Easy Baked Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts

Normally, I don’t go for recipes that require a special tool or baking pan, but when I saw this recipe on my Facebook like page, I was headed to the store for a new pan. As you can probably tell, it is a doughnut pan. They are inexpensive and easy to find. I found mine at the craft store, and with a 40% off coupon, I got a good deal. However, you still can make this recipe without a doughnut pan. Just use a standard muffin pan and increase the baking time. After all, one can never have too many Pumpkin Muffin recipes in their repertoire.

These are delightfully moist and cakey treats with a beautiful orange color. They are best served warm from the oven, rolled in cinnamon sugar, but they will keep for several days. This is a delicious recipe that I will go back to again and again. In fact, I might even experiment a bit and substitute half of the oil with mashed banana to give it that Pumpkin-Banana Bread flavor that we also enjoy.

Easy Baked Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts

Prep: 15 minsCook: 15 minsTotal: 30 mins Servings: 15 doughnuts Low-Fat Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts are the perfect portable treat for breakfast or anytime of the day!

Equipment

• Doughnut pan
• Wire whisk
• Pastry bag and tip set

Ingredients 

For the Doughnuts

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree, fresh or canned
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

For the Cinnamon Sugar

• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans or a 12-cup muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking powder until smooth. Add the flour, stirring just until smooth. Fill the wells of the doughnut pan or muffin pan about ¾ full, about a scant ¼ cup of batter in each well. I like to put the batter in my large pastry bag to evenly and easily fill the wells. (The recipe makes 15, so you will need to bake in two batches if you only have one doughnut pan.)
3. Bake the doughnuts for 15-18 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in one comes out clean. If you are making muffins, bake for 23-25 minutes. If you are making mini muffins, increase the temperature to 425℉ and bake for 7-8 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl whisk together the sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
5. Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Loosen the edges and gently coat them in the cinnamon sugar. If you have made muffins, sprinkle the tops heavily with the cinnamon sugar. Serve warm. Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. Enjoy!

Notes

• Fill a large pastry bag with the batter to evenly fill the wells of the doughnut pan.
• The batter can also be used to make muffins. Increase the baking time to 23-35 minutes.
• The batter can also be used to make mini muffin “holes”. Increase the temperature to 425°F and bake for 7-8 minutes. Yields about 5 1/2 dozen.
• You can use self-rising flour in lieu of all-purpose flour. Reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon; omit the baking powder, and substitute 2 cups (8 ounces) self-rising flour for the all-purpose flour. Bake the doughnuts for about 18 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 234kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 289mg, Potassium: 82mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 24g, Vitamin A: 3862IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 41mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.