There's just something about Blueberry Cake Donuts that makes me so happy. The purple color, the cakey texture, the vanilla glaze that soaks in every nook and cranny creating the perfect crispy crunch on the exterior. And the flavor!
Blueberry Cake Donuts will fulfill every dream you have of the perfect donut.
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Homemade Baked Blueberry Cake Donuts
My absolute favorite flavor of donut is Dunkin Donuts blueberry cake donut. I hear there's also a very similar Krispy Kreme blueberry cake donut recipe. I haven't had this one, but I have a hunch mine could easily compete!
I never would have thought that blueberry doughnuts would turn out to be my favorite, but lo and behold, there's something really special about the flavor that makes it irresistible.
Having the ability to recreate these in a homemade version that's both easy and baked instead of fried has saved me tons of calories (and money!).
If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a huge fan of making donuts at home.
And baking blueberry cake doughnuts at home has once again reinforced my decision that made from scratch donuts is the way to go.
How to Make Blueberry Cake Donuts at home
If you don't already have at least one donut pan in your kitchen pantry, I highly recommend getting one or two ASAP.
They are inexpensive and there's nothing quite like a homemade donut that's in the shape of an actual donut to make the experience of homemade baked donuts complete!
This baked blueberry cake donut recipe comes together quickly. The recipe uses both all-purpose and cake flour to achieve a tender, cakey interior for this baked donut.
If you do not have cake flour, you can easily substitute it - click here and scroll down to the tips section for my easy substitution for cake flour.
Using one whole egg plus an additional egg yolk helps create structure and richness to the donut. And the buttermilk gives these blueberry donuts a slight tang, moisture, and tenderness.
As you'll read more about below in the tips section, I recommend using frozen blueberries for this recipe.
Frozen blueberries are definitely more convenient, too, as you can keep them much longer than fresh and you'll have them on hand for whenever the mood strikes to bake these donuts up.
Glazed Blueberry Donuts
The icing on the cake for these blueberry cake donuts is the glaze. The glaze is simple to whisk together using powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and a pinch of salt.
Once the blueberry donuts are completely cooled, dunk them, top and bottom, into that glaze and allow it to soak in before taking your first bite.
The glaze on these donuts provides just the right amount of crisp and crunch to the exterior. This complements the cakey interior so well creating a heavenly donut bite.
Tips for Making Blueberry Cake Donuts
- I highly recommend investing in a donut pan (or two) for this, and other baked donut recipes. They're inexpensive (less than $15 for two) and make the shape and baking of these donuts come out perfectly! Most are also non-stick which makes removing the donuts (and clean-up!) super easy
- I recommend using frozen blueberries for this recipe rather than fresh. Frozen blueberries, when thawed, will give you all that delicious and beautiful purple-hued juice that, when mixed into the batter, makes these the perfect color and consistency
- To fill the donut cavities, you can use a piping bag or create your own. Start by taking a gallon sized ziptop bag and fill it with the donut batter. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can and twist the top to close so the batter doesn't squeeze out the top while you're piping. On one bottom corner, snip a small diagonal piece off with a scissor. Squeeze the batter out into each cavity, filling only ⅔ of the way, and smooth the top of the batter with a butter knife or small offset spatula
- Try not to overfill the donut cavities with batter. It may be tempting, however, the donuts will puff up while baking. And, you’ll lose the hole in the middle if you overfill. If this does happen, just take a sharp knife and cut out the middle once the donuts are cooled to get the center hole back. You may also use an apple corer, cupcake corer or a large piping tip to punch the center out. I like to dunk these little scraps in the glaze and pop em in my mouth while topping the donuts (baker’s privilege!)
Useful Kitchen Tools for Making Blueberry Cake Donuts
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Ingredients
For the Blueberry Donuts:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cake flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups frozen blueberries thawed
For the Glaze:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Spray donut pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and cake flours, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add the whole eggs and egg yolk to the mixer and cream until blended, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk in 3 stages, mixing on medium-low and stopping to scrape down the sides between additions.
- Turn mixer to low and gently stir in the blueberries, mixing just until evenly incorporated and the batter is a nice shade of blue/purple.
- Fill a large piping bag (or large ziplock bag with a corner cut off) with the batter.
- Pipe batter into each donut well until each is about ⅔ of the way full (do not fill to the top).
- Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until the donuts spring back when poked. Allow to cool completely before glazing.
- In a big bowl, combine all the glaze ingredients and whisk together. Adjust the consistency by adding either milk to thin one teaspoon at a time or powdered sugar to thicken one tablespoon at a time.
- Once donuts are completely cool, dip each donut top and bottom into the glaze, shaking off any excess, and placing on a wire rack set over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Notes
- Store glazed donuts in container with tightly fitted lid at room temperature for up to 3 days
- Recipe adapted from Duff Goldman
Nutrition
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Comments
Bhoomika
How can I substitute the blueberries??
I don't get blueberries where I live so...
Kim
You can try replacing the blueberries with another frozen berry in the same quantity. If you don't have any frozen berries, try them plain without the fruit or try folding in a dried fruit!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
The texture and glaze on these donuts look just perfect Kim! Can't wait to give them a try!
Kim
They are absolutely perfect!
Deb
Are the frozen blueberries supposed to be drained?
Same with other frozen fruits? If not drained there will be much more liquid going into the recipe. May I ask why frozen blueberries are recommended rather than fresh?
Kim
Hi Deb! I actually wrote about this in the blog post - Frozen blueberries, when thawed, will give you all that delicious and beautiful purple-hued juice that, when mixed into the batter, makes these the perfect color and consistency. You can certainly use fresh, but I love that purple color the juice from the thawed frozen blueberries provide.
Lucy nguyen
Hi Kim! I can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend! Silly question, but can I just cut the ingredients in half to make just half the servings? Thank you!
Kim
Yep, that works! The only ingredient in this recipe that may be difficult to just cut in half is the egg yolk. I would recommend either including the full yolk (it likely won't have too much of an impact on the end result) or try whisking it with a fork and weighing it, then pouring half into the batter.
Thùy Nguyen
Just tried the recipe couple of days ago. Everyone who tried it liked it! 👍. Donut definitely had more of a cake texture. Happy that icing was not too sweet.
Kim
so very happy to hear this, Thuy! Thanks for making the recipe and sharing this feedback!
Laurie
Just made this for the first time today. I think I should have let mine bake a minute longer. I used silicone pans and it seems they don't quite crisp as much. The flavor was delicious, just felt like I didn't get the texture quite right so I'd like to try again
Kim
I'm glad you like the flavor a lot! I've never used silicone pans, so it's good to know they don't crisp up enough. The metal pans are super inexpensive on amazon if you want to try those. Good luck!!
Andi
Is 3 TBL of butter correct? Mine is not creaming or fully, just sandy sugar?
Kim
Yes, that's correct! Is your butter room temperature? Try mixing it for a bit longer to see it comes together.
Kelsey
Hi Kim- can these be frozen for a few days? Thanks!
Kim
Yes! Freeze them hen they're fresh so they're freshest tasting when you thaw them. Enjoy!
Tracy
May be a silly question, bit if I use frozen wild blueberries would I use the same amount or a bit less, do you think?
These are my husband's favorite type of donut and I'd love to give them a go!
Thanks!
Kimberlee Ho
I think the amount would be about the same. To be sure, I would start by adding a bit less than the recipe calls for (1/4 - 1/2 cup less). That way, you can look at the batter and see if it looks like there are enough blueberries throughout and the color is that nice shade of purple. You can always add a bit more, if needed! Let me know how it works out!
Katie
Can you fry this donut instead of baking?
Kimberlee Ho
Hi Katie! I haven't tried frying them. They are quite tender, so I wonder if they'd hold up to frying. If you try it, let me know!
Frances Christian
Hi, someone asked earlier if you are supposed to use the juice from the thawed blueberries or drain them. I didn’t see and answer. Do we drain or use the juice?
Thank you, Frances Christian
Kimberlee Ho
I'm sorry I did not answer the previous question about this! I do drain the juice from the thawed blueberries before adding them to the batter. You can use the juice for something else. Enjoy and happy baking!
April Singer
Tried this recipe today. My first time making baked donuts. I had two Wilton donut pans, six donuts each. Following the instructions to not fill to the top I got 18 nice sized donuts.
I added lemon zest to the batter, lemon juice to the glaze, and a little fresh zest on the top of a few while the glaze was still wet.
They are good. We'll be giving away some because we don't want to eat them all!
Kimberlee Ho
I love the addition of lemon zest and juice! I'm glad you loved them.
Kimberly
Could this be made into a bundt cake? What adjustments would need to be made?
Kimberlee Ho
There's likely not nearly enough batter to make these donuts into a Bundt Cake. Bundt pans typically come in 10-cup to 14-cup sizes - this batter would not be enough to fill a bundt pan.
D grlnd
I believe if you double your recipe it would work for a bundt pan. Try doubling the recipe and spraying pan with bakers joy.
Fill your bundt pan 2/3 full then bake your bundt cake for 40 minutes checking with pick to see if comes out clean. If it is nit done continue to bake in 3 minute increments until does. If cake
done remove from oven place on sided baking sheet. Then poke small slices with shark knife in cake around top pour over glaze let set until glaze dries. Remove carefully to cake plate using two large spatulas one on each side carefully lift to keep from breaking cake apart-to serve.
Kimberlee Ho
Thank you so much for sharing this!! It will be be very valuable for other bakers.
Dgrind
I believe you should use all purpose flour instead of cake flour for a bundt recipe though
Abbey
I saw the comment and response about being able to freeze them, but I was wondering if you would recommend freezing them without the glaze?
Kimberlee Ho
That should work just fine!
Abbey
Great!! Thank you!!