Baked Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts (baked donuts)
These Pumpkin Spice Baked Doughnuts (baked donuts) are the ultimate autumn treat. They’re soft, fluffy, and warmly spiced. Finished with a luscious brown butter cream cheese glaze for those extra toasty notes. Golden on the outside and tender on the inside, these doughnuts capture all the cosy flavours of fall in every bite. You can also try my standard Baked Doughnuts Recipe here.
What are Baked Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts?
Pumpkin spice baked doughnuts are a soft, cake-style version of traditional fried doughnuts. These ones are made with pumpkin purée and a homemade pumpkin spice mix which creates that classic fall flavour. Instead of frying the doughnuts, the batter is baked in doughnut trays until light, fluffy, and golden brown.
The great thing about pumpkin purée is its ability to keep these doughnuts incredibly moist while imparting a lovely subtle pumpkin flavour. It pairs beautifully with the warm spices which add depth and complexity. Because we’re baking these, they’re far lighter than fried doughnuts but I promise, they are just as satisfying. Especially when they’re dunked in that silky, toasty brown butter cream cheese glaze.
These are the doughnut trays I use
I like to use these mini doughnut trays. You could also opt for a larger mould or different material. I’ve linked mine just below the image, tap the button to take you there.
What is pumpkin spice mix made of?
Pumpkin spice mix is a warm and aromatic blend of spices traditionally used to flavour pumpkin-based desserts. Despite the name, there’s actually no pumpkin in the mix, instead, it’s a combination of spices that enhance the natural sweetness and earthiness of pumpkin purée.
A classic homemade pumpkin spice mix usually includes:
- Cinnamon – the dominant spice, adding warmth and sweetness
- Ginger – for a subtle heat and depth
- Nutmeg – adds a mellow, nutty aroma
- Allspice – provides complexity with hints of clove and pepper
- Cloves – rich and slightly sweet, rounding out the mix
- Cardamom (optional) – adds a gentle floral note and brightness
My version includes a touch of cardamom for extra dimension. It complements the pumpkin and balances the other spices beautifully. However, you can absolutely adjust the blend to your preference, e.g. add more cinnamon for warmth, more ginger for zing, or omit cloves if you’re not a fan.
If you’d rather save time, you can use a ready-made pumpkin spice mix. It will work perfectly in this recipe.
Why you’ll love these Baked Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts
- Soft, fluffy, and perfectly spiced
- No frying, kneading, or yeast required
- Incredibly moist from the pumpkin purée
- Easy to make with simple pantry ingredients
- Finished with a nutty brown butter cream cheese glaze
Brown butter cream cheese is game changing
The brown butter cream cheese glaze is what truly takes this up a level. The nutty, caramel-like notes from the browned butter pair beautifully with the tangy cream cheese, creating a glaze that’s smooth, glossy, and just a little sticky once set.
Browning butter is a technique we should all have in our repertoire. And all it involves is heating butter until the milk solids separate and allowing these to toast until they’re a deep golden brown. This brings out those toasty, nutty, toffee notes.
This glaze pairs so well with the warmth of the spices and is without a doubt one of my favourite combinations. It’s complex, cosy, and really well balanced.
Let’s talk about some of the ingredients
I’ll cover the key ingredients below, but the full recipe with quantities and instructions can be found at the end of this post
- Plain flour/All purpose flour
- Large eggs – I always use large eggs when baking, which is generally the standard size. In the UK, each large egg will weigh between 63-73g. These may be classed as extra large eggs in the USA
- Pumpkin purée – use 100% pure canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling). It keeps the doughnuts moist, tender, and super soft
- Spices – I use a homemade blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and cardamom, but you can also use 2–3 tsp of ready-made pumpkin spice mix
- Greek yogurt – this adds moisture and tenderness, while the flavour also balances out some of the sweetness. I always use Fage 5%
- Full fat milk powder – also commonly sold as full cream milk powder. This adds tenderness to the crumb and richness to the flavour. I use milk powder in almost all of my bakes for these reasons and swear by it
- Neutral oil – i.e. a flavourless oil such as sunflower/vegetable/rapeseed
- Butter – this will get browned until nutty for those toasty notes
- Cream cheese – forms the base of the glaze, adding smoothness and a gentle tang that pairs beautifully with the pumpkin spice
The key tips for perfect Pumpkin Spice Baked Doughnuts
- Room temperature ingredients – this allows the ingredients to mix more readily and more evenly, for a better emulsion
- Don’t mix all the wet ingredients all at once – having a mixing order allows for even distribution of ingredients and uniformity
- Bake just until lightly golden – over-baking can dry them out. They should feel light and springy to the touch
- Brown the butter sufficiently – the milk solids should separate and turn a deep golden brown with a strong nutty aroma
How to make Baked Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts
For the pumpkin spice doughnuts:
Start by whisking together the butter, oil, white sugar, and dark brown sugar until combined. This doesn’t need to be creamed as we’re not aiming to incorporate air here
Add in the eggs, yoghurt, milk powder, and vanilla, and whisk until combined. Then, add in the pumpkin purée and the pumpkin pie spice and whisk well once again
Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt (I pre-sifted mine), and briefly whisk to combine. Finish by folding with a spatula to ensure no dry pockets of flour remain
Pour the pumpkin doughnut batter into a piping bag, and then pipe into greased and floured doughnut moulds
Give the trays a few taps on the counter to level the batter, and then bake until golden brown. Flip over onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely
For the brown butter cream cheese glaze:
Whisk together the brown butter cream cheese glaze until it’s thick but pourable – it should be a similar consistency to honey. Give the doughnuts a good dunk in the glaze and then set onto a wire rack to allow the excess to drain off. The glaze will slowly start to dry but it will retain a soft-set and slightly sticky texture
More glaze & topping ideas
- Cinnamon sugar coating – toss warm doughnuts in cinnamon sugar for a simple finish.
- Chopped pecans or walnuts – sprinkle over the glazed doughnuts for crunch and flavour.
- Cream cheese frosting – whip butter, cream cheese, and icing sugar along with a pinch of salt till fluffy and thick
Frequently asked questions
Which doughnut trays to use?
I have the doughnut trays I use linked in the blog above.
How long will baked doughnuts keep?
You can store these donuts in an airtight container for 2-3 days at room temperature, or 5-7 days refrigerated. If refrigerating, allow to come to room temperature before consuming to ensure optimal texture.
Can I make the doughnut batter in advance?
You can prep the batter up to ~60 minutes ahead of time. As these doughnuts rely on baking powder for the rise, there’s not much leeway on prepping ahead of time. Baking powder starts reacting as soon as it is in contact with the wet ingredients. As modern day baking powders are double acting (second reaction is initiated with heat), you do get some flexibility.
Can I use homemade pumpkin purée?
Yes, providing it’s the same consistency as the canned. If your purée seems wet, strain it or cook it down slightly before using
For more Pumpkin Spice recipes, try my:
If you enjoyed this recipe
Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.
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Until then, happy baking!
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Baked Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts
Try these Pumpkin Spice Baked Doughnuts with a brown butter cream cheese glaze. Tender, moist, with warm pumpkin pie spices running through.
Ingredients
For the doughnut batter
- 180g plain flour/all purpose flour
- 7g baking powder
- 1tsp salt
- 2 large eggs (~115g whole eggs - this may be classed as extra-large in the US)
- 65g unsalted butter, softened or melted
- 65g neutral oil, e.g. sunflower/rapeseed/vegetable
- 100g white granulated sugar
- 60g dark brown sugar
- 1tsp vanilla bean paste/extract
- 50g Greek yogurt, I use 5% from the brand Fage
- 200g pumpkin purée
- 14g full fat milk powder (non fat/skimmed will also work but will lack richness)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8th tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8th tsp ground all spice
- 1/8th tsp ground cloves
- 1/8th tsp ground green cardamom
For the brown butter cream cheese glaze
- 45g butter
- 150g icing sugar/powdered sugar
- 60g full fat cream cheese
- 1/4tsp vanilla bean paste/extract
- Pinch of salt
- 30g milk (~2tbsp)
Instructions
For the doughnuts:
- Preheat the oven to 150'C (fan)/170'C (conventional) - 300'F (fan)/340'F (conventional)
- In a large mixing bowl, start by whisking together the oil, butter, and both sugars until smooth. We're not aiming to aerate the mixture so it doesn't need to be creamed or whisked vigorously
- Next, add in the eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and milk powder. Whisk well until the mixture is smooth
- Then, add in the pumpkin purée and spices, and whisk the mix together once again
- In a separate bowl, briefly mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift this dry mix into the wet mix and gently whisk to incorporate. Finish by folding the batter with a spatula to ensure no dry flour or lumps remain. Avoid over-whisking as this will develop gluten which will lead to a tougher doughnut
- Place a piping bag into a tall glass/jar to keep it steady (don't snip the end off just yet), and pour the batter in. You could alternatively use a squeezy bottle with a large tip if you prefer
- Snip the end of the piping bag and pipe the batter equally into the greased and floured doughnut trays. Give the trays several taps on the counter to help level out the batter
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. A toothpick/skewer should come out clean
- Allow the doughnuts to cool for 3-4 minutes inside the trays, then flip over on to a wire rack to remove and allow to cool completely. If you're struggling to remove any, use a toothpick or skewer around the outside of the doughnut to lift it and it will pop loose
For the brown butter cream cheese glaze:
- Once cooled completely, feel free to glaze or dunk in anything you prefer. I've opted for cinnamon sugar and a classic vanilla glaze. I've provided the measurements to glaze half the doughnuts and cinnamon sugar for the other half. If you would like to do all glazed/all cinnamon sugar, please double the required measurements. Simply whisk each one to prepare. For the glaze, it should be the consistency of honey (i.e. thick but runny). If needed, add more milk to loosen/more icing sugar to thicken
- Once glazed, allow the doughnuts to sit on a wire rack over a tray. This is to allow any excess to drip off, and for the glaze to set and dry slightly. It will be a soft-set glaze that's slightly sticky
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Which doughnut trays to use?
- I have the doughnut trays I use linked in the blog above.
How long will baked doughnuts keep?
- You can store these donuts in an airtight container for 2-3 days at room temperature, or 5-7 days refrigerated
- If refrigerating, allow to come to room temperature before consuming to ensure optimal texture.
Can I make the doughnut batter in advance?
- You can prep the batter up to ~60 minutes ahead of time. As these doughnuts rely on baking powder for the rise, there's not much leeway on prepping ahead of time
- Baking powder starts reacting as soon as it is in contact with the wet ingredients. As modern day baking powders are double acting (second reaction is initiated with heat), you do get some flexibility.
Can I use homemade pumpkin purée?
- Yes, providing it's the same consistency as the canned. If your purée seems wet, strain it or cook it down slightly before using
Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 156Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 3gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 28mgSodium 176mgCarbohydrates 20gFiber 1gSugar 13gProtein 2g
Note: This is an automated calculation and hence may not be entirely accurate.
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