Soft Baked Sweet Potato Donuts

Frying donuts at home is a commitment I'm rarely willing to make on a weekday.

Three quarts of oil, a thermometer, and a kitchen that smells like a fryer for two days afterward.

So I bought a donut pan instead, mostly on a whim, and it has earned its shelf space several times over.

These are cake-style donuts, baked, with a full cup of mashed sweet potato folded into the batter.

That one addition does a lot of work.

It keeps them soft for days, gives the crumb a warm orange color, and makes me feel slightly better about eating two before nine in the morning.

The glaze is real maple syrup whisked with powdered sugar, no extract anywhere near it.

My wife insists on spelling them "doughnuts" and I've stopped arguing about it.

She still eats three.

Batter to glazed and cooling on the rack takes about 35 minutes, and most of that is oven time.

If you have leftover roasted sweet potato sitting in the fridge from dinner, this is the best possible use for it.

Bake a batch on a Sunday morning and watch the whole house find its way to the kitchen.

Why You'll Love These Donuts

These solve the donut craving without the deep fryer. Here's what makes them worth the pan.

• Baked, not fried. No oil to heat, no oil to dispose of, no splatter on the backsplash. The oven does all the work.
• Ready in about 35 minutes. Roughly 15 minutes of mixing and 15-18 minutes of baking, which is faster than driving to a bakery in most towns.
• Real maple flavor. Actual maple syrup in the glaze, not imitation extract. You can taste the difference immediately.
• Uses up leftover sweet potato. One cup of mash from Sunday dinner turns into breakfast on Monday.
• They stay soft. Most baked donuts go dry by day two. The sweet potato holds moisture, so these are still good on day three.

Ingredients You'll Need

This is a quick-bread batter, not a yeasted dough. No rise, no proof, no waiting around.

For the donuts:

• All-purpose flour (1 ½ cups). Spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off. Scooping packs in extra flour and gives you a dry donut.
• Baking powder (2 ¼ teaspoons). That's a lot for the amount of flour, and it's intentional. Baked donuts need the lift because there's no hot oil to puff them.
• Ground cinnamon (½ teaspoon). The warm background note. A pinch of nutmeg alongside it is a good idea if you have it.
• Salt (¼ teaspoon). Keeps the sweetness in check.
• Granulated sugar (½ cup). Just enough. The glaze brings plenty of sweetness on its own.
• Melted butter (6 tablespoons). Cooled slightly before it goes in so it doesn't cook the egg. Butter gives a better flavor here than oil.
• Whole milk (⅓ cup). Loosens the batter to a thick, pipeable consistency.
• Mashed sweet potato (1 cup). Canned puree or home-baked and mashed, both work. Use plain sweet potato, NOT the canned kind packed in syrup.
• Egg (1 large). Room temperature. It binds the crumb so the donuts lift out of the pan in one piece instead of crumbling.

For the maple glaze:

• Powdered sugar (2 cups). Sifted if it's lumpy, which it usually is.
• Real maple syrup (3 tablespoons). Grade A dark is what I reach for. It has more flavor than the pale stuff and it holds up against the sweet potato.
• Milk (1-2 tablespoons). Added a teaspoon at a time to reach a slow-ribbon consistency.
• Pinch of salt. A small thing that keeps the glaze from tasting like straight sugar.

How to Make Baked Sweet Potato Donuts

Two bowls, a whisk, and a piping bag. No mixer required, though you can use one if it's already on the counter.

Step 1: Prep the Pan and Oven

Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a standard donut pan thoroughly, including the center posts.

Nonstick spray works, and softened butter applied with a fingertip works better.

Fair warning: Skip this step and half your donuts will stay in the pan.

Step 2: Whisk the Dry Ingredients

Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.

Whisk for a solid 20 seconds so the baking powder is evenly distributed. Pockets of it taste soapy.

Step 3: Mix the Wet Ingredients

In a larger bowl, whisk the sugar, melted butter, and egg until smooth.

Add the mashed sweet potato and the milk and whisk again until there are no orange streaks.

If your mash is lumpy, run it through a sieve first. Lumps in the batter show up as dense spots in the finished donut.

Step 4: Combine

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold with a spatula until just combined.

A few dry streaks are fine. Overmixing makes the donuts tough and rubbery, and this is the one place the recipe can go wrong.

Step 5: Fill the Pan

Scrape the batter into a piping bag or a zip-top bag with a corner snipped off.

Pipe into each well until it's about two-thirds full, keeping the center post clear.

Spooning works too, but piping gives you a smoother top and a cleaner donut shape.

Step 6: Bake

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the tops spring back when you press them lightly.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack.

Let them cool completely before glazing. A warm donut melts the glaze straight off onto the counter.

Step 7: Glaze

Whisk the powdered sugar, maple syrup, salt, and 1 tablespoon of milk until smooth.

Dip each donut face down, twist gently, and lift straight up.

Set them back on the rack and give the glaze 15-20 minutes to set. Yum.

Tips for the Best Maple Glaze

Glaze consistency is the whole game here. Too thin and it runs off, too thick and it sits in a lump.

• Aim for slow ribbons. Lift the whisk. The glaze should fall in a thick ribbon that disappears back into the bowl in about 5 seconds.
• Add liquid a teaspoon at a time. It goes from too thick to too thin in about half a tablespoon. Thickening it back up takes another half cup of powdered sugar and then you have twice as much glaze.
• Use REAL maple syrup. Maple extract gives you a stronger, sharper flavor without thinning the glaze, and it also tastes like candy rather than maple. Real syrup is worth the small adjustment.
• Glaze cold donuts only. Even slightly warm donuts melt the glaze into a transparent film.
• Double-dip for a thicker coat. Let the first layer set for 10 minutes, then dip again. This is how bakeries get that opaque white-topped look.
• Set the rack over parchment. The drips are considerable, and cleanup takes two seconds instead of ten minutes.

Storage and Freezing

These keep better than most baked donuts, but glaze is the limiting factor. Here's how each option holds up.

• Room temperature. In an airtight container for up to 3 days. Put a paper towel in the bottom to catch condensation, which is what turns the glaze sticky and cloudy.
• Refrigerator. I don't recommend it. The fridge dries out the crumb faster than the counter does.
• Freezer, unglazed. This is the way. Cool completely, wrap individually, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and glaze fresh.
• Freezer, glazed. It works if you must, though the glaze weeps a little on thawing. Freeze them on a tray first so they don't stick together, then bag them.
• Batter ahead. Don't. The baking powder starts working the moment it hits liquid, and batter that sits gives you flat donuts.

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Baked Sweet Potato Donuts With Maple Glaze

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 12 donuts

Ingredients

For the Donuts

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
• 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
• ⅓ cup whole milk
• 1 cup mashed sweet potato plain, canned or home-baked
• 1 large egg room temperature

For the Maple Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 3 tablespoons real maple syrup Grade A dark preferred
• 1-2 tablespoons milk to thin
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

Make the Donuts

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a standard donut pan thoroughly, including the center posts.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl.
• In a larger bowl, whisk the sugar, melted butter, and egg until smooth. Add the mashed sweet potato and milk and whisk until no orange streaks remain.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the wet with a spatula until just combined. A few dry streaks are fine. Do not overmix.
• Transfer the batter to a piping bag and fill each well about two-thirds full, keeping the center post clear.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Glaze

• Whisk the powdered sugar, maple syrup, salt, and 1 tablespoon of milk until smooth, adding more milk a teaspoon at a time until the glaze falls off the whisk in a slow ribbon.
• Dip each cooled donut face down, twist gently, and lift straight up. Return to the rack and let the glaze set for 15 to 20 minutes.

Notes

• Cool completely before glazing: A warm donut melts the glaze into a thin, transparent film.
• Real maple syrup only: Maple extract tastes like candy. Grade A dark syrup has the flavor to stand up to the sweet potato.
• Sweet potato: Use plain puree or mash, never the canned kind packed in syrup.
• Storage: Airtight at room temperature for 3 days, or freeze unglazed for up to 2 months and glaze after thawing.
• Do not make the batter ahead: The baking powder activates on contact with liquid and the donuts bake up flat.