Recipe for perfectly moist baked-not-fried Coffee Cake Doughnuts topped with a brown sugar crumble to start your morning off on a sweet note!
Coffee cake reminds me of my childhood in Wisconsin. Every year, there was a giant community breakfast to support local dairy farmers. All the food was made by volunteers. Hundreds of people would turn out for a classic breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon and coffee cake. My family would spend an entire day making coffee cake to contribute. Even now, a bite of coffee cake immediately brings back memories of home.
Today I’m putting my own spin on this classic breakfast recipe that has so memories attached to it. You get the same great moist and crumbly texture of coffee cake but with a fun twist – it’s doughnut-shaped!
Texture is everything with these doughnuts. They are the perfect balance of dense and soft – just like coffee cake. The real star is the brown sugar crumble that adds the perfect texture and crunch! It’s absolutely delightful.
Baking with Golden Brown Sugar
In this recipe and for all my baking, I only use C&H® Brown Sugar. For this recipe I chose Golden Brown Sugar because of its nutty, caramel flavor, moistness, and subtle molasses flavor. It’s great for baking, spiced cakes, brownies and crumble toppings like this one. If the recipe you’re looking at doesn’t specify dark brown sugar, it means you should use Golden Brown Sugar.
The C&H® brand is synonymous with freshness and quality. Their brown sugar stays fresh longer and doesn’t dry out or harden. My entire pantry is full of their products, from granulated sugar to Demerara sugar. Just like coffee cake, C&H® sugar makes me think of home – their sugars were my mother’s choice when we were making coffee cake together almost thirty years ago.
C&H® products are on Amazon meaning you can get them delivered directly to your door! No matter what you’re making, they have a sugar for your culinary adventure.
Baked Coffee Cake Doughnut Recipe
These coffee cake donuts are great because they use ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. They are baked in the oven instead of fried, which for me is huge. I’ve tried to fry things at home a handful of times and what a disaster. A sheen of oil over my entire kitchen and the splatters when you put in the doughnut batter – it’s so stressful! I’ll leave frying to the experts and instead use a doughnut pan and my oven to get a great tasting doughnut without the hassle.
Even though there are three parts to the recipe, it’s super straightforward and easy to follow. I make the brown sugar topping first to allow it to harden in the freezer while I make the batter. This allows the topping to set on the doughnuts as they cook and form a caramelized topping. I reserve a portion of the crumble to add just after the doughnuts come out of the oven to optimize the crumbly texture. This two-part approach is the key to success!
The finishing step is an easy two-ingredient glaze to add the perfect bit of sweetness.
Why These Coffee Cake Doughnuts are the Best:
- Two of your favorite breakfast foods are combined to make something even better!
- C&H® Golden Brown Sugar adds a nutty, caramel flavor and moistness to the brown sugar crumble. It’s the perfect texture and taste to take these donuts to the next level.
- This recipe uses common ingredients you probably already have on hand.
- They are perfect to enjoy with your morning cup of coffee!
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Baked Not Fried Coffee Cake Doughnut Recipe
Recipe for perfectly moist baked-not-fried Coffee Cake Doughnuts topped with a brown sugar crumble to start your morning off on a sweet note!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 41 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 doughnuts 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Crumble Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed C&H® Golden Brown Sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces.
Coffee Cake Doughnuts Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed C&H® Golden Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup whole milk
Vanilla Donut Glaze Ingredients:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1–2 teaspoons milk
Special Equipment:
- Doughnut pans*
- Freezer bag or piping bag
Instructions
Make the Brown Sugar Crumble:
- Combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Using your hands, mix the cold butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse sand. Place in freezer while you make the doughnut batter.
Make the Coffee Cake Doughnuts:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray two doughnut pans with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, vegetable oil, granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
- Stir half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix. Stir in the milk. Add the remaining dry ingredients and stir until no streaks of flour remain. The batter will be fairly thick.
- Spoon the mixture into a large ziplock bag or piping bag. Snip off the tip and pipe the mixture into the prepared doughnut pans, filling to about 1/4″ from the rim.
- Sprinkle with a generous layer of the frozen brown sugar crumble mixture, reserving approximately 1/3 of the mixture for after baking.
- Bake for 11 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the remaining brown sugar crumble mixture. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then use a fork to gently loosen them from the pan and remove to a wire rack.
- Drizzle with doughnut glaze and enjoy immediately.
Make the doughnut glaze:
- Mix the powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl until combined. Add more milk as needed to get the desired consistency.
Notes
*This recipe is intended for a 2 ¼-inch doughnut pan. If using a 3 ¼-inch doughnut pan, I would double the recipe.
Craving this perfect combination of donuts and coffee cake? Pin this recipe for later!
Thank you to C&H® Sugar for sponsoring this post.
Looks great. Thanks for sharing.