Baked Blueberry Cake Donut Recipe

Name: Baked Blueberry Cake Donut Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 38 min
Ingredients: 2½ cups all-purpose flour; 1½ teaspoons baking powder; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cup sugar; 2 eggs; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ⅓ cup milk (room temperature); 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick, melted and cooled); 1 cup blueberries; 3 tablespoons milk; 1 cup powdered sugar (sifted)

Jump to Recipe

This baked blueberry cake donut recipe uses fresh blueberries to create the perfect breakfast or delicious treat! If you have donut lovers in your family, make these easy homemade donuts for Easter breakfast or Mother’s Day brunch.

Iced baked blueberry cake donuts on a wire rack with lemons and blueberries on the side.

My family loves to make these when we are craving something sweet on weekend mornings but don’t want to leave the house for a donut run. You probably already have most of the simple ingredients on hand, too.

And if you’re a lemon fan, you’ve got to try these Baked Lemon Donuts and these Blueberry Sweet Buns with lemon glaze. I love to make a stop at our farmer’s market when blueberries are in season!

Skip the Dunkin’ Donuts line and make homemade donuts. You don’t even need to get out of your pajamas. Just pour yourself a giant cup of coffee and relax!

What We Love About This Recipe

This homemade blueberry donuts recipe is an alternative to a fried donut. Instead of deep frying, we’re baking this treat for a healthier breakfast.

The delicious blueberry flavor will satisfy your sweet tooth!

These blueberry cake donuts taste slightly like blueberry muffins in doughnut form with a sugary donut glaze drizzled over the top. Perfection.

What Goes Into This Doughnut Recipe

Ingredients for blueberry donuts on a table.

Key Ingredients

Flour mixture: flour, baking, powder, and baking soda are the base for these delicious donuts

Sugar: gives this treat sweetness.

Blueberries: give these donuts their delicious flavor

See recipe card for quantities and full directions.

Do I Need Special Equipment to Make This Recipe?

This baked blueberry doughnut recipe does not require any special equipment, but these items will make this great recipe even easier.

Donut pan
Wire rack/cooling rack
Baking sheet
Separate bowl: large and small
Piping bag
Electric mixer
For easy cleanup and storage: paper towels, plastic wrap, and parchment paper

How to Make This Recipe

STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

STEP 2: Prepare two doughnut pans by spraying with nonstick cooking spray.

STEP 3: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a wood bowl.

STEP 4: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and milk until everything is mixed well.

Sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and milk in a blue bowl on a table.

STEP 5: Add the butter and stir to combine well.

STEP 6: Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.

STEP 7: Lightly mash blueberries with a potato masher. We don’t want them completely pulverized, but we don’t want whole berries, either.

STEP 8: Gently fold berries into the donut batter.

Blueberries on top of donut batter in a wood bowl.

Combine but don’t overmix.

Blueberry donut batter in a wood bowl on a table.

STEP 9: Pour the batter into a piping bag and use it to pipe the batter into the doughnut pans.

STEP 10: Bake the donuts until they are golden brown and spring back, around 18 to 20 minutes.

STEP 11: Allow the donuts to cool for about 5 minutes in the pan. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you’re not a fan of icing, you’ll love these donuts as is.

Baked blueberry cake donuts on a wire rack on a table with a blue cloth.

STEP 12: Once the donuts are cool, prepare the glaze. Whisk together the sifted powdered sugar and milk until smooth.

STEP 13: Lightly dip each donut in the glaze, placing it on the wire cooling rack until the glaze hardens.

Serve.

Variations

Add a little bit of lemon juice to the glaze for a pop of flavor. Adjust until you like the flavor. You could add some lemon zest to the lemon glaze, as well.

Play around with different extracts to make alternate icing flavors. Add a little vanilla extract to the icing to make a vanilla glaze instead of lemon. You can try adding different berries, too!

Swap out the blueberries for cranberries and make an orange glaze to drizzle over the top. That sounds so good!

For a healthier version, you can replace the eggs with egg whites and swap out the butter for Greek yogurt.

You could use coconut sugar instead of regular granulated sugar for a different flavor. Try pure maple syrup as a sweetener in place of the sugar.

Switch up the all-purpose flour to almond flour or whole wheat flour, and substitute the regular milk for almond milk. So many healthier options!

The important thing to remember is to adjust bake time as needed when making changing anything.

To make this a vegan blueberry donut recipe, replace the eggs with a flax egg or aquafava and use almond milk or coconut milk.

To make your baked donuts taste more like fried donuts, brush melted butter on them as soon as they come out of the oven, then roll them in cinnamon sugar. They will form a delicious sweet crust.

The batter recipe can be used as a base so you can mix flavors. For instance, leave out the blueberries, add apple cider vinegar, apple pie spice, and light brown sugar. Now you have apple cider donuts just like you would get from a donut shop!

Top Tips

As oven temperatures vary, be sure to check the donuts at about 16 minutes, especially if your oven runs hot. The doughnut should bounce back when lightly touched.

Mix the dough until just combined. Never over mix cake doughnuts as they will get gummy and be too chewy. It’s okay to have very small lumps of flour.

I have spooned the batter into the pan as well as piped it in, and I do think piping works better.

Spray your silicone mold or donut pans properly. It can be difficult to get the donut out if it gets stuck to the pan. Also, try using a butter knife to easily pop them out.

Fill the silicone molds close to the top with batter. This will ensure your donuts have a nice shape to them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use frozen blueberries to make this blueberry doughnut recipe?

Yes, but you will have to tweak the recipe some. Frozen berries tend to produce more liquid and decrease the temperature of your batter. Before folding the frozen berries into your batter, toss them in a little bit of flour. This will keep them from bleeding or making your batter too runny. Also, increase the bake time by an additional 3 to 5 minutes.

How long do these blueberry doughnuts keep?

You can keep homemade glazed donuts stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag at room temperature for up to 3 to 4 days. Just make sure you place the container in a cool area where the sun does not directly hit. They can also last in the freezer for about four months.

Can You Bake a Donut Without a Donut Pan?

A donut pan makes baking donuts a lot easier, and they are so inexpensive to buy. If you don’t have one, you can use a regular muffin tin and some aluminum foil to make your own donut molds. There are many tutorials if you want to give it a try.