Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Cream Cheese Frosting

This pumpkin donut recipe with cream cheese frosting is rich, tender, and perfectly delicious. 

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Whether it is the fall season or the middle of summer, I honestly think any time is pumpkin season. 

These homemade pumpkin donuts are so dang delicious you can make them any time.

This recipe will make BIG donuts. If you prefer smaller more polite sized donuts, this recipe could make around 8-10. Homemade donuts make for an easy fall breakfast or delicious snack.

My favorite part about these easy pumpkin donuts, is we are going to skip deep frying and make them in the oven!

Ingredients for Pumpkin Donuts

• 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 Cup Milk (This can be dairy, almond milk, or another milk substitute)
• 4 Tbsp Melted Butter (salted, always use salted butter)
• 1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• Pumpkin Pie Spice for dusting
• Coconut oil or other oil for greasing the pan

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 Package of Cream Cheese
• 6 Tablespoons Butter, Room Temperature
• 1.5 Cups Powdered Sugar/Confectioners’ Sugar
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Supplies

• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Large Bowl
• Medium Bowl
• Whisk
• Rubber Spatula
• Donut Pan
• Wire Rack for Cooling
• Electric Mixer (Optional: This is for the cream cheese frosting. You can whisk it but you’ll need to use some muscle!)

How to Make Easy Baked Pumpkin Donuts

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Using whatever your oil of choice is, thoroughly grease the donut pan. You’ll want to make sure you grease the flat part on top, not just the donut part. That way if your donut spills over the top at all (my pudgy ones always do) they won’t be as likely to stick.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. I like to whisk it but go with whatever floats your boat.

In the large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, butter, and pumpkin puree. Be sure the butter is melted but not super hot. If it is too hot it will cook the eggs when you add them in. I like to whisk the butter into the pumpkin puree, then add the other wet ingredients.

Once thoroughly combined, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. The donut batter will be very wet but still hold its shape.

Fill your greased donut pan until they are just about full, for a normal-sized donut. For a big mushroom top type donut fill them heaping.

The donuts bake for 20-25 minutes, until they are firm and slightly browned on top.

Place on a cooling rack while you make the frosting.

​How to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

Using an electric hand mixer, mix the cream cheese until it is light and fluffy. About three minutes.

Next, mix in the butter. Again, whip until fluffy. Another 2-3 minutes.

Add in the powdered sugar. If you want to get fancy you can sift this, but I find just dumping it in works fine. 

Mix until well combined, another 2-3 minutes. 

Lastly, add 1 tsp vanilla and mix just until well incorporated. 

If your donuts are not yet cooled, store the frosting covered in the fridge until the donuts are ready to be frosted.

I like to be pretty liberal with my frosting and I still end up with about a half cup leftover frosting in the end. That will depend on how big you make your donuts. 

Putting it All Together

Once the donuts have cooled completely, spread the cream cheese frosting on as thick as you like. If you’d like to get fancy you can use a piping bag, but I just spread it on with a knife or spoon.

Sprinkle the donuts with a little pumpkin pie spice to get a little more “pumpkin” flavor on there. Plus it adds a nice finishing touch. That’s it! You have a delicious baked pumpkin donut. 

Storing Pumpkin Donuts

This is a very moist recipe with no preservatives, so I recommend storing these in the fridge in an airtight container.

They will last for a few days in the fridge, or they also freeze very well! They keep for two monthts in a standard freezer and up to four in a deep freeze in a large zipped-top bag. 

Variations on Homemade Pumpkin Donuts

• ​You could easily make these using a mini donut pan and make cute little pumpkin doughnuts that would be a great treat at Halloween or any time you want a filling and delicious treat.
• To create a maple cream cheese frosting, skip 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar and drizzle in maple syrup a tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency you want for frosting. If you put in too much maple syrup you will end up with more of a maple glaze than a frosting. That’s good though too!
• Want a bread instead? This exact recipe can be baked in large loaf pans or mini loaf pans. For mini loaf pans stick to the 20-25 minute bake time. For larger pans bake 35-40 minutes. You may need to foil the edges of the pan to keep them from getting burned.
• Spice it up with sprinkles! My girls are sprinkle crazy, and the perfect addition to these soft baked pumpkin donuts is some sprinkles. The crunch of the sprinkle helps add a different texture to the soft texture of the frosting and donut.
• The next time I make these I’m going to add bacon. I know it might sound crazy, but top these with some crumbled bacon and you will have that amazing salty crunch to counter the sweet softness of the cake donut. 

​Need more recipes for fall?

Here are some other fall favorites you might enjoy!

• Caffeine Free Fall Drinks
• Turkey Dumpling Soup
• Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
• Homemade Chili
• Cast Iron Coffee Cake