Fun and festive Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Donuts that are soft, fluffy, bursting with vanilla, and smothered in a sweet glaze. Enjoy these gluten-free vanilla donuts plain or top them with sprinkles for an extra colorful treat.
If you like gluten-free donuts, you might also like my Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Donuts. My Gluten-Free Vegan Donuts are a favorite among many.
For more breakfast recipes check out my Gluten Free Breakfast section.
Gluten-Free Donuts
I've mentioned this in previous posts - my girls and I enjoy a donut every Friday. It helps us wind down for the week and rewards us for getting up and getting ready for the day on time. These gluten-free vanilla cake donuts are one of our favorite gluten-free donuts.
Gluten-free donuts are an extra special treat that we save for Friday mornings. We like to make up a big batch of gluten-free donuts and freeze them for the future weeks. When we run out of gluten-free donuts, we bake up another batch.
These Gluten-Free Vanilla Birthday Cake donuts are incredible any time and aren't just for celebrating birthdays. You can decorate them with frosting or enjoy them plain.
Gluten-Free Vanilla Donuts are super easy to make if you have a good recipe, so I hope you'll try these and see just how simple they are to make.
When you do, please stop back by and let me know what you thought and what you topped your gluten-free donuts with.
Gluten-Free Cake Donuts
We rotate the types of gluten-free donuts we make, adding in variety and giving me a chance to test out new gf donut recipes. My girls like to dip these gluten-free vanilla cake donuts in glaze and add sprinkles.
I love it when they bake with me, and they love being rewarded with a sweat treat for helping. The girls and I devoured these Gluten-Free Vanilla Birthday Cake Donuts straight from the oven.
The second batch made it to the glaze and sprinkle process and were frozen for the next week. The texture in these gluten-free vanilla donuts is perfect. There is a little give when you pick the donut up. It's tender, and melts perfectly in your mouth.
Do I have to use a donut pan?
If you don't have a donut pan, I recommend you get one. But for now, you can use a muffin pan or a mini muffin pan. Just note that the cooking time is lower with a donut pan because the donut dough gets contact all around, including in the center with the donut pan.
Can I make these gluten-free donuts dairy-free?
Absolutely. Substitute the milk for your favorite dairy-free milk. Also use dairy-free milk in the glaze.
These gluten-free vanilla cake donuts are insanely simple to make. They bake up in less than ten minutes and are tender, flavorful, and hit your donut-loving taste buds in all the right places.
You can have fun with the glaze by adding in color, or you can use different types of sprinkles. One year for Halloween, we made the glaze purple and topped the donuts with orange sprinkles. They were fun to hand out to friends on Halloween.
Do these gluten-free vanilla cake donuts freeze well?
Yes, these gluten-free vanilla cake donuts freeze well. We often double the batch and freeze the rest for our Friday donut days. That way, I don't have to make a fresh batch each week. Simply take them out the night before, or defrost them in the microwave in the morning.
What gluten-free sprinkles do you recommend?
Judee's has a huge variety of certified gluten-free sprinkles. Look at all the gorgeous colors!
Chef's Select is another great option.
Most sprinkles don't have wheat or gluten in them, but they are usually processed in a facility that processes other glutinous ingredients. Make sure to check labels for allergen information.
My Gluten-Free Gingerbread Donuts are delicious any time of year, not just in the fall months, if you're looking for a gluten-free donut with some spice. These gluten-free cinnamon rolls are also delicious and easy to make.
Did you make these gluten-free cake donuts? Please let me know what you think in the comments below. Also, if you have a question that I haven't already answered above please leave a comment and I will get back to you.
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Donuts
Fun and festive Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Donuts that are soft, fluffy, bursting with vanilla, and smothered in a sweet glaze. You are going to love how easy these gluten-free donuts are to make.
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 2 cups all purpose gluten-free flour blend
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk (or dairy-free milk)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
- ½ cup oil of choice
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ - 1 cup sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease two six-serving donut pans; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, vanilla, and oil.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan filling about ½ full. The batter should not cover the center of the donut, where the hole will go.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the donuts rise and set.
- Remove from oven and carefully remove the donut from the pan. You may need to use a spoon or a rubber spatula to loosen them if they stick.
- Cool donuts on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Place your wire rack over a cookie sheet or piece of parchment paper.
- For the glaze: In a separate small mixing bowl, combine the powered sugar and milk. Heat covered in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir until all sugar lumps are dissolved.
- One at a time, dip the tops of your donuts into the glaze.
- Place your donut back on the rack and repeat until all donuts have been dipped.
- Repeat 1-2 more times until your glaze is white.
- After the last dip in the glaze, dip the donuts into the sprinkles.
- Store donuts in a airtight container at room temperate for up to three days.
Notes
- You can use dairy-free milk to make these gluten free donuts dairy-free.
- When working with or measuring gluten-free flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level. Do not scoop your measuring cup into the gluten-free flour. The best method really is to weight it but I don't have the ingredient weights for all my recipes yet.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 donutAmount Per Serving: Calories: 303Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 301mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 4g
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
Tag @glutenfreepalate on Instagram and hashtag it #glutenfreepalatebaker so we can see all the deliciousness!
Diane Romano
Which of your gf flour blends did you use for the donuts? Blend 1 or blend 2? I like the potato flour in the mixtures, should make a very tender product.
Wendy Stoltz
Hi Diane,
The first flour blend is a little lighter and it works great it all of my recipes for quick breads, cakes, donuts, and cookies. The second gluten free flour blend option has a bit more structure and it works well with rolls, bread, cinnamon rolls, and cookies.
So to answer your question the 1st one.
Eileen
My son is allergic to corn, too, so cannot have xanthan gum. I have your flour blend 1 mixed up without the xanthan gum. Will this cake donut recipe work without the xanthan gum? Thanks.
Wendy Stoltz
Hi Eileen,
You would need to add an alternative to xanthan gum. Guar gum is a common substitute for xanthan gum in gluten-free baking. It serves a similar purpose and can help improve the texture and structure of your donuts. I have not tested this so try it and see if it works.
Denise
Thank You for this recipe. I can't have gluten because of allegeries. These were the best recipe yet. Even my husband who is not gluten free, loved them. I used almond milk and they turned out delicious. Did not use the glaze because I like my donuts plain. Great recipe. Definitely a keeper.
Zoe
So happy to hear that, Denise!
Wendy Stoltz
Thanks Denise, appreciate the feedback.
Danielle
A full teaspoon of salt seems like a lot! Is that really correct or a possible error? I am excited to make these with Better Batter flour and will update on how that flour works.
Wendy Stoltz
Hi Danielle,
It is correctt it balances the sweetness and enhance the flavors.
It's great to hear you'll be using Better Batter flour—I look forward to hearing how your donuts turn out with that substitution! Happy baking!