Baked Chai Donuts
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Easy spiced donuts get a generous dunk in a spiced sugar coating for some extra pep in each bite.
Remember a couple weeks ago when I threw a little virtual baby shower with my friends Amy and Leah for our friend Cate? Well, I’m at it again. This time with a whole slew of other fabulous bloggers.
And we’re celebrating with all things donuts, because, well, Cate loooooves donuts. Can we blame her? Not one bit.
Cate and I became bloggy buddies back in the summer of 2014 when she tweeted about my blueberry lemon pie bars. I tweeted back or something like that, and the rest is history!
Cate and I actually got to meet up in person this past summer, and she was just the sweetest. We went out for lunch and talked about so much that I’m surprised we were able to finish our lunches.
As of late, we’ve been texting back and forth about pregnancy things and snapping each other working out/belly pics. It’s fun to have her to connect with despite our geographical distance.
Cate lives in NYC and her in-laws live about 20 minutes from us, so we are hoping that Baby ChezCateyLou brings Cate and her husband to our area more often once she’s born!
So let’s get down to donut business, because I know you’re dying to hear about these utterly sugary and spicy confectionary treats that I’ve been dangling in front of your face while I chat about how much I love my bloggy friends.
Friends and donuts. That’s what life is all about. Right?
If you’re a regular reader of mine, you know my love for chai (specifically cardamom!) runs deep. I am such a sucker for that spicy combination of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger, in fact, that yes, I do have a chai puppy chow recipe in my cookbook. It was one of our favorites during the taste testing process!
If you’ve been here before, you know I’m no stranger to baked donuts either. We’ve made a funfetti version and a red velvet version, and today, we’re getting all spiced up for breakfast. And we’re also getting cinnamon/cardamom/ginger-sugar e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. Yes. Everywhere.
Just ask my camera lens… Oops.
Baked donuts come together so easily. You’ve got your standard dry ingredients (flour, leavener, spices), and then we’ve got a few ingredients to ensure maximum moisture: brown sugar, milk, and Greek yogurt.
Greek yogurt, especially, brings so much moisture to baked goods while also adding structure and dialing back the fat content (as opposed to using a ton of butter or oil).
Baked donut batter is essentially the same as cupcake/muffin batter, but baking it in a donut pan makes it donut-y (technical term) and therefore, you can eat it for breakfast. #truestory
Here comes the best part… After you bake your donuts, each one gets a dunk in melted butter (I know, so healthy) and then a generous coating of a mixture of granulated sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger.
I know, I know… These aren’t the healthiest choice for breakfast, but eat one with some eggs and lots of other protein, and call it balance.
Besides, we’re celebrating, ok?
So, uh, we went gaga over these donuts. Serious, straight up heart-eye emoji business.
To be fair to all parts of this delightful little donut, we tried a naked donut and decided we could just stop right there. The donut itself is so so good. It’s not overly sweet, and it’s perfectly spiced to give you all the warm feels of a steamy cup of chai tea. Add the spiced sugar coating?
Now we’re talking one sweet and spicy donut.
I would even venture to say you could probably get away with only coating one side of your donut with melted butter/spiced sugar, but that’s far less fun than sugar the wholeeeee way around every bite.
These donuts are best enjoyed on the day they’re made, but we definitely enjoyed one together on day 3 (Valentine’s Day) and it was still just as tasty. Plus, if you zap one in the microwave for 3-4 seconds, it takes the donut love to a whole new level of enjoyment.
Guys. This may be my new favorite donut. Soft and tender bites full of spice and a literally melt-in-your-mouth coating to start out each delectable nibble. Oh, and dipped in coffee? Don’t even get me started! You know I love my dunking!
And if chai donuts aren’t tickling your fancy, check out plenty of other donut recipes from the other lovely bloggers who are helping celebrate Cate today:
Baked Dark Chocolate Strawberry Donuts – Club Narwhal
Baked Lemon Donuts – What Jessica Baked Next
Biscoff Donuts – Baking a Moment
Chocolate Cake S’mores Donuts – Jessica in the Kitchen
Chocolate Pretzel Donuts – The Emotional Baker
Coconut Matcha Donuts with White Chocolate Glaze – Blahnik Baker
Coffee and Donuts Breakfast Bake – The Cookie Rookie
Doughnut Tiramisu – bethcakes
GF Lemon Donuts with Raspberry Glaze – Thoroughly Nourished Life
Maple Glazed Donut Holes – Hall Nesting
Old Fashioned Sour Cream Cake Donuts – American Heritage Cooking
Paleo Chocolate Frosted Donuts – A Clean Bake
Raspberry Jam Filled Cupcakes – gotta get baked
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Donut Breakfast Sandwich – Shared Appetite
Strawberry Margarita Oreo Donuts – Life Made Sweeter
Baked Mini Samoa Donuts – Culinary Couture
Donut Holes with Sweet Strawberry Dipping Sauce – Twin Stripe
Hol(e)y donut party.
Baked Chai Donuts
Ingredients
DONUTS
- 1 cup flour be sure to measure properly
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ cup milk any
- ¼ cup plain yogurt regular, Greek, or any fat content
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
SPICED SUGAR COATING
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Spray a donut pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
DONUTS
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, salt, and brown sugar. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg, butter, milk, yogurt, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and blend until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
- Transfer batter to a large zip top bag, snip the corner off, and pipe batter evenly into donut wells, filling them ⅔ to ¾ full. You may also use a spoon.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Cool on a wire rack until they are cool enough to handle before dipping in glaze.
SPICED SUGAR COATING
- In a small bowl (wide and shallow enough to dip your donuts into), combine the sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger. Toss together until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a small bowl (wide and shallow enough to dip your donuts into). Dip each donut in the butter, coating all surfaces. Then, place buttered donut in the spiced sugar coating, flipping a couple times to coat all surfaces. Transfer to wire rack to cool until ready to serve. Donuts are best enjoyed the day they are made, but will stay fresh covered tightly at room temperature up to 2 days. Donuts freeze well, up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Reheat in the microwave as needed.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Check out all of my breakfast recipes!
Lynn, I am blushing – two showers?! You spoil me and Baby girl B!!! Seriously, I feel so lucky to have blog friends like you! These donuts are everything. I LOVE chai tea and all the delicious spices. These look so moist and perfect – I need to make them ASAP. Thank you SO MUCH for throwing me not one but TWO awesome showers! And, can’t wait for our babies to meet in Philly when we come to visit! XOXO
You are SO WELCOME, Cate! Anything for you and baby B! I hope you had a great day “celebrating” with all of the donuts 🙂 Baby A certainly cannot wait to meet his bloggy buddy baby friend!
Oh.Emm.Gee. Seriously drooling right now. You know I’m a chai fanatic, and these donuts look like chai perfection. And that spiced sugar coating – I DIE!!!
Leah, it was THE BEST THING EVER. I want it all over my breakfast for the rest of time.
These donuts are gorgeous Lynn! I just love chai flavours! It’s 6am in the morning here and I’m wishing I had one of these for breakfast instead of my boring cereal! Pinned!
Haha, oh no! I hope you were able to get through your cereal ok 😉 thanks so much, Jess!
So, um, is there anyway to organise dunking me in butter and sugar….I seriously want to lick my screen right now Lynn! These look GORGEOUS! And you know I’m a chai lover too so these are my idea of perfection! I just know that I’m going to have to make a batch soon. My family is going to go gaga for them! If I share, that is…
Hahaha, Amy, these were so so sooooo good. That extra dose of cardamom and ginger takes the whole cinnamon-sugar combo to a whole new level. We shared 2 of these with my BIL and his girlfriend, but we totally ate all the rest. Oopsies!
You are the best!! Two showers?? Cate is loved 🙂 Thank you so much for joining in another shower 🙂
Thank you for organizing it and including me, Zainab!
These donuts are speaking to my chai loving heart! I love the crunchy sugar coating too! They look perfect!
Thanks so much, Kelly!
That is sooo cute how you an Catey met up! I feel so lucky that I live 20 blocks from her in NYC! I still wish we got together more though! These donuts look amazing! The sugar outside…I die!
You are pretty lucky to live so close to her! I hope you get some baby snuggles in when she arrives 🙂 thanks, Lindsey! That sugar was daaaaangerous.
I’m chai spice obsessed! I’ve only added the awesome flavors to granola, but expanding to other treats is bound to happen soon – these are so gorgeous 🙂
Oooooh, granola! You’re so smart! I’ve been trying to think of a new granola flavor to change it up. I might just have to steal your idea, hehe. Thanks, Megan 🙂
These donuts sound amazing!!! My stomach is grumbling for something sweet right now… if only there were a stack of these within arm’s reach. I’ll make you a deal… trade you my breakfast sandwiches for your donuts? Hahaha!
Chris… You have yourself a DEAL 😉
Gorgeous photos! They make me want to reach my hand through the screen and just grab one!
Thank you, Meriem! 🙂
Whoa baby, I love everything about this post! Those soft, tender baked donuts, that luscious chai sugar coating, these incredible photos…I need a batch (or two) of these donuts right now!
Haha, thank you so much!
These are probable the most attractive donuts I have ever seen in my life!
Well thank you so much, Anna!
These look amazing!! I’m in the UK so was just wondering which flour you used? If it was plain or self raising? Thank you!
Hi Linzi– I used all-purpose, which I believe is plain for you!