These baked buttermilk donuts are sweet and tangy with that unmistakable plain cake donut flavor. Dust off your donut pan and bake a batch today, you’ll love how easy they are to make!
It’s rare to find a recipe that pleases everyone in my family. So getting the thumbs up from all the adults made me feel pretty good about these baked buttermilk donuts.
But they still had to make it past the toughest critic I know: my 4-year-old nephew. That little dude’s culinary critiques ensure I will always stay humble about my cooking.
So when he ate his entire donut AND began negotiating for a bite of my husband’s second donut, I knew this recipe was a keeper.
When it comes to flavor, these donuts remind me of a classic plain cake donut. They have that same lovely combination of warm vanilla, spicy nutmeg, tangy buttermilk and the perfect amount of subtle sugary sweetness.
I’ve made them so many times in the last two months it didn’t seem fair to keep this easy toaster oven recipe all to myself any longer.
How to Make Baked Buttermilk Donuts:
- You’ll need a 6-cavity donut pan or a mini donut pan. I’ve tried this recipe using other pans and it’s doesn’t turn out the same.
- Start by greasing your donut pan well. If your pan is like mine and has seen better days use the cooking spray that has flour in it. That stuff will keep anything from sticking.
- Next, measure out the flour. In my experience, this is where baked donuts can go bad (aka DRY), especially when using whole grain flour. To keep from compacting the flour and adding too much to the batter lightly spoon your flour into the measuring cup and then level off the top with the back of a butter knife.
- Mix your liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. Too much stirring and your donuts will be tough. Also, expect the batter to be on the thicker side.
- Transfer the batter to a plastic bag and snip off one of the corners. Then pipe it into your prepared pan. A reusable pastry bag without a tip works well too.
- Pop the donuts in your toaster oven but don’t wander off, they bake up quick. Instead, use that time to decide how many you should dip in butter and cinnamon sugar, cover with chocolate hazelnut spread and sprinkles, or just enjoy plain.
Two Toaster Oven Baked Donut Tips:
- Use the middle rack position. It’s perfect for cooking baked goods like muffins, toaster oven double chocolate cookies, and donuts.
- If you’re cooking with a convection toaster oven, turn the temperature down, WAY DOWN. We tried this recipe using the convection fan on our Breville at 400°F and 375°F. Both temperatures yielded dry donuts even with a shortened cooking time. At 350°F with convection, the donuts were soft and delicious.
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Baked Buttermilk Donuts Recipe
Ingredients
- Cooking Spray
- 1 cup White Whole Wheat Flour
- 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1/2 cup Low-Fat Buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Adjust the toaster oven cooking rack to the middle position and preheat to 425°F on the “Bake” setting. Use non-stick cooking spray or oil to coat a 6-cavity donut pan.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg, oil, honey, buttermilk and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
- Scoop batter into a quart-sized plastic bag and cut a bottom corner off. Pipe batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake until the tops of the donuts spring back when pressed and a toothpick inserted into a few comes out clean, about 8 to 9 minutes for full-sized donuts and 5 to 6 minutes for mini donuts. The donuts will be pale on top and lightly golden on the bottom.
- Allow donuts to cool in the pan for 2 to 3 minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack and topping if desired.
Notes
- Convection Toaster Ovens: Reduce temperature to 350°F and bake 8 to 9 minutes for full-sized donuts and 5 to 6 minutes for mini donuts.