Birthday cake–step aside and make room for birthday donuts! These are extra fluffy baked donut (yes baked) made with browned butter for an extra rich and nutty flavor. They’re super easy to make and delicious.

It’s my birthday tomorrow and I really wanted to make a funfetti cake or cupcakes, but my brain just kept saying donuts, donuts, donuts. Something was compelling me to pull out my donut pans and do something with them. Don’t get me wrong, I love funfetti cupcakes just as much as the next person, but thought I’d change it up this year. Hence, why I’m sharing these brown butter baked birthday cake donuts today!

Let’s go into this by nothing though that I have a love-hate relationship with baked donuts. It’s like…I know fried donuts are just better, so if I’m going to eat a donut, why eat a baked donut? I live in Chicago, I can hop in my bike and be over at Doughnut Vault in less than 10 minutes.

However, what if I told you that these were just as good as any fried donut?

You see, the reason why baked donuts get so much hate is that they usually end up as just this dense, chewy ring that you’re okay with but don’t feel 100% happy about. Yes, you can cover it with chocolate and icing but it’s still not quite the same.

My goal with these birthday cake baked donuts was to make sure they were ultra soft and fluffy with a perfect flavor.

Full of browned butter, vanilla, and lots of sprinkles, here are a few reasons why I can these donuts a success:

• They’re easy to make: the batter itself takes less than 10 minutes to make, and the bake time is around 10 minutes as well. Since these are not yeast donuts, no need to wait for the dough to rise.
• Browned butter gives them a rich flavor: stick around this blog long enough and you’ll learn about my love for browned butter. It adds a nutty and rich flavor to these donuts that helps set them apart.
• They are ultra soft and fluffy: I started seeing more success with this recipe as I started treating it more like a muffin than a donut. That big, fluffy rise that you get from muffins? That’s what I wanted to achieve here.
• They’re dipped in a vanilla glaze: sweet, simple, and perfect.

What You Will Need

Ingredients for Birthday Cake Donuts

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Fine sea salt
• Vanilla extract
• Almond extract
• Unsalted butter: more instructions on how to brown it later
• Large eggs, at room temperature: to quickly warm up cold eggs, place them in a bowl of very warm water for 10 minutes.
• Granulated sugar
• Buttermilk
• Rainbow sprinkles–these from India Tree are my absolute favorite to use.

Ingredients for Vanilla Icing

Equipment

• Donut molds or pans
• Two mixing bowls: one large, and one medium
• A whisk

How to Brown Butter

Browning butter is the first step in this donut recipe! Since we’re only using 4 tbsp of butter here, this won’t take very long at all and makes these donuts taste so amazing. Here’s a breakdown of what to do:

1. Start by cutting your butter into slices to ensure that it melts evenly, then layer it into a thick-bottomed skillet. Melt it over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2. After the butter has melted, it will begin to crackle. Stir it frequently at this stage.
3. After the sizzling subsides, the butter will start to foam up. Continue stirring and keeping a close eye on it. Meanwhile, be on the lookout for a nutty aroma, an amber color, and brown flecks.
4. Once the butter has reached this stage, remove it immediately from heat and pour it into a heatproof bowl to prevent burning.
5. Let the butter cool down before using it.

Steps to Make Donuts

Making these birthday cake donuts is super easy! See below for a step by step guide:

1. Brown the butter following the directions in the above section. Let the butter cool down before using it. It’s okay if it’s a little warm to the touch, as long as it’s not piping hot.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease your donut pans.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients (except sugar) together: flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Whisk the sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and almond extracts together until creamy, then slowly whisk in the buttermilk until smooth. I recommend heating the buttermilk for 10-15 seconds in the microwave before using it to get it to room temperature.
5. Create a well in your dry ingredients and then pour in the wet ingredients.
6. Use a whisk to bring the batter together until it is just combined–a few lumps are okay. Fold in the sprinkles.
7. Transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe the batter into the donut molds. No piping bag? A zip-loc with a corner cut off works perfectly!
8. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the donuts are puffed up and set.
9. To make the glaze, whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together. Dip the top of each donut into the glaze and then turn it over and let it set on a cooling rack.

Recipe Tips and Q&A

Tips

Don’t over-mix the batter: to keep the donuts light and fluffy, avoid over-mixing the wet and dry ingredients. Combine them only until the flour is mixed in and not any longer. This will prevent extra gluten from building up, which causes a tougher donut. Like a muffin, a couple lumps are okay here.

Use room temperature or warm ingredients: this will help give the donuts a better rise. Make sure that the eggs and buttermilk are at room temperature.

Q&A

How do I store leftover donuts? Should you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days. However, they truly are best served fresh!

Can I halve the recipe? Only want 6 donuts instead of 12? This recipe can easily be halved! I made it in half batches as I was testing this recipe and can assure you that it’s just as delicious. When halving the ¾ cup of milk, simply use ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp.

Did You Make This Recipe?

If so, I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a rating and/or comment to spread the love and help others find this recipe.

Also feel free take a picture and share it with me on  Instagram @toppedwithhoney. Looking forward to seeing your fluffy baked birthday cake donuts

If you’re not ready to bake yet, no problem! Simply hover over any image in this post (pick your favorite), or tap if you’re on mobile, and click the pin icon in the corner to save for later.

Have fun baking and check out similar recipes here! 

Brown Butter Birthday Cake Baked Donuts