Treat yourself on your way to the pumpkin patch this weekend by preparing a fresh batch of these pumpkin cake doughnuts from King Arthur Baking! Paired with a pumpkin spice latte, these doughnuts make for a delicious start to your morning, or an amazing end to a fun evening!
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup (99g) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups (198g to 298g) granulated sugar*
- 1 1/2 cups (340g) pumpkin purée
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon plus heaping 1/4 teaspoon each nutmeg and ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (224g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 3 tablespoons (35g) cinnamon sugar
*Use the lower amount of sugar for a less sweet version; the doughnuts will be slightly less tender.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don’t have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a standard muffin tin; they just won’t be doughnuts.
- To make the batter: Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder until smooth.
- Add the flour, stirring just until smooth.
- Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well. If you’re making muffins, fill each well about 3/4 full; the recipe makes about 15, so you’ll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans).
- Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you’re making muffins, they’ll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes.
- Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool.
- To coat: While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them in a bag with the cinnamon sugar. If you’ve made muffins, sprinkle their tops heavily with cinnamon sugar. Only coat the number of doughnuts that will be consumed that same day; otherwise, they’ll get soggy.
- Storage information: Cool completely, and store any untopped doughnuts at room temperature for several days. Don’t wrap them tightly in plastic; store them on a plate covered with a cake cover; or in a plastic bag that’s not fastened shut. Add cinnamon-sugar coating just before serving.
Want to make this recipe gluten-free? For great results, substitute King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour for the all-purpose flour in this recipe. Be sure to bake thoroughly; gluten-free baked goods often need a bit more time in the oven.
