Do you like moist, sweet, tender donuts? Then you’ll love these super simple cake mix donuts!
You can make them in all different flavors with whatever cake mix you prefer. Then, find a tasty topping to make them extra special!
The Best Cake Mix Donuts Recipe
Cake mix donuts are a simple blend of boxed cake mix, oil, eggs, and milk. When smooth, you’ll pipe the batter into donut pans and bake until tender.
I love this recipe because you can so easily change the flavors.
For example, you can use chocolate, yellow, spiced, lemon, strawberry, carrot, funfetti, or fudge cake mix.
But that’s not all! You can also use any number of tasty glazes to make them irresistible!
My favorite option is to make regular vanilla donuts, then make a few different glazes and top them with fun sprinkles.
Donut Glaze Recipes
A glaze is usually a mixture of powdered sugar with milk or water. That’s a super basic and deliciously sweet choice.
Of course, we’re not about simple here - so I’ve got a few tasty options.
Just keep this in mind: to make any glaze, you can just mix powdered sugar with any liquid. That means fruit juices, peanut butter, maple syrup, etc.
Mix until it’s smooth, and dip in the donuts!
How thick or thin should it be? Well, it’s kind of a trial-and-error thing. You want it runny enough that you can dip the donuts easily but not so runny it doesn’t firm up on the top.
If it looks like frosting, it’s too thick. You want it more like sweet chili sauce consistency.
The best option is to make a batch and test it on a donut. See how it sets and adjust as needed.
Vanilla Glaze
175 grams of Powdered Sugar (1 1/2 cups)
2-3 tablespoons of Milk or Water
1 1/2 teaspoons of Vanilla Paste
Funfetti Glaze
175 grams of Powdered Sugar (1 1/2 cups)
2-3 tablespoons of Milk or Water
1 drop of Food Coloring
1 tablespoon of Sprinkles
Chocolate Glaze
175 grams of Powdered Sugar (1 1/2 cups)
4 tablespoons of Cocoa Powder
3-4 tablespoons of Milk
1 teaspoon of Vanilla
Maple Glaze
175 grams of Powdered Sugar (1 1/2 cups)
1-2 tablespoons of Milk or Water
3-4 tablespoons of Maple Syrup
Salted Caramel Glaze
175 grams of Powdered Sugar (1 1/2 cups)
1-2 tablespoons of Milk or Water
3-4 tablespoons of Caramel
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
Cinnamon Glaze
175 grams of Powdered Sugar (1 1/2 cups)
1-2 tablespoons of Milk or Water
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Paste
Peanut Butter Glaze
175 grams of Powdered Sugar (1 1/2 cups)
3-4 tablespoons of Milk or Water
2 tablespoons of Creamy Peanut Butter
Fruit Glaze
150 grams of Powdered Sugar (1 cup)
1 ½ tablespoons of Lemon Juice
2 ½ teaspoons of *Fruit puree or Compote
*Fruit Puree - you can find fruit purees in the freezer section of supermarkets. Or cook your choice of fruit in a saucepan with 1/2 the amount of sugar until reduced. Strain and use in the glaze.
For all the glaze recipes, simply add everything into a bowl and mix until smooth.
How to Make Cake Mix Donuts
This recipe makes 18 donuts (three 6-cavity donut pans). You can also make mini donuts!
Ingredients:
- 1 box of Cake Mix (any flavor you like)
- 1 large Egg
- 80 ml of Oil
- 185 ml of Milk
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Paste
- Optional extras - 40 grams (1/4 cup) of chopped nuts, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, etc.
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Spray the donut pans with cooking spray and set aside.
- Whisk the egg with the oil, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended.
- Add the dry cake mix and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the batter into a piping bag and carefully fill each donut cavity about 3/4 full.
- Bake larger donuts for 10-12 minutes. Bake mini donuts for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the donuts from the oven when they’re golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Leave the donuts to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then move them onto a wire rack until cold.
- Dip the donuts in your choice of glaze and decorate with sprinkles.