Easy Baked Pumpkin Donuts {With Cake Mix}

Quick, easy, baked pumpkin donuts recipe with cake mix. Topped with cinnamon sugar topping. Only 4 simple ingredients! These delicious donuts with spiced cinnamon sugar are great as as breakfast, snack or even dessert. We always make it on Thanksgiving morning too!

In general, I am very fond of fried yeasted donuts but when it comes to this specific flavor, I prefer the baked cake-like version. If you have leftover pumpkin puree, be sure to try these  Pumpkin Truffles and this Pumpkin Fudge.

Key ingredients for pumpkin spice donuts

• Cake mix- I like yellow cake mix best in this recipe, even compared to the spiced cake mix.
• Pumpkin spice- This is a combination of all your favorite Fall spices like cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and more. In a pinch, you can also simply use cinnamon powder.
• Pumpkin puree- Makes these treats moist and cannot be substituted for pie filling.
• Powdered sugar- It is important to use the fine powder and not your everyday granulated sugar.

Variations

• Glazed donuts- Use a simple sugar glaze or spiced donut glaze, made by mixing together powdered sugar and milk to coat the entire donut. Try this Powdered Sugar Glaze (Vanilla Cake Glaze) and you can also substitute maple extract for vanilla for a new flavor.
• Gluten free donuts- Use a gluten free cake mix.
• Donut holes- Follow the same recipe but instead of a donut pan, use a donut hole pan.
• Make muffins- If you don't have that pan, you can use a mini muffin pan and make mini muffins instead. They will still have the same flavor and texture.
• Adjust pumpkin spice- Amounts based on your preference.
• Add-ins- For added texture and flavor, mix in some finely chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans or even mini chocolate chips in the batter.
• Melted chocolate- Use white or semisweet chocolate to drizzle on top or dip the donuts in Chocolate Ganache.
• Cinnamon sugar topping- Brush some melted butter on top of each donut and just dip it in cinnamon spiced sugar (1 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon).

How to make easy baked pumpkin donuts recipe with cake mix?

1. Mix together- The cake mix powder, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin spice.
2. Spoon- This mixture into a greased donut pan.
3. Bake- Until cooked through.
4. Cool- Donuts completely.
5. Cover- Them in a sugar and spice mixture.

Tips and techniques

Use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling- Both look similar but are totally different and can dramatically affect this recipe.

Use yellow cake mix- Because it yields the best flavor. The spiced cake mix surprisingly didn't yield the best results in my opinion. I felt like the spices were over-powering the pumpkin flavor.

Pipe batter into pan- Because the donut batter is thick and difficult to pour. Simply fill a piping bag with the batter and then pipe it into the donut pan.

Do not fry- Baked donuts have a soft and moist cake-like texture. However, fried donuts are typically lighter in texture and more airy and have almost a soft bread-like texture. The recipe below cannot be used for fried donuts.

Recipe FAQ

Storage of homemade donuts

• Room temperature- Leftovers can be stored in a covered container at room temperature for 2 days. 
• Fridge- Store leftovers in an sealed container for 3 days.
• Freezer- Place donuts (that have not been coated in anything) in a sealed container with wax paper between layers for up to 1 month. Thaw and then coat in powdered sugar before serving.

More donut recipes

• Jelly Filled Donuts (Sufagniyot)
• Baked Apple Cider Donuts
• Pikachu Donuts (Pokemon)
• Christmas Donuts
• Halloween Donuts

Recipe