Vanilla Baked Donut Recipe
If you love doughnuts but hate frying, this Baked Donut Recipe is for you! They’re soft vanilla donuts baked in a donut pan then dipped in an easy donut glaze. Makes 6 small batch donuts with no yeast required!
One of my favorite guilty pleasure pastries to eat is donuts.
Most of the time I buy them instead of making them homemade because I hate the smell of frying. No matter how much air freshener I spray, the deep fryer lingers in my kitchen for days.
Luckily for us, baked donuts exist thanks to donut pans. No more smelling like oil!
With National Donut Day coming up on June 5, now is the perfect time to introduce you to my Baked Donut recipe.
They’re soft vanilla doughnuts that are dipped in an easy donut glaze.
You don’t even need a mixer! Because these are cake donuts instead of yeast donuts like my apple filled doughnuts, all you need to do is whisk the batter by hand then transfer to your donut pan.
In addition to traditional vanilla, I also have chocolate baked donuts and carrot cake donuts.
Happy Almost Donut Day!
Why You’ll Love This Baked Doughnut Recipe
- Makes small batch donuts! Because donut pans only have 6 cavities, I wanted to focus on small batch doughnuts so you only need one pan.
- No yeast required!You can have baked donuts ready in under an hour because you don’t need to rest the dough.
- No mixer required! Because you melt the butter, you can whisk everything by hand! In fact I highly encourage it so you don’t overbeat the batter and end up with sad, dry donuts.
Ingredients For Baked Donuts
To make your baked donut recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Flour: Thickens the batter so it holds together
- Baking powder and soda: Helps the donuts rise
- Salt: Flavors the batter
- Sugar: Sweetens and caramelizes the donuts while baking
- Butter: Fat to help keep the batter moist
- Milk: Helps thin out the batter plus contribute to a tender crumb texture
- Egg: Provides structure and also helps the doughnuts rise
- Vanilla: There are two types of vanilla used – vanilla extract and vanilla beans.
How To Make Baked Donuts
Here’s how to make your baked doughnuts:
- Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Whisk in sugar, melted butter, milk, egg, vanilla, and vanilla bean.
- Fill donut pan with batter.
- Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the pan and cool completely.
- Glaze as desired.
Homemade cake donuts are best eaten the day they’re made but can last up to 2 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
More Pastry Recipes
If you enjoyed these vanilla donuts, here are more donut and pastry recipes to check out:
Baked Donut Recipe
If you love doughnuts but hate frying, this Baked Donut Recipe is for you! They're soft vanilla donuts baked in a donut pan then dipped in an easy donut glaze.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split in half down the middle longways and seeds scraped into a bowl (discard the pod)
Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- Pinch of salt
- 1-2 teaspoons whole milk, room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously grease a 6-cavity donut pan with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour then stir in baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Whisk in by hand the sugar, melted butter, milk, egg, vanilla, and vanilla bean until everything is moistened and you no longer see any flour. Do not overmix.
- Using a large pastry bag or by hand with two spoons, evenly fill each donut cavity with batter.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes then remove from the pan and finish cooling on a cooling rack.
- For the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, salt, 1 teaspoon milk, and vanilla until smooth. If it's too thick for a glaze, add the remaining 1 teaspoon milk.
- Once the doughnuts are completely cool, dip the tops of each doughnut into the glaze and let the excess drip off. Let the glaze harden before serving.
Homemade cake donuts are best eaten the day they're made but
can last up to 2 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- Enjoyed this recipe? Check out Chocolate Baked Donuts and Carrot Cake Donuts.
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i’ve seen chefs on tv before saying not to discard the pod-they usually do something with it, i just can’t remember what it is
You can throw the pod in some sugar to make vanilla sugar.
you can also buy a bottle of vodka and add the used pods and you have your own vanilla X.
Yes great idea! I have a post explaining how: https://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2014/12/01/homemade-vanilla-extract/
You can also add it to your bottle of vanilla extract to boost the flavor (keep it “vanilla-y”)
Great tip!
I can almost taste the vanilla bursting out of these doughnuts!
I took the Bakers Secret quiz and you’ll never believe it, but I’m a Baked Vanilla Bean Doughnut!! What fun!
Yes!! :)
Hi,
I come from the time before non-stick baking sprays and was taught to grease and flour the baking pan. Do you think if I used the old fashioned non-stick method that it would alter recipes flavor or outcome in any negative way? I am happy I found your blog through a link the other day. Your blog’s name caught my eye, which then led me to check out the recipe. Your blog is right up my yummieness need alley. Have a wonderful day! :)
Absolutely you can grease the pan the old fashioned way! The spray is more convenient, but regular butter and flour will also do the trick without affecting the recipe.
I need to invest in one of these doughnut pans. These looks so yummy. And thanks for the tip on the vanilla beans, really helpful. : )
What a coincidence! I’m a baked vanilla bean doughnut! Lol “I have a simple, classic taste that will never go out of style. While taking risks is not my thing, I am honest and others trust my judgment. ” Yup, that’s pretty accurate :)
How fun you got the doughnut match :)
I would like to know if frying the doughnut instead of baking has the same taste, texture or consistency because I don’t have the baking pan. I haven’t find it yet in our place. Your reply is very much appreciated. Thank you & best regards..
For this particular recipe, you do not want to fry these. Main reason is the batter is too runny and will not form a sturdy dough to fry.
In general, fried doughnuts do have a crispier texture as you can imagine any fried item would. Baked doughnuts are more cake like while fried are more fried dough like. I got my pan as a gift via Amazon if that helps :)
You can order the doughnut pans on line. I ordered mine at Amazon.
Wow this looks so unbelievable tasty! I would definately love to have a bite !
Best wishes Chrissi
from http://chrissitallys.blogspot.de
Thanks Carla for your immediate response. So this recipe is for baking only. Inasmuch as we don’t have the special doughnut baking pan here in Cebu Phils. can I use the doughnut cutter & just place it in the ordinary baking or cookie sheet? I doubt if the shape will be retained because you said the batter is too runny. I wanted to try this recipe because it seems it looks yummy. Just wondering if this is more or less the same as Krispy Kreme or J CO doughnuts.
I strongly advise against using this particular recipe for frying. The batter is more like a cake batter than a dough that you can roll out. Instead, try this recipe, leave out the nutmeg, and add vanilla bean seeds to the batter: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/buttermilk-doughnuts I will say that I have not tried this recipe myself, so I cannot guarantee you’ll get the same results as my baked recipe.
Ok a friend *just* sent me this link for fried vanilla bean doughnuts. Again, I never made this recipe myself but my friend has: http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2012/05/05/vanilla-bean-doughnuts/
I didn’t have a donut pan either and put the batter in silicone muffin cups (or a greased muffin pan would work too). They didn’t have the hole in the middle — although I did stick my finger in the middle and work a hole into it, but it didn’t stay! — but they are still yummy. I also dipped them in melted butter and then cinnamon sugar. Yummy! They could be mega-hole donuts!
I think you succeeded wonderfully with something simply wonderful with vanilla. I keep forgetting about baking doughnuts. I am ordering one of those pans this week. The photo was enough to entice me—–me being a doughnut nut. It doesn’t sound like a pun, but when you write it out, it sure takes the form of a pun. Lol—I love my own jokes. The recipe looks the bomb too.
I included a link to the exact pan I used in the post, right above the recipe (you don’t have to buy that one. Just letting you know which one I used). And I love your term “doughnut nut.” I’m starting to become one myself :)
Totally making these over the summer! If you save the pod and add it to a jar of sugar you can make some awesome infused sugar for baking too :-)
I’m a Peach Pie Bundt Cake loL!
“I am an old soul. I keep tradition alive and tend to take comfort in familiar people and surroundings. I know that no matter where life’s road takes me, home is where the heart is.”
Sure sure makes sense.
Anyway. LOVE these donuts-vanilla can be SO lovely and not at all boring and these beauties are the perfect proof of that!
From what I know about you Kayle, that does sound like you! Esp the “home is where the heart is part” given your recent news :)
These donuts look so delicious. I don’t have a donut pan but I’m going to get one ASAP. Oh and I took the quiz and I am a White Chocolate Truffle Cake. How nice is that.
Fun! I got Peach Pie Bundt Cake.
they look great!
Your Result:
I’m a Tiramisu Kahlua Pound Cake!
Peach Pie Bundt Cake here. Thanks for taking it! :)
Wow, people sure are passionate about these vanilla doughnuts! I read the cray cray comments on your G+ page. Geez, learn some manners, people. As much as I love desserts with all the bells ‘n whistles, recipes that let the flavour of vanilla shine through are some of my favourites. It’s such a lovely, classic, comforting flavour. You really amped it up in these doughnuts – I especially love seeing the little flecks of vanilla bean in the dough. Love these, girl.
Vanilla bean is one of my all-time favorite baking ingredients. It has such a depth of flavor that it really shines through, even in simple recipes. And according to the Baker’s Joy test, I’m a Vanilla Bean Doughnut! Apparently this means I don’t take risks, but others think I have good judgment. Haha — so I wasn’t kidding when I talked about my love for vanilla!
I’m an Intense Chocolate Mocha Cake…which is funny bc it would def be the very last treat I would ever pick to eat :)
I’m going to try cooking these this weekend using a cake pop pan. Hopefully I’ll have delicious vanilla bean doughnut holes :).
Since I don’t own a doughnut pan, are there any other substitutions that I can use? Or could I possibly make them into doughnut holes using a muffin pan?
I’ve only used a doughnut pan, but since it’s batter, I imagine you can use a muffin pan (mini or regular). Not sure if they will look like doughnut holes since it spreads like cake batter, but they will be doughnut muffins at least! You may need to adjust bake time. Start at 10 minutes, use the toothpick test, then adjust as needed. Good luck :)
These look so delicious. I can’t wait to try them! :)
Thanks for the recipe. I’m going to make today. Do you think I can sub milk for almond milk in both the donut and glaze? I do not want to mess with consistency….
You can use almond milk in the batter. For the glaze, I haven’t tried it, but since you’re using it to thin out the glaze, it should be fine.
My girl asked for donuts this morning and this is the recipe that she chose. At 9 she watches more baking shows than any person I know. These were a hit! Thanks for a delicious, easy to follow recipe.
Oh wonderful! Glad you both were able to enjoy the donuts.