumps, you can use a hand mixer to smooth it out.
- If you want a more opaque glaze, add a few drops of white food coloring to the glaze and divide into bowls. Add your favorite colors and stir.
- Place the wire rack of donuts on top of a sheet pan to catch extra glaze drips. Grasp each donut by the sides and dunk into the glaze, letting it drain off for a few seconds. Then flip over and place the donut back onto the wire rack. Top with sprinkles immediately, as the glaze firms up quickly.
- Place into a plastic or paper bag and store at room temperature for up to 3 days, they will continue to soften over time.
Video
Notes
- Pan Release: Use my Cake Goop Pan Release Recipe to prevent sticking.
- Bring all your ingredients to room temperature or even a little warm (eggs, buttermilk, butter, etc) to ensure your batter does not break or curdle.
- Use a scale to weigh your ingredients (including liquids) unless otherwise instructed (Tablespoons, teaspoons, pinch etc). Metric measurements are available in the recipe card. Scaled ingredients are much more accurate than using cups and help ensure the success of your recipe.
- Practice Mise en Place (everything in it's place). Measure out your ingredients ahead of time and have them ready before you start mixing to reduce the chances of accidentally leaving something out.
- Flour: All purpose flour is a plain flour with no rising agents. It has a protein level of 10%-12%. Cake flour is a soft, low protein flour of 9% or less. Cake flour sources: UK - Shipton Mills Cake & Pastry Flour
Zalisha says
Made these and they were AMAZING! They were light and fluffy and the glaze was perfect. The kids devoured them!
Any idea on how long to bake them If using a mini donut pan?
Cynthia Thomas says
Can I substitute all purpose flour for bread flour instead? Thanks
Elizabeth Marek says
The bread flour will make the donuts very chewy
Katherine says
This recipe is fantastic. They smell and taste just like traditional doughuts. Super yummy. Well worth a try
Varsha says
Is there a way for me to make the glaze chocolate??? Im going to try to make these soon!
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can, use the chocolate glaze from this recipe https://sugargeekshow.com/cake-donut-recipe/
Kristina says
This recipe was fantastic and so easy. The high heat results in a crisp doughnut with no frying! (I hate frying anything). The recipe is so fantastic that my children ate them before i could glaze them! My frosting loving kids ate plain cake doughnuts! That says a lot about the recipe. 10 years ago Liz amazed me by creating an engine groom's cake for my wedding. Her website and recipes now bring her amazing skills into my home. I'm going to need to work out more.
Elizabeth Marek says
Oh my gosh I remember that cake!! One of the most challenging cakes I had done at that point in my career. So glad to see you here and I'm glad you're enjoying the recipes.