Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

These baked pumpkin cake doughnuts are soft, fluffy and packed with warm flavours.

I realize it’s not fall anymore- spring is now dawning upon us, so I guess it’s a little late to be sharing pumpkin recipes.

Now, I had originally planned to upload this recipe in October (I know). I’m way late.

The issue isn’t that I haven’t wanted to post, I have. But sometimes passions and hobbies must take the backseat especially when 3,000 word essays, 180 page long readings and life are piling up.

It bothers me that a lot of the comments I get on Youtube ask why I’m so infrequent in uploading videos-  although I’d like to post more often, for now I have to accept that other things need to be prioritized. Baking has always been a way for me to destress, and I need it to remain that way- it can’t be a source of tension, not when it’s my passion. But that means that each time I post, I feel like it’s extra special!

Today I’m super excited about sharing this baked pumpkin doughnut recipe with you. It’s one of those desserts that can have you go back for seconds, thirds, fourths, and onwards. It’s not at all like a typical yeast doughnut. In fact, it’s more like a muffin – sweeter, doesn’t have that yeast flavor to it, still super fluffy, a little dense (in comparison to a regular cake), and not deep-fried. It’s quicker to make as well.

These pumpkin doughnuts are also packed with warm spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and ground ginger, which pair beautifully with the pumpkin.

If what you crave is a regular doughnut- greasy, crisp on the outside, sticky, delicious, you’ll need to wait a couple weeks more. For now, enjoy this cake version- not completely the same as a regular doughnut, but still addictively delicious- and so beautifully colored.

For this pumpkin doughnut recipe, I use this homemade pumpkin purée. 

Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

These baked pumpkin cake doughnuts are soft, fluffy and packed with warm flavours.

Yield: 10 large doughnuts

Prep: 15 minutes minutes

Cook: 20 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

• ⅓ cup oil, preferably flavorless such as canola or vegetable
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• ⅔ cup sugar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 and ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cinnamon sugar for dusting, optional! You can also serve them with chocolate sauce.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C and grease a doughnut tray with melted butter, oil or non-stick spray. If you don't have a doughnut tray, no worries! You can make the same recipe in a muffin tray (you can also place a ball of foil in the middle of the doughnut tray to make little doughnuts!).
• In a bowl, combine the oil, pumpkin puree, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Mix till smooth.
• Stir in the flour.
• Using a spoon, fill the doughnut trays with about ¼ cup of batter per cup (for the bigger doughnuts- about 3 inches in diameter). It doesn't matter how large the doughnut cups are- just make sure they are full about ¾ of the way!
• Bake the doughnuts for 15 minutes (about 10 for the smaller ones).
• Let them cool for about 5 minutes.
• Gently loosen the doughnuts from the moulds by nudging them with a knife.
• Place the cinnamon sugar in a ziplock bag (I actually like to use a little more than ¼ cup and then save the excess for another recipe).
• Add the doughnuts to the ziplock bag one at a time. Seal the bag and shake to coat the doughnuts with the sugar.
• Gently remove the doughnut from the bag and let it sit on a cooling rack.
• Enjoy with a nice cup of tea.
• These store nicely in a sealed container in the fridge for about a week (though I like to eat them at room temp/slightly warmed).

Notes

To make your own cinnamon sugar, combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar with 1-2 tbsp ground cinnamon. Grind together using a spice grinder until well combined.

 

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Dessert, Pumpkin

Looking for more pumpkin recipes?

• Fluffy whole wheat pumpkin pancakes
• Pumpkin pie
• Gingersnap pumpkin cheesecakes