These baked sour cream donuts are like old fashioned donuts that are baked, not fried, and then coated in granulated sugar. Just as satisfying as the real thing, but easier to make!
The idea of baked doughnuts is intriguing. We all love any form of deep-fried dough, really. So, how could a baked doughnut come even close to satisfying the craving for a sweet, deep-fried treat?
The recipe for baked sour cream donuts is super easy to throw together. No mixer is required. It yields six baked doughnuts, which is the perfect number of doughnuts to make considering that they are best served the day they are made. I baked them in vintage donut pans (though they might be pans for savarin cakes actually...) but feel free to use a Nordic Ware donut pan.
The donuts are cake-like, soft but slightly dense on the inside, and lightly crispy on the outside. Coating them with granulated sugar enhances their crispy texture. I definitely wouldn't use powdered sugar on these. I love the rougher texture the granulated sugar brings.
These sour cream donuts are kept simple, flavour-wise, with just a splash of vanilla and a hint of nutmeg. I opted to use vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean to ensure the vanilla flavour came through. The flavours are perfect as is, but I can't wait to play some more with the recipe and try different spices or even some lemon zest.
I love this recipe so much that I transformed it into baked chocolate sour cream donuts, baked pumpkin donuts, and even chocolate-glazed baked donuts.
📖 Recipe
Baked Sour Cream Donuts
Ingredients
- 125 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 2.5 mL baking soda
- 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 125 mL sour cream (14% fat)
- 100 grams granulated sugar plus more for coating the doughnuts
- 60 mL canola oil
- 2.5 mL pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg(s)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175 °C). Prepare a six-donut pan by greasing it with Pam or some vegetable oil. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and set aside for later.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pinch of nutmeg. Set the dry ingredients aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and the egg. Switch to a spatula and stir in the dry ingredients.
- Fill a pastry bag (without a tip) with the batter and pipe it evenly among the prepared doughnut pans. The batter should reach about half way up the inside of each doughnut pan.
- Bake the doughnuts for 12–16 minutes until the top edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Remove the rimmed baking sheet from the oven and let the doughnuts cool for about 5 minutes before tossing them in the extra granulated sugar.
Cathy Jo Stephens says
Does recipe take 1 egg or 3 I have multiplied recipe x 3
There is a line drawn through 3 eggs?
Thank you. Cathy
Janice Lawandi says
Hi Cathy, I don't see a line on my end. Perhaps it's a setting in your browser? In any case, if you want to triple the recipe, then 3 eggs is correct! Let me know how it goes!
Cathy Jo Stephens says
Can you freeze naked donut then glaze later?
Making for a crowd.
Thank you Cathy Jo
Janice Lawandi says
Hi, yes, I think your strategy is the right one to freeze them after they have competely cool, and then defrost/glaze later. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
J. S. says
Gotta say, this is the best baked donut recipe I've found bar none. My donut experiments ranged from dense to chalk-dry until I stumbled upon this one. Thank you so much! Had to tweak it slightly to make it more diabetic friendly. Instead of 1/2 cup sugar I used 1/4 cu sugar-free substitute, 1 Tbsp sugar-free maple syrup and 1 Tbsp real light brown sugar. I also used 1/2 sour cream and 1/2 low sugar vanilla yogurt instead of all sour cream. Still this is the first time the finished product actually had the consistency and taste of an honest-to-goodness donut. I can't wait to explore more of your website. Thank you again.
Melody Busch says
These doughnuts were really top of definitely recommend