Mardi Gras King Cake Donuts (Printer-friendly)
Soft, sweet baked donuts with a King Cake twist, adorned with vibrant purple, green, and gold sugars. Perfect for Mardi Gras.
# What You Need:
→ Donuts
01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
03 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
05 - 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
06 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
07 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
08 - 3/4 cup buttermilk
09 - 2 large eggs
10 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
11 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 - Zest of 1 lemon
→ Cream Cheese Filling (Optional)
13 - 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
14 - 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
15 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Glaze
16 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
17 - 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
18 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Decoration
19 - Purple sanding sugar
20 - Green sanding sugar
21 - Gold sanding sugar
# How to Make It:
01 - Preheat your oven to 350°F. Thoroughly grease a 12-cavity donut pan.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg until well combined.
03 - In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, large eggs, melted unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and fresh lemon zest until fully incorporated.
04 - Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix gently until just combined; be careful not to overmix, as this can lead to tough donuts.
05 - If using, in a small bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
06 - Transfer the donut batter into a piping bag. If you are using the cream cheese filling, pipe a thin layer of batter into each donut cavity, then add a small amount of cream cheese filling, and cover with additional batter. If not using the filling, fill each cavity approximately two-thirds full with batter.
07 - Bake the donuts for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they spring back lightly when touched. Allow them to cool in the donut pan for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
08 - While the donuts cool, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until the glaze is smooth and has a pourable consistency.
09 - Dip each cooled donut into the prepared glaze. Immediately after dipping, sprinkle sections of each donut with purple, green, and gold sanding sugars to mimic the traditional King Cake decoration. Allow the glaze to set for a few minutes before serving.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- These donuts are incredibly easy to whip up, giving you all the festive flavor without any fuss.
- They're baked, not fried, making them a little lighter but still wonderfully tender and satisfying.
02 -
- The secret to a light, fluffy donut is gentle mixing; never overwork the batter.
- Getting the glaze consistency right is vital; it should be thick enough to coat but thin enough to drip smoothly.
03 -
- Use a small offset spatula or a butter knife to gently loosen the edges of the donuts from the pan before flipping them out.
- If you don't have a piping bag, a large Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off works perfectly for dispensing the batter.