Buttermilk donuts are soft, sweet, light and and fluffy baked donuts made with tangy buttermilk, topped with a creamy buttermilk vanilla glaze. These buttermilk cake donuts are quick and easy to make using two bowls, a whisk and a donut pan.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
I absolutely love baked donuts. A few of my favorites from the blog are my Powdered Sugar Donuts, Maple Donuts, Cinnamon Sugar Donuts, Chocolate Donuts, and Pumpkin Donuts. I am so excited to add these incredibly delicious and easy to make baked buttermilk donuts to the blog. I know you’ll love them too because:
- They have the the perfect soft, light and fluffy texture. These light and fluffy donuts bake up wonderfully soft and airy thanks to the buttermilk.
- Easy to make with simple ingredients. Buttermilk doughnuts are made using the same simple ingredients used to make cake or muffins. This recipe for buttermilk donuts is made using two bowls, a whisk and a donut pan.
- You watched With Love, Meghan. Grab your edible flower sprinkles and make my version of buttermilk donuts inspired by those made by Megan Markle (...er, Sussex). Honestly, all the food in her show looked amazing and these donuts definitely capture the easy elegance of the food she makes.
Ingredients
This baked donut recipe requires only a handful of ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your house! Here’s what you’ll need to make these quick and easy donuts.
- Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather a melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, honey or maple syrup and buttermilk.
- Glaze: Powdered sugar, buttermilk (or milk or heavy cream).
Substitutions
These buttermilk baked doughnuts are made to be quick and easy. Here are my recommended substitutions to make this donut recipe in case you need to swap an ingredient or two.
- All purpose flour: This recipe hasn’t been tested with an alternative flour. However, if you want to make this recipe gluten free, use a good 1-1 flour and measure by weight (240 g) rather than cups.
- Baking Powder: This acts as a leavening agent in these light and fluffy honey donuts with buttermilk.
- Salt: Every sweet treat needs a pinch of salt to enhance the overall flavors of the baked good.
- Granulated Sugar: Make these buttermilk donuts refined sugar free by swapping the granulated sugar with maple sugar.
- Eggs: This recipe hasn’t been tested without eggs.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is an essential ingredient to make buttermilk donuts. Full fat is the best. If you don’t have buttermilk you can make an approximation by mixing 2 ¼ teaspoons vinegar with ¾ cup milk. Stir well to combine and allow the milk to sit for about 10 - 15 minutes while the milk curdles.
- Honey: This is a truly lovely flavor to add to donuts. If you don’t have honey, use maple syrup in place of the honey or add an extra ¼ cup (50 g) of sugar.
- Melted Butter: Any neutral baking oil such as olive oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil or canola oil will also work well. However, butter is recommended.
- Vanilla Extract: This adds a lovely background flavor that pairs really well with buttermilk.
- Powdered Sugar: If you need a lower sugar powdered sugar, I recommend Swerve or Lakanto.
Variations
- Mini Buttermilk Donuts: Aka, light and fluffy donut holes. Prepare the donut recipe according to the recipe directions. Grease a 24 ct. mini muffin pan or doughnut hole pan. Use a tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the batter into the prepared pan about ¾ full. Bake the donut holes in a 350 F (177 C) oven for about 12 -14 minutes. If you would like to coat the donut holes in glaze, wait for them to cool to room temperature, dip in the glaze and then dry them on a cooling rack.
- Other Glazes or Toppings: Top the buttermilk cake donuts with chocolate glaze, cinnamon sugar, maple glaze or top them with edible flower sprinkles.
How To Make
Learn how to make buttermilk donuts in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Grease 1 - 2 6 ct. donut pans and set aside. To make donut holes, grease a mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt together until well combined.
- In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Whisk in the butter, honey, vanilla extract and buttermilk until smooth and fully combine. Mix the dry ingredients to the wet. Whisk well until mostly smooth and combined. Carefully transfer the donut batter into a piping bag or ziplock bag.
- Pipe the donut batter into each of the prepared donut cavities in the donut pan. This should fill about ¾ of each cavity of the donut pan. Bake the donuts for about 10 -12 minutes. The donuts are done when the tops bounce back quickly when lightly pressed. Cool the donuts in the pan for 5 minutes before gently taking them out of the pan and transferring them onto a cooling rack.
- Make the vanilla buttermilk glaze by whisking the powdered sugar with buttermilk, milk or heavy cream until smooth and well combined. Once the donuts have cooled to room temperature, dip the tops of the donuts in the glaze. Gently shake the glaze to allow any excess to fall away. Place the buttermilk glazed donuts on a cooling rack to set, top with any toppings such as sprinkles or edible flowers and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Store: These buttermilk cake donuts are truly best when enjoyed the same day they are made. To enjoy them beyond the day they are made, store them in an airtight container lined with paper towels on the bottom. Store them at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Freeze: Wrap each cooled donut in plastic wrap. Place the uncoated donuts in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. I recommend coating the donuts in glaze after freezing and thawing.
- Thaw: To thaw these homemade donuts with buttermilk, set them out at room temperature for a few hours. Once they are fully defrosted top them with he glaze and enjoy.
M’s Expert Tips
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature: This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly.
- Use full fat ingredients. If possible, use full fat buttermilk. Using full fat buttermilk creates the best buttermilk donuts.
- Measure the flour properly. I highly recommend using a food scale to get perfectly measured dry ingredients every time.
- Don’t overmix the donut batter. Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Use a piping bag or ziplock bag to pipe the batter into the pan. Transfer the buttermilk cake donut batter into a ziplock bag with the tip cut off for the easiest way to fill the donut pan. This batter is thin enough that the donut pan is also easily filled by transferring the batter into a measuring cup and pouring into the greased muffin pan.
- Cool the donuts in the pan for no longer than 5 - 10 minutes.
- Cool the donuts before topping them with glaze. The buttermilk doughnuts need to be completely cooled before topping them with glaze or with any other toppings.
FAQs
Yes! If you don’t have a donut pan and still want to make this buttermilk donut recipe, use a mini muffin pan and make donut holes instead! Fill each cavity of a 24 ct. Mini muffin pan ¾ full. Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 12 - 14 minutes or until the tops of the donut holes bounce back when gently pressed.
Old fashioned donuts are not made with yeast and when fried, are fried at a lower temperature. Regular donuts are typically made with yeast and are less dense than old fashioned donuts. These baked buttermilk donuts are light and airy like regular donuts but do not contain yeast, similar to old fashioned donuts.
If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make a similar donut by using the same amount of regular milk and adding 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar. Another way to DIY buttermilk is to mix 2 ¼ teaspoons vinegar with ¾ cup milk. Stir well to combine and allow the milk to sit for about 10 - 15 minutes while the milk curdles.
Buttermilk is a slightly fermented milk. This acidic milk reacts with the dough to relax and tenderize the gluten. This creates a light and fluffy texture with a buttery flavor.
Other Buttermilk Recipes to Try
If you try this Buttermilk Donuts recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking!
Buttermilk Donuts Recipe
Equipment
- 1 whisk
- 1 - 2 6 ct. donut pans
- 1 piping bag or ziplock bag optional
Ingredients
Buttermilk Donuts
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teapsoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup (60 ml) honey or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (180 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
Buttermilk Glaze
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) buttermilk, milk or heavy cream, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Grease 1 - 2 6 ct. donut pans and set aside. To make donut holes, grease a mini muffin pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt together until well combined.2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teapsoon salt
- In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Whisk in the butter, honey, vanilla extract and buttermilk until smooth and fully combine. Mix the dry ingredients to the wet. Whisk well until mostly smooth and combined. Carefully transfer the donut batter into a piping bag or ziplock bag.2 large eggs, room temperature, 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, melted , ¼ cup (60 ml) honey or maple syrup, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract , ¾ cup (180 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
- Pipe the donut batter into each of the prepared donut cavities in the donut pan. This should fill about ¾ of each cavity of the donut pan.Bake the donuts for about 10 -12 minutes. The donuts are done when the tops bounce back quickly when lightly pressed.
- Cool the donuts in the pan for 5 minutes before gently taking them out of the pan and transferring them onto a cooling rack. Make the vanilla buttermilk glaze by whisking the powdered sugar with buttermilk, milk or heavy cream until smooth and well combined.1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar, 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) buttermilk, milk or heavy cream, room temperature
- Once the donuts have cooled to room temperature, dip the tops of the donuts in the glaze. Gently shake the glaze to allow any excess to fall away. Place the buttermilk glazed donuts on a cooling rack to set, top with any toppings such as sprinkles or edible flowers and enjoy.
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