These baked pumpkin maple donuts are incredibly soft, moist, and full of fall flavors like pumpkin, warm spices, and maple. The perfect fall morning treat!
Hi, hey, hello. Don’t be mad at me because I’m coming at you with another pumpkin recipe. But can you be that mad? It’s fall and I love to bake and I love pumpkin. So naturally I’m going to share another pumpkin recipe. So let’s talk about these baked pumpkin maple donuts. Y’all don’t even know what’s about to hit you.
Okay I’ll tell you what’s about to hit you, and it’s fall in donut form. Delicious, cozy, super moist cake donuts that will in fact make you swoon. These baked pumpkin maple donuts are not only super delicious, but honestly so easy to make. Because they’re baked, not fried, making these donuts could not be simpler. And honestly, I’m all about a cake donut. They’re super moist, soft, and have a really tender crumb to them. No yeast, no mixer, no proofing times, no fryer. Just a divine pumpkin cake donut topped with a sugary maple glaze that will send you into a cozy pumpkin spice heaven.
Okay, friends! Get to baking. These baked pumpkin maple donuts are my new favorite fall breakfast treat, and I know you’re going to love them too.
What you’ll need to make these baked pumpkin maple donuts:
Flour: For structure.
Baking powder: For leavening power.
Kosher salt: To balance out all the sweetness!
Pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves: A combination of warm spices gives these pumpkin donuts the perfect fall flavor!
Vegetable oil: Use vegetable oil makes these donuts super moist and soft.
Pumpkin puree: Pumpkin puree adds flavor, moisture, and that wonderful orange color. Combined with warm spices and a maple glaze, this baked donut is perfect for fall. Be sure to use pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling, which has a lot of additives that will mess up the recipe.
Sugar: Granulated sugar adds sweetness and gives these donuts a really tender crumb that melts in your mouth.
Sour cream: A little bit of sour cream adds richness and moisture without making these donuts too dense. And a little bit of tang from the sour cream balances out the sweetness.
Eggs: For binding and structure.
Vanilla: For added flavor.
Butter, pure maple syrup, ground cinnamon, powdered sugar, vanilla, and kosher salt for the maple glaze.
FAQs:
Why is this recipe primarily listed in grams? I develop my recipes in grams because weighing your ingredients is the best, most accurate way to bake. Baking is a science and precision is key to success! Measuring cups are not standardized, and what’s more, the way each baker uses them varies drastically, which ultimately gives you inconsistent (and sometimes negative) results. For instance, did you know that scooping flour out of a cannister can give you 50% more flour than what’s called for in the recipe? By weighing your ingredients rather than using measuring cups, you can confidently know that you are using the correct amount of each ingredient, giving you greater success & delicious results. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale, like this one when you bake. Plus, it makes clean up a lot easier!
Can I use pumpkin pie filling? No, be sure to use pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling has a lot of extra ingredients that will alter the recipe.
What kind of maple syrup should I use for the glaze? Be sure to use pure maple syrup, not the flavored maple syrup that you put on pancakes and waffles.
A few notes before you bake:
If you don’t have a donut pan, you can just as easily bake this batter into pumpkin muffins! Same delicious flavor, same wonderfully moist texture, just in muffin form. See my recipe notes for instructions!
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Baked Pumpkin Maple Donuts
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 15 donuts 1x
- Category: Breakfast & Brunch
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Breakfast, Brunch
Description
These baked pumpkin maple donuts are incredibly soft, moist, and full of fall flavors like pumpkin, warm spices, and maple. The perfect fall morning treat!
Ingredients
For the pumpkin donuts:
- 250 gm (2 cups, spoon and leveled) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 112 gm (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
- 340 gm (1 1/2 cups) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 300 gm (1 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
- 60 gm (1/4 cup) sour cream, at room temperature
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the maple glaze:
- 42 gm (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 80 gm (1/3 cup) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 120 gm (1 cup) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Optional garnish: freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
To make the pumpkin donuts:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two standard donut pans with baking spray*. Don’t worry if you only have one donut pan, you’ll just need to bake in batches.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, sugar, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the ingredients together until no more pockets of flour are visible.
- Transfer the batter to two piping bags or one gallon-sized zip-top bag. Snip the end of the bag to create a 1″ opening and pipe the batter into the prepared pans, filling each donut well about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the donuts spring back when lightly pressed or when a toothpick inserted into one of the donuts comes out clean. Allow the donuts to cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then gently loosen the edges and remove from the pan, placing on a wire rack to continue cooling. Allow to cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes before glazing.
To make the maple glaze:
- Place the butter, maple syrup, and ground cinnamon in a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the butter is melted. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and kosher salt. Taste and add more salt and/or cinnamon to taste.
- Dunk the cooled donuts in the warm glaze and place the donuts back on the wire rack so that the glaze can set. (NOTE: If the glaze starts to set in the pan while you’re dunking the donuts, simply place the pan back on the heat and whisk until it’s warmed and thinned out a bit.)
- Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg, if desired.
Notes
*Pumpkin muffins: If you don’t have a donut pan you can easily make pumpkin muffins with this batter! To make pumpkin muffins, fill 12 to 15 lined muffin tins 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature
Keywords: pumpkin, pumpkin spice, maple, maple glaze, baked donut, donut, cake donut, pumpkin donut
