These cozy and comforting Spiced Powdered Donuts are made with my favorite spiced cake batter. Covered in a spiced powdered sugar, these fluffy, baked donuts are just the dessert you need to brighten your morning!

Spiced Powdered Donuts

I know we’re all chasing after the pumpkin once fall hits, but I promise these Spiced Powdered Donuts bring all of that cozy, fall flavor with zero pumpkin! The base of the donuts is actually my favorite cake batter with a homemade “pumpkin pie” spice mixed in. We’ve got cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice mixed into the batter and the powdered sugar coating. It’s a whole lot of comforting flavor all wrapped up in the fluffiest, most tender baked donuts!

I consider this recipe to be a “small batch” which makes six regular donuts. I find that these donuts are best eaten right after they’ve been coated with the powdered sugar…wait too long and the sugar tends to “melt” into the donuts. So half a dozen seems like the perfect number of donuts to be consumed within a day.

The batter itself comes together just like my favorite cake and cupcake batters. You’ll beat the sugar and egg until fluffy, add a room temperature egg and vanilla extract, and then alternate beating in the dry ingredients and milk (also room temperature) until everything is totally combined and smooth. If you’re not used to making homemade cakes then the process may seem a little finicky or daunting, but I promise that after you do it once, you’ll find it comes easily.

Finally, once the donuts are completely cool (we don’t want the powdered sugar coating to melt!), you can use a fork or spoon to turn them over in a bowl filled with the sugar coating. Get the donuts nice and coated and then they’re all ready to enjoy!

What You’ll Need + Substitutions

All-purpose flour is the base for these donuts. I haven’t tested this recipe with any other flour.

Baking powder & baking soda combine to leaven these donuts to the perfect shape and fluffiness! I tested this recipe with different combinations and found that using both helped get the shape I wanted.

Salt adds depth to flavor and slightly cuts the sweetness of these donuts. 

Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, & allspice combine to bring that cozy, fall-inspired spice we all love. These spices are the main star of these donuts, so I don’t recommend skimping. You can, however, use a pumpkin pie spice in place of all of the spices.

Plant-based butter (or regular butter) is used to give these donuts flavor. It’s softened and then beaten with the sugar to help create a light, cakey donut texture. I only recommend using your favorite softened butter – nothing in liquid form.

Brown sugar has molasses mixed in, which adds a lovely flavor to these donuts. You can use a white granulated sugar or coconut sugar in its place, but the leavening agents may not work properly (the donuts may not rise the way we want them to!).

Egg binds the ingredients and also lends to the fluffiness of these donuts. I haven’t tested this recipe with any egg alternatives.

Vanilla extract adds flavor, and I don’t recommend skipping it. A nice flavor addition would be maple extract if you’re looking to add some extra flavor (replace all or 1/2 of the vanilla extract with maple extract).

Plant-based milk (or regular milk) is used to moisten these donuts. Feel free to use your favorite plant-based milk (almond, oat, etc) or cow’s milk. Just make sure you bring the milk to room temperature before adding it to the recipe.

More Donuts Recipes

Chocolate Coffee Donuts

Lemon Cake Donuts

Pumpkin Collagen Donuts

Chocolate Banana Cake Donuts (vegan)

Chocolate Guinness Baked Donuts

Yield: 6 Donuts

Spiced Powdered Donuts

Print

Fluffy cake donuts filled with cozy, fall spices! These delicious donuts are covered in a spiced powdered sugar for extra sweetness!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Donuts

• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp (114g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 cup (57g) plant-based butter, softened (or regular butter)
• 1/3 cup (80g) light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (110g) oat milk, room temperature (or other milk)

Sugar Coating

• 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (optional)
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare a 6-well donut pan with non-stick spray. Bring your egg and milk to room temperature - place the whole egg in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes + heat up the milk.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; set aside.
3. In a medium or large bowl, beat together the softened butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until all is totally combined.
4. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and beat. Add 1/2 of the milk and beat. Repeat until, finally, you beat in the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients.
5. Pipe or spoon the batter into the greased muffin wells, filling to the top. I like to add a gallon ziploc bag to a tall glass, scrape the batter into the bag, snip a hole in the corner of the bag, and pipe the batter into the pan.
6. Gently wiggle the pan to settle the batter. Bake donuts at 350°F for 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a donut comes out with a few crumbs.
7. Allow donuts to cool in the pan for 3-5 minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack. I like to wave the upside down pan firmly in the air until all the donuts fall out. Allow the donuts to cool completely.
8. In a medium bowl, add the powdered sugar and spices and whisk together until well mixed. Take each cooled donut and flip it around in the sugar until well coated. Enjoy immediately.
9. Store any leftover donuts in an airtight container in the refrigerator - the powdered sugar may "melt" and become absorbed by the donuts.

Did you make this recipe? I would love to see!

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