Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Caramel Glaze

October 20, 2014
Food,Recipes

I finally hopped on the baked donut train, bought a couple donut pans, and made my first batch the other day. I really love donuts. This is coming from someone who had a tower of Dunkin’ Donuts as her birthday cake when she was 5, so when I say I love donuts– I love donuts. This recipe is one of those recipes that I ended up testing and re-testing and re-testing– just couldn’t get it right. I finally realized there wasn’t really anything wrong with the recipe necessarily, but that I was expecting it to taste like a donut. And the sad truth is that a baked donut is NOT a fried donut, no matter how much caramel glaze you dress it in. That being said, it was still delicious once I reminded myself that this was a baked donut. I just love the tanginess of the buttermilk combined with the pumpkin, but what really makes it is the luscious caramel glaze coating. Mmm mm, getting so excited for fall!

Pumpkin donuts | HonestlyYUM

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack set in the middle.

Baked pumpkin donuts

Whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, buttermilk, pumpkin spice, salt, and baking powder together until smooth. Gradually, add the flour whisking it into the wet ingredients, but don’t over work the batter.

Donut batter

Grease two standard donuts pans with butter and fill each donut mold with batter about 3/4ths of the way up the pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow the donuts to cool to room temperature. To make the caramel glaze heat the butter, brown sugar, and salt in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Allow the mixture to bubble and swirl the pan every now and then to mix the butter and sugar. Once the sugar and butter are melted together add the cream and whisk in the sifted powdered sugar.

Glaze

While the caramel glaze is hot, dip the tops of the donuts into the glaze. Using a fork or chopstick fish the donut out. Be careful because the caramel is very hot!

Pumpkin donuts

Lay on a wire rack with parchment beneath to catch the drippings. Work quickly, as the caramel will begin to harden. If it does, simply put the pot back on the burner and whisk until the glaze is runny again.
Pumpkin donuts with carmel glaze | HonestlyYUM

Let the glaze cool to room temperature. Enjoy!

Donut bite

BAKED PUMPKIN DONUTS WITH CARAMEL GLAZE

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup of buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
  • unsalted butter at room temp for greasing pans
  • 2 standard donut pans (special equipment)
  • 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon of sea or kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup of sifted powdered sugar

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack set in the middle.
  • Whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, buttermilk, pumpkin spice, salt, and baking powder together until smooth.
  • Gradually, add the flour whisking it into the wet ingredients, but don’t over work the batter.
  • Grease two standard donuts pans with butter and fill each donut mold with batter about 3/4ths of the way up the pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
  • Transfer to a wire rack and allow the donuts to cool to room temperature.
  • To make the caramel glaze heat the butter, salt, and brown sugar in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Allow the mixture to bubble and swirl the pan every now and then to mix the butter and sugar. Once the sugar and butter are melted together add the cream and whisk in the sifted powdered sugar.
  • While the caramel glaze is hot, dip the tops of the donuts into the glaze. Using a fork or chopstick fish the donut out. Be careful because the caramel is very hot!
  • Lay on a wire rack with parchment beneath to catch the drippings. Work quickly, as the caramel will begin to harden. If it does, simply put the pot back on the burner and whisk until the glaze is runny again.
  • Let the glaze cool to room temperature.

(images by HonestlyYUM)

Conversation

This is an awesome recipe. I altered it a bit. I have recently become gluten free. Instead of all-purpose flour, i used 3/4 cup ground oatmeal flour and 1 cup (cup4cup) gluten free flour. They are awesome…….

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I bought a donut pan on sale a while ago, but I still haven’t used it. I’ll have to try this for sure.

These sound delicious! Once September rolls around I am all about pumpkin. I even splurged on pumpkin spice so I would have it on hand for any pumpkin recipe. I have never made donuts before, but I might have to give it a try for this recipe. I am a sucker for sweets and a sucker for baking. Thanks for sharing!

These look amazing! I love the sound of pumpkin and caramel!

Donuts, I tried to make them once as a kid and failed miserably. But this caramel glaze is making me adventurous to try making them again. Lovely photos!

I think that’s my problem with baked donuts when I make them, I except them to taste fried and they just don’t. BUT I do like cake! And carmel glaze?? Might as well be singing to my heart. 🙂

I assumed the glaze was chocolate when I first saw it, but the caramel puts this over the top — and you got such a rich dark color!

I LOVE DONUTS times a bajillion. It’s bonafide cake for breakfast. This recipe – love. So seasonally perfect and delicious.

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