These baked coffee donuts have a moist, cake like texture and are dunked in a rich, espresso glaze for the ultimate breakfast treat! They're a coffee lovers dream!
Best of all, these coffee donuts come together in just 30 minutes!
You might also like these coffee cupcakes or these espresso brownies!
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Ingredient Notes
You only need a few ingredients to make these baked coffee donuts!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my baked goods because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Cocoa Powder - My absolute favorite cocoa powder to use in my baking is the King Arthur Flour Triple Cocoa Blend! It's a blend of natural, Dutch, and black cocoa and is perfect for any baking. But this recipe will work great with whatever cocoa you have on hand! You can use either natural cocoa or Dutch processed cocoa!
Brown Butter - My favorite ingredient of all time is brown butter!! Brown butter is just unsalted butter that has been melted and gently cooked to bring out a toasty, nutty flavor. If you've never made brown butter before, you can check out this post with all my tips for how to make brown butter! But you can just use regular unsalted butter instead.
Espresso Powder - You can't have espresso donuts without espresso powder! King Arthur is my favorite brand of high quality espresso powder! Note: espresso powder is NOT the same as instant espresso!! Espresso powder is much more flavorful and more finely ground, making it more suitable for baking.
Brewed Coffee - I love adding brewed coffee or espresso to the donuts for an even richer coffee flavor! However, if you don't want to brew just ½ cup of coffee, you can swap it out for water or milk.
Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans - These are optional, but I love adding them as a garnish!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Baked Donuts
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray donut pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown butter, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla and whisk until fully incorporated.
Mix half of the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then add in the brewed espresso.
Once incorporated, add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Transfer the batter to a piping bag, then cut of the tip and pipe into the donut pan, filling about halfway. You can also just spoon the batter into the pan if desired.
Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Invert the donut pan on a cooling rack, and the coffee donuts should slide right out!
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, espresso powder, and melted butter. Slowly mix in the milk until your desired consistency is reached. The glaze should be thick but still pourable.
Dip the coffee donuts into the glaze and place back on the cooling rack so the excess can drip off. The donuts are easy to glaze if they are cool, but they taste amazing when they're warm, so it's up to you!
If desired, top the donuts with chocolate covered espresso beans!
Recipe Notes
I use this Nordic Ware donut pan and a little bit of Bakers Joy pan spray and the coffee donuts slide out perfectly every time! You can also use a cute mini donut pan!
This recipe makes 12 regular sized donuts or 24 mini donuts!
I also find it’s easiest to fill the donut pan by using a piping bag with the tip cut off. However, you can just as easily spoon the batter into your donut pan.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Recipe FAQ's
These coffee donuts are best eaten the same day, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
No. This recipe is specifically designed for baked cake donuts, so if you prefer fried donuts I recommend this recipe!
Technically yes, but I don't recommend it. Instant coffee isn't as strong as espresso powder and it also typically has a harsher flavor that doesn't taste as good in the donuts.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Coffee Donuts
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Donuts
- ½ cup unsalted brown butter, melted
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, optional
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup brewed espresso or coffee, substitute whole milk
Glaze
- 1 tablespoon unsalted brown butter, melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 2-4 tablespoons milk, as needed
- chocolate covered espresso beans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray donut pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown butter, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Mix half of the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then add in the brewed espresso. Once incorporated, add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag, then cut of the tip and pipe into the donut pan, filling about halfway. You can also just spoon the batter into the pan if desired.
- Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Invert the donut pan on a cooling rack, and the donuts should slide right out!
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, espresso powder, and melted butter. Slowly mix in the milk until your desired consistency is reached. The glaze should be thick but still pourable.
- Dip the coffee donuts into the glaze and place back on the cooling rack so the excess can drip off. The donuts are easy to glaze if they are cool, but they taste amazing when they're warm, so it's up to you!
- If desired, top with chocolate covered espresso beans!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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