Mardi Gras King Cake Donuts (Printable)
Soft, sweet baked donuts adorned with purple, green, and gold sugars for a festive New Orleans celebration.
# What You Need:
→ Donuts
01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
03 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
05 - 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
06 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
07 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
08 - 3/4 cup buttermilk
09 - 2 large eggs
10 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
11 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 - Zest of 1 lemon
→ Cream Cheese Filling
13 - 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
14 - 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
15 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Glaze
16 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
17 - 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
18 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Decoration
19 - Purple, green, and gold sanding sugars
# Steps:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cavity donut pan with cooking spray or butter.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until evenly combined.
03 - In a medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until fully incorporated.
04 - Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold gently until just combined. Do not overmix to maintain tender crumb structure.
05 - In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy. Set aside if using.
06 - Transfer batter to piping bag. For filled donuts, pipe a thin layer of batter into each cavity, add small amount of cream cheese mixture, then top with additional batter. For unfilled donuts, fill each cavity approximately two-thirds full with batter.
07 - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until donuts spring back when lightly pressed. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack for complete cooling.
08 - Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and pourable consistency is achieved.
09 - Dip cooled donuts into glaze, then immediately sprinkle with purple, green, and gold sanding sugars in sections to create King Cake appearance. Allow 5 minutes for glaze to set before serving.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- These donuts give you all that King Cake magic without the fuss of yeast dough or waiting for hours.
- The buttermilk makes these incredibly tender while the lemon zest adds that subtle brightness that makes people ask what your secret ingredient is.
02 -
- The batter may look slightly curdled when you add the melted butter to the cold buttermilk, but keep going, it all comes together in the end.
- If you dont have a piping bag, a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off works beautifully for filling the donut cavities without making a mess.
03 -
- For the most vibrant colored sugar effect, mix a tiny drop of corn syrup into your glaze to create a slightly stickier surface that grabs and holds the sugar crystals better.
- If you want to add the traditional plastic baby, use a toothpick to create a small hole in the side of the cooled, unglazed donut and tuck a food-safe plastic trinket inside rather than baking it in.