These Baked Crumb Cake Donuts are buttery, tender, and topped with the best cinnamon sugar crumbs you will find. Skip the mess of fried donuts and bake these easy and seriously delicious donuts!
The other week I was wandering around my grocery store and locked eyes with my childhood love, Entenmenn's crumb donuts. Growing up these were the ultimate treat to me- they were sweet, buttery, and the crumbs on the top were THE ABSOLUTE BEST. If there wasn't a crumb donut left in the variety box after my family got to it, I was not a happy camper.
I decided I was going to make my own crumb donut, one that I knew exactly what ingredients were going into it, and even better is baked, NOT fried. While I am all for a good fried donut, my kitchen and I enjoy the mess-free version of a baked donut way more.
I took me a couple tries to get this donut exactly how I wanted it- aka to taste like Entenmenn's crumb donuts, but I'm pretty excited with how these turned out. The crumb topping is EVERYTHING. This recipe is incredibly easy to make and you don't need an electric mixer! It can be done all by hand.
What you need to make Crumb Cake Donuts:
For the crumb topping:
- Butter- unsalted butter that is room temperature.
- Sugar- granulated sugar is the only ingredient in the topping that isn't in the donut batter.
- Flour- all-purpose flour.
- Cinnamon
For the donuts:
- Flour
- Baking powder & baking soda
- Salt- I like using kosher salt.
- Cinnamon & nutmeg- this is what gives your donuts that crumb cake taste!
- Egg
- Brown sugar
- Milk- You can use whatever milk you like.
- Greek yogurt or sour cream- this is what gives our donuts moisture.
- Butter- melted butter.
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar- used for dusting on top at the very end. This is optional!
How to make Baked Crumb Cake Donuts
- Make the crumb topping
- Make the donut batter
- Spoon or pipe the batter into the donut pans. I suggest using a plastic baggie for this- it just makes everything way easier! Just spoon the batter into a ziplock bag, cut off a bottom corner, and squeeze the batter into the pan. The donut batter is thick so it pipes pretty well. DO NOT overfill the donuts cups. You only want to fill them about ½ way because we want to make sure the crumbs don't fall off when the donut rises! ALSO- this is my favorite donut pan.
- Sprinkle crumbs on top. This is truly the best part of this recipe. You want to completely cover the donuts in crumbs and gently press them down into the batter. This helps keep the crumbs from falling off during baking.
- Bake.
- Dust powdered sugar on top. After the donuts have baked and cooled a little, dust the tops with powdered sugar for some extra yum (and they look pretty).
- EAT!
I hope you enjoy these donuts as much as I did! Let me know how they turn out in the comments below.
Other Recipes to try:
📖 Recipe
Baked Crumb Cake Donuts
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Donut Batter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- powdered sugar- for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°. Spray donut pans with nonstick spray and set aside.
Make the Crumb Topping
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, cinnamon. Using one or two forks, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Put in the fridge and continue onto the batter.
Make the Donuts
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, egg, milk, yogurt, melted butter, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter should be very thick.
- Spoon the batter into the donut pan cups. I like using a ziploc baggie to do this- fill the baggie with batter and cut the corner off the bottom of the bag. Pipe the batter into each donut cup, filling about halfway. Take your crumb topping and sprinkle over top of the donuts until each is covered. Gently press the crumbs into the donut batter to ensure they don't fall off after baking. If you only have 1 donut tray, save the rest of the batter for the next batch.
- Bake for 10 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool in the pan for about 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar if you want to!If you are using silicone donut trays, make sure to bake your donuts on a baking sheet and then take them off to cool.
Notes
- These donuts are best served the day of but will last in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for 2 days.
- You can freeze these donuts after they are baked and cooled completely for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm them up to your liking in the microwave.
- My fav donut pan
C. Mathisen says
Made these into donut holes and small tarts. Two biters' , or one if you're my husband! Gone in a flash!!
MaryBeth says
I just love when a recipe is super easy and the taste outstanding. These were so easy to make and even easier to eat. Will definitely be making them again soon.
Kelly Hamilton says
Thanks for trying this recipe, MaryBeth! So happy to hear you loved it!