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These Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts are an easy, simple, and nostalgic way to start the day!

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Sometimes I encounter debates pitting baked and fried doughnuts against each other, and I have to stop and ask myself why people need to do that when we live in a world where we’re free to have both. I mean, sure, there are certain qualities to both doughnuts the other doesn’t have, but to get in someone’s face about it… Does that make one a doughnut purist or simply a jerk? Does every single thing have to be “policed”?

Anyway, I love fried doughnuts as much as the next person, but let’s face it, sometimes you just don’t feel like eating a piece of fried bread. There are days when you want a doughnut but you’re not in the mood for a fried doughnut, and for me that’s where a baked doughnut fits right in. Baked doughnuts are pretty close to being cakes, yet most of what I’ve eaten have this airy sort of fluffiness to them that isn’t quite that of cake.

Whatever the case may be, I can’t help but enjoy making baked doughnuts. They’re incredibly easy, tasty, and look cute as a button! Also, I feel that when it comes to baked doughnuts, it’s much easier to infuse flavors into the doughnut itself compared to yeasted doughnuts, where most of the flavors come from the filling and glaze.

I suppose that’s why I decided to make this video about 3 different kinds of baked doughnuts. I wanted to do a compilation about 3 completely different flavors to show how similar and easy the process is despite how far apart the flavors are from each other. So get your doughnut pans ready, people. It’s baked doughnut time!

First up is a more classic one– Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts. This doughnut is soft and tender and lightly sweet, with the bulk of the sweetness coming from the cinnamon-sugar coating. The doughnuts attain their tenderness from the use of vanilla-flavored Greek-style yoghurt. I actually did not buy the legit expensive stuff and simply used cheap “greek-style” yoghurt, particularly the Pascual brand.

The doughnuts came out really nicely still! This is a really easy, simple, nostalgia-inducing baked doughnut with great flavor and texture!

Recipe notes

You will need a doughnut pan for this recipe. When I was first starting my baking journey so many years ago, I had to buy my doughnut pans from the US and Taiwan. Luckily, these days doughnut pans are widely available online at different price ranges. I’ve seen them on Shopee, but you can also check Gourdo’s stores. (Last month I was there I saw a bunch of them.) The only thing I wish to advise is to not get a pan that is black in color as it will brown the bottom of your doughnuts faster. Get something in a lighter color, such as grey or blue-grey.
Make sure to properly grease your doughnut pan. Even if the pan is labeled as “non-stick”, still make sure to grease your pans lightly but thoroughly with some oil or butter.

I believe that regular vanilla-flavored yoghurt will work on this recipe as well. If for any reason you cannot find Greek-style yoghurt in your supermarket, you may substitute regular yoghurt. Vanilla is recommended over plain as the vanilla gives the doughnuts extra scent and flavor.
Make sure not to over-mix the batter once you add the dry ingredients into the wet. Use a spatula and fairly large folding motions to incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet in as few strokes as possible. Separately you can whisk the two mixtures as much as you like, but once the flour is mixed in with the wet ingredients, avoid mixing the batter too much to discourage the formation of gluten in your finished product. Gluten will make your doughnuts tough, and we do not want that!
You can use a ziplock bag if you don’t have piping bags available. Heck you can also just use a spoon to scoop your batter into your pan, but using a piping bag makes everything less messy and a lot easier. I realize probably not everyone will have a piping bag on hand but a ziplock bag works as a great substitute. Make sure to properly deflate and seal the ziplock bag before snipping off a corner and using it.

These doughnuts are best fresh out of the oven and consumed on the same day. The sooner you eat these doughnuts, the better the texture will be. Enjoy!

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