Donut cake
- Vegetarian
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: 30 min
- Cook time: 1 h 5 min
- Serving: 10
- Cost: Low
- Note + the cooling time of the preparations
PRESENTATION
Alright, picture this: you take classic American donuts and mix in some creative flair, and voilà, you get the fun and festive donut cake. Really good stuff. It's like a cake but looks like a giant donut—covered in a shiny, colorful glaze and topped with sprinkles. This isn't just any birthday cake; it's a donut birthday cake perfect for a kid's party or a lively Carnival buffet.
The base? Moist with a tasty vanilla-and-lemon flavor—so so good—hiding a surprise of smooth, orange-infused pastry cream inside. Usually, the glaze is bold blue, but you can change it up to match any theme. Makes it one of the coolest donut cake ideas around. And people love adding fun toppings like rainbow sugar, candies, or even chocolate chips. Seriously good.
And you know what? Seeing a homemade donut cake on the table is sure to bring smiles. Especially with its playful decorations. It’s a great choice for those wanting something different from the usual baked goods. Thing is, unlike the crispy fried donuts, this cake is soft and tender—thanks to careful baking techniques—offering a melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Here's the thing: the real fun comes from personalizing the donut cake decoration. It's like a blank canvas for your sweet, creative ideas. This dessert fits any special occasion, from birthdays to school parties, or just to brighten up a weekend. Whether you use a special donut cake pan or shape it by hand, the result is both pretty and tasty.
It's the kind of treat that makes everyone—especially kids—stop and want a big slice. Combining American donut fun with clever baking tricks makes every bite a mini celebration. Pretty simple, right? For sure.
INGREDIENTS
- Ingredients for the doughnut (for a 9.5-inch diameter pan)
- Type 00 flour 4 cups (500 g)
- Sugar 1 ½ cup (300 g)
- Butter 1.1 cups (250 g)
- Whole milk 1 cup (250 ml)
- Eggs 5 - medium
- Baking powder 1 bag
- Lemon peel 2
- Vanilla bean 1
- Fine salt 1 pinch
- For the orange pastry cream
- Whole milk 2.1 cups (500 ml)
- Sugar ¾ cup (150 g)
- Potato starch 0.625 cup (80 g)
- Egg yolks 6
- Orange peel 1
- For the royal icing
- Powdered sugar 1 ¼ cup (150 g)
- Egg whites 1 oz (30 g) - (about 1)
- Lemon juice to taste
- Food coloring to taste - liquids (blue or other colors as desired)
- For decorating
- Colored sprinkles to taste
How to prepare Donut cake
To prepare the donut cake, start by working the softened butter cut into pieces with the sugar using an electric beater 1. Split a vanilla bean 2 and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife. Then add them to the butter and sugar cream along with a pinch of salt 3.
Also add the grated zest of 2 lemons 4; then incorporate the eggs little by little 5 and mix for another 3-4 minutes 6. Then mix the flour and baking powder 6,
sift them to add to the mixture 7 and continue working it with the electric beaters. When the dry ingredients are incorporated, add the milk in a thin stream 8 continuing to work the mixture: you should obtain a fluid and homogeneous mixture 9.
Pour it into a donut mold with a diameter of 9.5 inches 10 and bake in a preheated static oven at 350°F for about 50 minutes. Once baked, take the doughnut out of the oven and let it cool slightly 11 before turning it out and placing it on a rack to cool completely 12.
In the meantime, you can focus on the pastry cream: extract the peel from an untreated orange 13; in a saucepan, add the egg yolks with the sugar, beat them with a whisk 14, then add the potato starch and mix with the whisk to incorporate it 15.
Pour the milk in a thin stream 16 and the orange zest 17. Mix well and place over low heat; continue to stir and cook the cream until it has thickened 18. At this point, turn off the heat, remove the orange peel
and transfer the cream into a bowl: cover it with plastic wrap in contact to cool it completely 19. When the two preparations are cold, you can assemble the donut cake: cut the doughnut in half 20, fill the base with the orange pastry cream using a piping bag 21.
Once filled 22, cover with the other half of the doughnut 23 and set it aside while you prepare the royal icing: in a bowl, pour the egg whites together with a few drops of lemon, start beating them with the whisks 24
and when they are white, add the powdered sugar 25 and continue to work the mixture: you should obtain a smooth, homogeneous, and fluid glaze. At this point, add a few drops of liquid coloring, we chose blue 26, until you reach the desired shade 27; consider that once the royal icing has set, the color will be more intense and bright.
Spread the icing over the surface of the doughnut with a spoon 28; to complete the decoration, sprinkle lots of colorful sprinkles on your donut cake (29-30)!