Just in time for Valentine’s Day, here’s the recipe for these happy-looking pink baked buttermilk donuts. And trust me, these pretty pink treats taste even better than they look!
Baked Buttermilk Donuts with Pink Glaze
The recipe is adapted from my baked Apple Cider donuts. These buttermilk ones are sweet with a touch of tang from the buttermilk. And they bake up super moist.
For this batch, I used a pin-top worth of pink gel food coloring. But if you don’t want to use food coloring, you can also make the pink glaze with some preserves or juice from fruits like strawberries or blood oranges.
And I topped these with some crushed dried strawberries and coconut flakes. But feel free to add any toppings you like!
A couple of tips. I made these in a donut pan. If you don’t own a donut pan, you can find some inexpensive ones here.
Make sure not to over bake the donuts. My oven runs a bit hot, so I baked this batch for just 12 minutes.
Also, the glaze is pretty thin. So if you want your donuts to scream pink, you might want to keep the glaze thick and consider adding a second coat.
In our house, these were all gobbled up within hours. But you can store these in an air-tight container for up to five days.
Pink Baked Buttermilk Donuts
Ingredients
For the Donuts:
- Nonstick cooking spray (I used coconut)
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1/2 cups unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- 3/4 cups light brown sugar
- 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cups buttermilk
For the Icing:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2–4 tablespoons water or milk
- Food coloring of your choice
- Toppings of your choice
Instructions
For the Donuts:
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 6-cavity doughnut pans with nonstick spray (I like to use a coconut oil spray).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients including flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well incorporated after each addition, scraping the bowl as necessary.
- Beat in the vanilla extract. And then the buttermilk.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. Scrape the bowl well to make sure the batter is fully mixed.
- Spoon the batter into prepared donut pans, filling them about 2/3 of the way full. I do this by using a resealable plastic bag with a 1/2-inch opening cut from one corner as a piping bag.
- Bake until lightly brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the thickest portion comes out clean, about 12 to 15 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking. Make sure not to overbake.
For the Icing:
- While the donuts bake, mix together the powdered sugar and water. Add the food coloring.
- Let the doughnuts cool for 5 minutes after baking, then un-mold them from the pans.
- While they are cooled, dip the donuts in the glaze and top with toppings of your choice.
Enjoy!
