Baked Donuts filled with jelly are incredibly soft, airy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Just like our donut holes, this homemade donut recipe is easy and always gets rave reviews!
Donuts are the ultimate comfort food. The aroma from the oven and the little hint of jelly peeking out of the side make these irresistible. I am a sucker for classic home-baked treats like blueberry muffins or chocolate chip banana bread and these baked donuts do not disappoint!
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Baked Donut Recipe:
Baked donuts are cotton-candy soft and fluffy. I remember my Mother making apple piroshki (Russian fried doughnuts) after school and it is one of the food memories I will always treasure. Baked yeast donuts are even easier and is a tradition I’m continuing with my own family.
I’ll take one of these over a Krispy Kreme any day because they are way more satisfying – the perfect balance of fluffy center to sugar coated surface without the greasy mouth feel and my belly is always happier eating a homemade baked donut!
Is it Donuts or Doughnuts?
Which is the correct spelling? This is heated debate because donuts… mmm doughnuts! There’s even a National Donut Day and it’s the first Friday of June. It is the ultimate comfort food. The real question is – when were doughnuts invented? ‘Doughnut’ is the original old-school spelling but ‘donuts’ took off when Dunkin’ Donuts launched in 1950.
Most people will search for “donuts” online and it is the clear winner in popularity. The dictionary now recognizes ‘donut’ as a variant of doughnut so the word doughnut came first but both terms are technically correct.
Here’s our argument – old school doughnuts are deep fried, but these are new school baked donuts so we called them so.
Are Baked Donuts Healthy?
To put it delicately, baked donuts are the healthier option compared to traditional deep-fried donuts. They don’t leave you feeling as guilty about your choices. You only need 1 Tbsp of melted butter to coat all 12 donuts! Are donuts good for you? In the end, they are still sugar covered carbs… glorious carbs! Eat responsibly.
What is the Best Filling for Donuts?
We enjoy changing up the type of jelly in these baked donuts; strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, huckleberry,.. you name it! Whether you are using jam, preserves or jelly, pick one that is:
- Thick – a thick jelly won’t run out of the donut as easily
- Fairly Smooth – so the piping tip doesn’t get clogged
- Your favorite flavor – these are, after all, for you!
How to Make Cream Filled Donuts:
For a cream filling, you will need a stable, thick cream that won’t ooze out. The pastry cream from our eclairs is easy and excellent. Let the cream cool then fill the pastry bag fitted with a sharp tip and generously pipe into each donut.
For Cinnamon Sugar Donuts:
If you choose to omit the jam inside, you can add more flavor with a cinnamon sugar coating. In a small bowl, stir together and roll hot buttered donuts in this mixture:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Love Glazed Donuts?
We enjoy these without glaze but if you desire glazed donuts, you can skip brushing with butter and rolling in sugar. Once donuts are cool enough to handle, dip into this glaze mixture then place on racks until glaze hardens:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk or water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
More Classic Home-Baked Treats:
- Baklava – once you try homemade, there’s no going back
- Chocolate Chip Cookies – soft, moist and perfect
- Snowball Cookies are melt-in-your-mouth good
- Russian Tea Cookies – buttery and studded with walnuts
- Italian Cookies a chocolate filled sandwich cookie
How to Ensure Super Fluffy Donuts?
The correct balance of wet to dry ingredients is critical in any dough recipe. Be sure to measure the ingredients correctly. Stir your flour with a spoon then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup. Pushing a measuring cup into a flour bin can result in 25% more flour than is called for which will result in dense donuts.
Also, be sure to allow your dough to proof in a warm room (never more than 110˚F) or you will deactivate the yeast and the donuts will not rise properly.
Baked Donut Video Tutorial:
Watch Natasha make this easy and super fluffy baked donut recipe. P.S. There’s a guest star in this episode!
I hope this becomes your go-to baked donut recipe! They are irresistibly soft and there is nothing like warm homemade donuts.
Baked Donuts Filled with Jelly
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for dusting*
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast, quick acting, (1 packet = 7 grams)
- 2/3 cup warm milk, 110˚F - microwave 35 sec.
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup jelly or jam, (no large fruit pieces)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar , to roll donuts
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) instant yeast and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Add warm milk, 3 Tbsp melted butter, 2 egg yolks and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and whisk vigorously to combine well.
- Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature 10 minutes, until some bubbles form on the surface.
- Add remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, adding just enough until dough holds together and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl (Add the last 2 Tbsp of flour only if needed) and knead in the bowl 5 minutes. If dough is really sticking to your hands, dust lightly with flour then continue kneading with clean dry hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a 100˚F oven for 45 min or at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 375˚F with rack in the center of the oven.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll the dough out to just under 1/2” thick. Cut circles using a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter. Re-roll scraps if needed to make 12 donuts total. Place donuts on prepared baking sheet, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a 100˚F oven for 20 min or at room temperature 45 min, or until puffed. Bake uncovered in the center of a preheated oven at 375˚F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on top.
- Right out of the oven, brush a hot bun all over with remaining 1 Tbsp melted butter and roll in a bowl of sugar to coat lightly with sugar. Cut a deep slit in the side of each donut and pipe jam with a pastry bag into each one.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Enjoy your home-baked donuts and “Do-nut Worry, be Happy!” I couldn’t resist! 😉
Man, these are the bomb!
Used salted butter and just deleted the salt from the recipe.
Overcooked mine a little as our oven is fan forced, will reduce heat to 175c next time.
Also found they rise better when they are a good 1/2″ thick.
Sliced and filled with whipped cream and a dab of Raspberry jam …. woohoo
That’s awesome so glad you enjoyed them and thank you for the great feedback!
I’ve made these twice and they were excellent both times. They’re light and tender and not overly sweet. I filled one batch with lemon curd and the other one with blueberry jam. They’re best eaten same day, but are delicious the next day when nuked in the MW for a few seconds. The first time I made them I did the bulk fermentation overnight in the fridge and then shaped and baked the doughnuts the next morning. There was no difference between this batch and the second one where the doughnuts were baked without an overnight rest in the fridge. I have a comment on Sarsih’s question about the similarity between this recipe and the Jenny Can Cook recipe. I tried Jenny’s as well, and had to add significantly more flour to get the right dough consistency.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Sadie! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Thank you I was watching both Jenny and Natasha and am going with Natasha’s for sure now! Thanks! <3
Thanks Sadie for doing this experiment and posting your results!
Hi Natasha
This is an easy recipe and donuts look delicious. Can we make these donuts without egg yolk as I am allergic to eggs?
Thanks
I haven’t tried any substitute for eggs to advise. If you do an experiment and find another substitute, please share with us how it goes.
Have you tried ground flax meal? It’s supposed to be a sub for eggs.
When I saw this, it reminds me of Pazki Donuts of Jenny Can Cook, from 8 yrs ago.
Exact recipes to a T, only yours have 1 more cup of flour.
Were you inspired by her, by any chance?
I have always used Jenny’s recipe, but maybe will try putting 1 more cup of flour.
Cheers
Hi Sarsih, I am looking at her recipe and they are similar. Make sure to measure the flour correctly (a full cup less of flour seems like a drastic change unless it was measured by pushing the measuring cup into the bin which compacts the flour) and consider some of the other differences in the recipe which would affect the outcome (for example, mine has more oil)
I’ve never made donuts before but this recipie is seriously fool-proof. So delicious, thank you!
Yay, that’s awesome feedback. Thanks for sharing, Aysha!
Hi Natasha. The donuts look great! I’m planning to do it for my daughter’s birthday party this weekend. Can I bake in advance and keep it in the fridge without buttering it. And on the days itself, warm it up and slap on the butter and sugar and the the jelly?
Hi Stella, I haven’t tested them as make-ahead donuts but being a yeast dough, that should technically work if you refrigerate it before baking. If I were to experiment with making them as overnight donuts, I would place the rounds onto a prepared baking sheet, cover them and refrigerate before the last rise. Let them puff/rise the next day at room temperature before baking.
Hey Natasha,
I tried your donut recipe filled with jelly today and OMG they turned out super awesome.😍 so soft and delicious. My daughter gobbled them up.😆
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Hi Natasha, I’d like to make this recipe 😋😊 can I put this dough into a donut pan? (It would be with a pipping bag or even with a Ziploc bag 😏) thank you!
Hi Blanca, I honestly haven’t tried this in a donut pan but I think it would be worth experimenting with! Let me know how it goes! 🙂
If you can please mention the weight of ingredients, that will be more accurate than measuring cups.
Thanks
If you scroll down to our printable recipe card, most of our recipes have a metric conversion option on the printable recipe card.
Hi, what would the temp for a fan oven be please?
Hi Grace, I don’t have a fan-assisted oven, but a quick Google search showed If using a fan-assisted oven, lower the temperature by 20 degrees.
Could I use pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour?
Hi Sarah, I can’t say that will work here. With baking being such a science, that will likely alter the result.
Just baked these and they were amazing. Easy recipe and worth the wait!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Natasha,
I tried the baked donut recipe and it turned out superb.
Great to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi Natasha ! Thank you so much for this recipe ! They were super light and fluffy. I had them with homemade key lime curd and nutella fillings. However, they did not come out round shaped like yours did. Mine kinda looked like they were injected with Botox here and there! what could be the reason ?
Hi Tina, I haven’t had that happen, but I wonder if it could be due to over-proofing on that last rise?
Could I use aluminum foil instead of parchment paper?
Hi Camille, I have always made this with parchment, I worry the foil will impact the outcome.
Super easy recipe and a great alternative to traditional fried donuts. Came out looking just like the photos! Will definitely make again.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, RM!
Hi Natasha,
Just made the baked donuts and they came out unbelievably soft and fluffy.i filled some with jam and rest with chocolate. They were amazing. My daughters loved them.thanks and keep posting more of such healthy and delicious recipes 😋
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed them with both chocolate and jam!! That’s so great!
I followed your instructions but my donuts came out dry inside . It tasted just like bread. What is supposed to be like it?
Hi, did you possibly bake them on convection settings which would overbake them without adjustments. Also, did you make sure to measure dry ingredients correctly? They are supposed to be very airy, light and fluffy as shown in the photos and video.
Good recipe thank you! they do turned out pillowy, soft and tasted delish! I added ground cinnamon to the flour and that made them taste even better. It is not sweet hence the granulated sugar after baking helps with that. If you plan to make these in a mini doughnut pan the result wont be the same. They will be a bit drier, less puffy, they will cook in just 6-7 minutes (no more than that!!) and will get golden brown the side that is in contact with the pan. To help with the pillow effect, roll the dough pretty think. Overall, a very good recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Hi Natasha
In step 4 you say cover the below with wrap and put in the oven, does the wrap not melt. Same with the tea towel step.
Thank you
Karen
Hi Karen, since the oven should not be above 110˚F, covering with plastic wrap is ok. You definitely would not want to heat hotter than that both for the sake of keeping the yeast alive and keeping the wrap from melting. Most plastic wraps won’t melt until 220+
Hey Natasha can’t wait to make these!! I want to make these dairy free can I substitute the butter for oil or margarine and the milk for water ?
Hi Jasmin, I honestly haven’t tried that yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes!
EXCELLENT…we used cheesecake pudding and powdered sugar. Ate them while warm…DANGEROUSLY delicious! I had three…should have only had one. Family really loved them.
We made donuts last night, so dangerously delicious! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Gina!