These Coffee Donuts have a dreamy light vanilla cake base infused with espresso flavor that are covered in a sweet coffee glaze! Ready in under an hour from start to finish!
These baked coffee donuts have a dreamy light vanilla cake base infused with espresso flavor. They have a slightly crunchy exterior that gives the impression of a fried donut even though they are baked. The addition of half and half and espresso to the sweet glaze takes these donuts to the next level and will satisfy coffee lovers everywhere.
For more mouthwatering homemade donuts try my Baked Blueberry Donuts ready in just 30 minutes or soft, rich Air Fryer Chocolate Donuts (From Scratch)!
Coffee Donuts! Genius, right? Coffee lovers and donuts usually go hand in hand so why not combine the two for a satisfyingly delicious combination?! And that’s exactly what you get with these homemade baked donuts!
Their slightly crunchy exterior gives off that yummy impression that they’re fried when they’re really not! This means all you have to do is mix up the batter, bake the donuts, and then glaze them before getting that first bite, no messy work of deep-frying here!
Pair these coffee-flavored donuts with your favorite cupful of caffeine like a Cafe con Miel (Spanish Coffee With Honey) or even Iced Coffee With Homemade Creamers and you’ll likely be running out the door to start your day! Ok, so maybe you won’t be THAT excited to go to work, but these sure are a tasty treat to help lure you out of bed in the morning!
Ingredient Notes
The recipe for these baked doughnuts calls for unsalted butter, granulated sugar, an egg, vanilla extract, espresso powder, boiling water, buttermilk, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. While the donuts cool you’ll mix together that incredible coffee glaze!
This is easily made with powdered sugar, half & half, and espresso powder. Once they’re glazed you can sprinkle on some chocolate jimmies for an optional garnish!
After the tops of the donuts have been dipped in the coffee glaze you could get really fancy with them before adding the sprinkles! Simply fill a piping bag with the leftover glaze and then pipe a pretty layer of drizzle on top!
Pretty drizzle or not though, this donut recipe will quickly become your favorite!
How To Make Coffee Donuts
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy using a stand mixer.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix at a low speed until combined.
- Mix the espresso powder with boiled water until dissolved. Then add the mixture to the batter and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients to the batter with the buttermilk. Then mix on low speed until combined.
- Fill each well of the greased donut pan with donut batter. Smooth the batter with a spoon and tap the donut pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles that may be in the batter.
- Bake donuts until they’re golden. Then cool them in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the coffee glaze in a small bowl by mixing half and half with the espresso powder until dissolved.
- Whisk together powdered sugar with the espresso/cream mixture until it’s smooth and silky.
- Dip the donut tops in the glaze and then return them to a wire rack. Add sprinkles before the icing sets up if desired.
How To Store Coffee Donuts
These donuts are best enjoyed when they’re freshly made! But you can also refrigerate any leftovers for 1-2 days in an airtight container.
What Type Of Drink Goes Best With These Donuts?
These donuts pair really well with a latte that’s lightly dusted with cinnamon. (No sugar added to the latte.) Of course, a tall glass of ice-cold milk would also go well with them!
How Can I Make Sure The Donuts Don’t Stick To The Donut Pan?
Be sure to prepare the doughnut pan really well by coating the wells with butter and flour. If you plan to use the same pan to make a second batch just be sure to thoroughly wipe it clean and re-grease it well.
These Coffee Doughnuts make it easy to pass up going to my favorite bakery for a quick dozen donuts! Grab another homemade donut recipe that is just as delicious!
- Reese’s Stuffed Puff Pastry Donuts – Rich, decadent donuts loaded with reeeses oeanut butter cups that are made with only 6 ingredients!
- Brioche Donuts with Vanilla Cream – From scratch donuts that are light and crisp with a smooth vanilla pastry cream filling!
- Air Fryer Biscuit Donuts – Ready to enjoy in just 20 minutes using canned biscuits and then dipped in cinnamon sugar!
- Boston Cream Donuts – A delicious fried donut that’s cream-filled and covered in chocolate!
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If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!
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Coffee Donuts
Ingredients
Donuts
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons espresso powder
- ¼ cup boiling water
- ⅔ cups buttermilk
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Coffee Glaze
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 5 tablespoons half & half
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- chocolate jimmies optional garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Prepare a donut pan (or 2 if you have more than 1) with butter and flour and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (start on low speed and then increase to medium speed) with an electric mixer.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix at low speed until combined.
- Mix the espresso powder with the boiled water until dissolved. Add the mixture to the batter and mix until smooth and creamy (it should not look curdled) about 1 to 2 minutes.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients to the batter with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
- Mix on medium-low speed until combined.
- Add 3 heaping tablespoons to each prepared donut well. Smooth batter with a spoon and tap donut pan on the counter to remove air bubbles.
- Bake the donuts for 10 minutes until the donuts are golden. Allow donuts to cool for 5 minutes in the pan. After 5 minutes transfer to a cooling rack to fully cool.
- Prepare the coffee glaze while the donuts are cooling. Mix the half and half with the espresso powder until dissolved and set aside.
- In a medium deep bowl, whisk together powdered sugar with the espresso/cream mixture until it is a smooth and silky texture and streams from the whisk.
- Dip the tops of the donuts in the glaze and return to a cooling rack with parchment paper or a cookie sheet underneath to catch any dripping glaze. If using sprinkles add them before icing sets.
Notes
- Do not forget to properly prepare your donut pan to avoid sticking. Thoroughly wipe and regrease if you are using the same pan to make a second batch.
- You can use a piping bag to fill the donut wells but it’s very easy to do with a spoon.
- These donuts are freshest the day they are made. The leftovers can be refrigerated for 1-2 days in an airtight container. They can be brought to room temperature before eating.
- Feel free to add as much coffee or espresso as you like for these donuts. After Glazing, feel free to add glaze to a piping bag or Ziploc bag with a small opening cut to pipe a pretty drizzle on these donuts!
- You can substitute 2 tablespoons of instant coffee in the donut base and ¾ teaspoon of instant coffee in the glaze if you prefer, but the espresso powder gives it a deep robust unmistakeable coffee flavor!
- These donuts pair beautifully with a latte lightly dusted with cinnamon (no sugar added to the latte).
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Ewa says
Hi! These are so far the best baked donuts that I’ve ever made! They are sweet but also quite decadent because of the coffee. And they are soooo fluffy, just perfect 👌 thank you so much for this recipe!