From the moment I spotted these mini donuts on Bakers Royale, I was absolutely smitten with their adorableness. For some reason I find miniaturized things to be irresistible and come on, who doesn’t love a donut? So when I found myself with an Amazon gift card, I just had to snag the mini donut pan.
I’m not really one to purchase a ton of novelty pans, because they end up sitting unused and taking up space in already ridiculously full cabinets. However, I knew this Wilton Mini Donut Pan would give me the perfect bite-size treats for Valentine’s Day, so I couldn’t resist it. Conveniently, the pan came with a basic baked donut recipe that I used as a base and then added some of my own Valentine flair!
Although this novelty did not taste like your typical fried “donut”, they were very tasty and virtually hassle-free due to the absence of the oily mess that comes with frying. The mini donuts had a fluffy, cake-like texture that left everyone begging for more. The infusion of the lemon zest and vanilla, they had the perfect hint of sweetness that was not overwhelming with the addition of the candy melt glaze. I simply piped the batter into the pan, baked and dipped these adorable minis into pink and white candy melts for the topping. Adding the Valentine décor just added to their appeal.
This is the perfect one-bite, guilty pleasure and as you can see, were soooo adorable that I had to share them with you all. I highly recommend using these for something like a school Valentine’s Day celebration, or just to give to that special someone as a sweet treat. I guarantee they will be a big hit!
Mini Baked Lemon Donuts
Yield: 24 mini donuts
Ingredients:
½ cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1¼ cups cake flour, sifted
1¼ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1½ tbsp. butter, melted
½ teaspoon of vanillaDirections:
Prepare pan with baking spray.
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl combine sugar and lemon zest until the sugar is moistened and fragrant.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in sugar mixture.
4. Add buttermilk, egg, butter, and vanilla and stir until just combined.
5. Add batter to a piping bag and fill each donut cup approximately one-half full.
6. Bake 4–6 minutes or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched.
7. Let cool in pan for 4–5 minutes before removing. Finish the donuts with glaze, sprinkles, or cinnamon sugar.
Notes:
- To decorate the mini donuts, I dipped them in candy melts and adorned them with cute Valentine's Day sprinkles from Wilton. Simply melt according to package directions, invert the top of the donuts into the melted candy melts and immediately top with sprinkles.
- adapted from Wilton
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{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
Pure Valentines and donut loveliness! Wow those look good. The pics as always are so awesome!
Yum, those look amazing. I really love the heart shaped sprinkles!
So cute! Great job!
Yum! Those look amazing, especially with those Valentine’s Day sprinkles
Oh! I have the same donut pan and love it!! Your donuts look much better than mine though
Could this recipe be used with the mini donut machine, as well? It sounds delicious.
These mini donuts look delicious and so cute too! I definitely have to get myself a donut pan. Thanks for sharing!
My next purchase will be a donut baking pan. I only hope my batch turns out as pretty as these.
Hi Jamie! They look great! I’m not a big fan of buying lots of novelty pans (or molds for that matter! When I made my daughters butterfly cake, I used two 9 inch heart shaped pans to create the butterfly. The novelty ended at the heart shapped pan which I can always make a heart shaped cake for just a loved one!) But a few years ago I did buy a mini heart shaped silicone shaped thing (like an ice cube tray) because it was on sale, after v-day. I’ve used it many times to make heart shaped ice cubes in punches and drinks (usually made out of the punch!) and I could use it to make pasteries, brownie bites etc! I’m sure you’ll come up with a use for using the doughnut pan again!
Absolutely adorable! I also love that they are baked, not fried.
These look so wonderful! Love that they are baked, too!
Ok so I’ve been thinking about buying a mini donut pan, and I even have a gift card. But, I’ve been mulling over whether it’s worth it and if I have the room for it. Ughh I still can’t decide! But, hey, your donuts look soooo good!
Ha! One bite no guilt. TEN bites, lots of guilt. I would not be able to stop myself with these beauty’s!!! Great job!
I think cake donuts are a great idea, the fried ones are way too greasy. These are adorable with the Valentine’s Day sprinkle decoration.
So, so, so, so, so CUTE!
So cute and seriously mouth poppable!
These are beyond cute. I love anything in mini form and those heart sprinkles are very befitting!
um these are just about the cutest things i’ve ever seen!
OK, now I really really want a donut pan. Darn you Jamie! These are too adorable not to have.
They’re adorable! I feel the same way about single-purpose kitchen items, but a donut pan can get lots of use. Have you seen Lara Ferroni’s Doughnuts cookbook that came out last year? I did a little bit of recipe testing for it, and there are some great, creative donuts in there. You can make most of them with a baked dough. Probably worth checking out if now that you own a donut pan!
These are adorable and I know my kids would love them! I may have to get one of those pans.
I love Valentine’s Day desserts, and yours looks so, so delicious! You should really consider submitting this to Recipe4Living’s Valentine’s Day Recipe Contest! You could win a GreenPan Stainless Steel Todd’s Perfect Gourmet Cook Set!
Mini Baked Donuts taste as good as Famous Jam Dots, it would be good for Valentines too if you decorate it the same way. The recipe is found on http://bit.ly/fPW0qm for those who would like to try.
These look yummy! I have to try these. We got a Donut maker thing for Christmas and have been looking for a good recipe to try.
These are soo cute! I can’t wait to buy this pan and try them out! (I also do NOT need to have another pan laying around in the cupboards, but how could you resist?!)
I don’t use my donut pan nearly as much as I should! And I never thought of making them with a holiday flare–good idea!
We are a house filled with mini baked doughnuts! I was almost tempted to make them today for after school snack, but refrained! Beautiful post!
I too prefer donuts being baked rather that being fried.
These look so good! Hope i can find a mini doughnut pan. I’m thinking my neice & nephew’s kids would love these at their parties.
Ok. I must’ve done something wrong. My batter was extremely thick and dry and terribly hard to pipe. I made regular sized donuts, but I only got 3 1/2 donuts from this recipe. I really like the texture, but I found them slightly salty. =(
Kristin-
The recipe is adapted from Wilton which was developed specifically for the mini donut pan. The batter was thick, but was not difficult to pipe. Sorry you had issues with this one, but I’d recommend not making it unless you have a mini donut pan.
-Jamie
Lovely donuts … I think I’m gonna try to add a touch of green to it – making them for St.Patty’s!
Those look so amazing! Yum! One question though, where did you get that milk jar and straws. It is so cute! I love it!!!
Thank you for posting this recipe! It was just what I was looking for. I’ll be sure to sketch my donuts when they’re done.
I just made these for today’s advent treat. Yummy! Thanks for posting the recipe.
Tried these and they are absolutely delicious…Thank You.
could you please give anthoer glaze to make for this lovely doughnuts as we don’t have candy melts where i live, and how many days these doughnuts will keep. thanks a lot.
Could you please give another glaze to make for this lovely doughnuts as we don’t have candy melts where i live, and how many days these doughnuts will keep. Thanks a lot.
One word. YUM! Okay. Two words. LOVELY!
you need a regular doghnut recipie. i only have a baking sheet and cant fry them. its almost impossible to find one, mabye you can.
Very cute! I love the heart sprinkles!
How cute are those? They look so delicious and I’m sure they taste delicious as well. Perfect fingerfood.
can i still use the recipe without a doughnut pan?
Kathija-
I have not attempted this recipe without the use of a doughnut pan, sorry I am not more of a help.
Jamie
How cute and adorable these are
They are perfect for festive events
My daughter and I made these, and they came out perfect. We also made a batch with orange rind instead of the lemon, and they were great too. Thanks!