Red Velvet Donuts (Recipe) (2024)

Like red velvet? Then you’re going to love these red velvet donuts… arriving just in time for Valentine’s Day!

I love red velvet. And I love Valentine’s Day.

The cheery red and white and pink decorations and the whimsical heart-shaped everything and the adorable drawings of twitterpated creatures. Usually that night, I prefer picking up a themed craft beer or bottle of wine and watching a cute comedy or a horror film to going out to dinner. Or I’ll make a five-course dinner. Or throw a fondue party. And, if gifts are exchanged, they’re certainly of the silly variety. I think one year I gave my other half a painting of two zombies in love.

So, in that spirit, I’m making a few different Valentine’s treats! First up, red velvet donuts plus two more other types of Valentine’s donuts! I made some Valentine’s donuts last year when I made these Baked S’mores donuts (I’m all about baked donuts because while fried donuts are deeeeelicious, they are awfully messy. And, even in making these, I managed to get donut batter on the cat.). This year, I made more and am giving them their very own post. I added a few more varieties to the mix, including red velvet donuts. Because what donut is more Valentine’s Day than red velvet?

Baked Donut Recipes

This year, I made three different baked cake donut recipes: Vanilla, red velvet, and chocolate. All three baked donut recipes are without yeast which means they come together super quickly. In fact, you might spend more time thinking about what designs to make than actually making them!

To make the donuts, you’ll need at least one baked donut pan (though more will save on washing and waiting time) and oodles of sprinkles and things to decorate the donuts with! (And of course the ingredients.) I found these really fun sprinkles by Wilton at Target this year – you may have seen them in my Instagram story – and had to get them. First off, they’re in heart-shaped packaging, so yeah… and then one of them are multicolored candy hearts and the other are cupid arrows and hearts. I also had mini red, white, and pink hearts, red hearts, food coloring for the red velvet donuts and the glazes, and plenty of Valentine-colored jimmies on hand.

Also, before you start, decide what flavor you want the glaze to be. I’ve collected enough flavorings and infused sugars and things to make my pantry feel a little bit like Willy Wonka’s laboratory, so on a whim, I decided to make the glaze for the vanilla donuts cotton candy-flavored, but just saying it might be something you want to ponder while you’re at the store. And, if you don’t decide to flavor them, that’s ok too! The donut glaze is pretty darn tasty on its own.

Donut or Doughnut?

Before we get into the recipes, can we take a moment and talk about donut vs doughnut? When I was a kid, it was always doughnut, except for Dunkin’. And, then, suddenly, it seemed to switch. The former is certainly easier to spell. But, why the change? What happened? Which one is correct?

The original spelling dough-nut originated in print around 1809 in Washington Irving’s historical text A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. These “balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog’s fat, and called dough-nuts, or olykoeks,” They didn’t have holes, likely because they were made in the Dutch tradition of oliebollen. These round balls are made from flour, eggs, leavening, and milk. It’s said that the Dutch ate the oliebollens between during Yule to protect themselves from the sword of Perchta, the Christmas witch.

The shortened, phoentically-influenced donut didn’t appear until the late 1800s as a contraction of the original doughnut and was first printed in Peck’s Bad Boy and his Pa, where one of the characters describes his morning, saying, “Pa said he guessed he hadn’t got much appetite, and he would just drink a cup of coffee and eat a donut.” but took off after the arrival of Dunkin’ Donuts in 1950 and Mister Donut in 1956, like hot apple cider donuts anywhere near my vicinity come September.

Which spelling do you prefer?

How to Make Donut Glaze

Inspired by As Easy As Apple Pie’s vanilla glaze.

Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
2-4 tbsp. milk, divided
extract flavoring of your choice (optional)
food coloring (optional)

Preparation:
1. Mix powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt, flavoring (1/4 tsp.), and 2 tbsp. milk in medium bowl. Add milk, 1 tbsp. at time until glaze is the consistency you desire. Want pink, red, and white? Separate glaze into three bowls and add food coloring to create the pink and red glazes.
2. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet.
3. Dip one cooled donut into the glaze then remove and place on rack. Decorate!

Note: It’s best to add the sprinkles and decorations when the glaze is still sticky. However, if you want to add frosting lines on top, wait until the glaze has fully dried. If the glaze becomes too thick when dipping the donuts, warm it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.

How to Make Baked Chocolate Donuts

This recipe was inspired by Joy the Baker’s baked donut recipe, which I used for the Baked S’mores donuts. I adapted it slightly here.
Makes: Approximately 1 dozen donuts

Ingredients:
Nonstick spray (I use olive oil spray)
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (regular for chocolate, rouge for red velvet)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

Preparation:
1. Preheat to 325, spray donut pan with nonstick spray and wipe off excess.
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in small bowl.
3. Beat butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
4. Add eggs, mixing for 30 seconds in between each addition.
5. Add vanilla. Turn off mixer and scrape down sides. Mix on high for 15-20 seconds.
6. Turn mixer to low. Add 1/3 of flour mixture. Add 1/2 buttermilk. Repeat, ending with flour.
7. Transfer donut batter to pastry bag fitted with a round piping tip. Pipe batter into pan, leaving a 1/4” of room.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they spring back when gently touched. Let rest for 5-7 min, remove from pan.

How to Make Baked Vanilla Donuts

Makes: Approximately 1 dozen donuts
Ingredients:
Nonstick spray (I use olive oil spray)
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup milk

Preparation:
1. Preheat to 325, spray donut pan with nonstick spray and wipe off excess.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in small bowl.
3. Beat butter and sugar on medium high until fully combined.
4. Add eggs, mixing for 30 seconds in between each addition.
5. Add vanilla. Turn off mixer and scrape down sides. Mix on high for 15-20 seconds.
6. Turn mixer to low. Add 1/3 of flour mixture. Add 1/2 milk. Repeat, ending with flour.
7. Transfer donut batter to pastry bag fitted with a round piping tip. Pipe batter into pan, leaving a 1/4” of room.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they spring back when gently touched. Let rest for 5-7 min, remove from pan.