Homemade Baked Donuts

Name: Homemade Baked Donuts
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1½ cups white granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 egg ((size large)); 1¼ cups whole milk; 2 tablespoons butter ((melted, unsalted)); 2 teaspoons vanilla; chocolate icing; sprinkles

20 minutes

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By: Julie Blanner2 Comments
Updated: 2/3/23

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These homemade baked donuts are the perfect sweet treat for the whole family! They are best served with chocolate icing and generously topped with sprinkles, of course.

Easy and fun to make, you’ll have a batch of baked donuts in just 20 minutes! They really are just that simple, and such a fun way to treat the whole family with a fabulous breakfast.

A homemade baked donut covered in chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

This week, my friend visited from Saint Louis with her two sweet daughters and I had to make a kid favorite – chocolate iced donuts with sprinkles! In 20 minutes, we had a room full of smiles and chocolate moustaches.

Who doesn’t love a donut? And when they are homemade, even better.

This recipe is not only quick, but so much easier (and healthier) than fried doughnuts. They bake to perfection – soft and tender inside with a little crunch on the outside.

These are so much fun to make for holidays because any kind of special sprinkles will create an instant festive vibe. Try pink and red for Valentine’s Day donuts, make them birthday themed, or create the cutest Christmas donuts like we did for the holidays.

No matter when you make them, I just know you’re going to love them too!

Baked donuts topped with chocolate frosting and sprinkles, on a marble countertop.

Table of Contents

Why You’ll Love these Baked Donuts

Staple Ingredients
Great for Guests but Easy Enough for a Weekday
Kid love Them
Fun to Decorate

Ingredients and Substitutions

You just need a handful of staple ingredients to make these delicious treats!

Flour: Standard all purpose flour is perfect for this recipe, use your favorite brand.
Sugar: Use white sugar to make these donuts deliciously sweet.
Baking powder: Baking powder increases the volume and lightens the texture of the donuts.
Salt: Adding salt brings out the sweetness in baked goods.
Egg and whole milk: To help bind the ingredients together and add a creaminess.
Vanilla extract: You can make your own vanilla extract or use store bought. If possible, choose pure vanilla extract over imitation, if you can.
Chocolate icing and sprinkles: Used to decorate the baked donuts.

Variations

If you like, you can use a vanilla, strawberry or plain icing.
You can also top them with my Cream Cheese Glaze or Orange Glaze.
Make them into Cinnamon Sugar Donuts with a few simple tweaks.

A variety of gold cake pans, loaf pans and muffin baking pan sizes laid out on a marble surface.

Tools to Use

Mixing Bowls
Measuring Cups + Measuring Spoons
Donut Pan
Baking Spray (this one is my favorite but you can use whatever you have on hand)
A baking sheet and wire rack (to help make clean-up and cooling easy)

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How to Make Baked Donuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray donut pans.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and set aside.
In large mixing bowl, combine egg, milk, butter and vanilla. Mix dry into the wet until just combined.
Spoon batter into pans, filling just over ¾ full. Bake as directed.

Tips

Use the Toothpick Test – Insert a toothpick in the center. When it comes out clean, it’s done.
Don’t over mix the donut batter, the ingredients should be just combined. Over mixing can cause the donuts to become chewy rather than light and fluffy.
The donuts will rise when baked, so fill the molds 3/4 full so that they won’t over flow.
We used a mini donut pan (linked in the tools section above). If you use a pan with larger cavities, you’ll need to bake for longer.
Let the donuts cool before pouring the icing sugar over them. If they are too warm, the icing will fall off of them rather than stick.

Scaling up, down or substituting? You’ll love this printable Measurement Conversion Chart!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do baked donuts taste the same as fried?

They aren’t going to taste quite the same. The distinctive taste of yeasty fried donuts is a standalone treat, but these baked donuts are a tasty treat all their own. Bonus – you skip the calories of deep frying, and the mess too!

Are old fashioned donuts baked or fried?

Generally speaking, all traditional donuts are fried. Baked donuts don’t use yeast, and they are a little healthier because you skip all the oil in the fryer.

What’s the difference between cake donuts and yeast donuts?

The leavening agent is the simple difference. While traditional cake donuts and yeast donuts are both fried, yeast donuts are leavened with yeast, while cake donuts use baking powder or baking soda.

To Store

Room Temperature – Store these baked donuts at room temperature for up to 2-3 days, in an airtight container.
Refrigerate – Let the donuts cool completely and store them in an airtight container in the fridge up to a week.
Freeze – You can also freeze donuts by wrapping them in plastic wrap or foil and placing them in a freezer bag for up to three months. Thaw them at room temperature.