Make The Most Amazing Cinnamon Sugar Donut Cake For Dessert Tonight
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Who doesn’t enjoy a delicious slice of cake or a donut for that matter? I happened across a delicious dessert that is a happy combination of both: the Cinnamon Sugar Donut Cake!
This donut cake is so easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious. It reminds me instantly of memories at the Calgary Stampede or Calaway Park, some of my favorite places to visit in the summertime as a kid. I personally prefer to eat my cake warmed up, but it also tastes perfectly fine at room temperature.
Ready to bake a cake? Let’s start with everything you’ll need.
Jump to RecipeIngredients
- All Purpose Flour
- Butter (remember to set out for about 1 hour prior to baking)
- Sugar
- Eggs (set these out with your butter so they are room temperature before starting)
- Sour Cream (Like the butter, you want this room temp! If you don’t have sour cream, plain Greek yogurt can do in a pinch)
- Whole milk (Set this out too)
- Vanilla Extract
- Nutmeg (You can also substitute Mace as it’s made from the same tree as nutmeg)
Materials Needed:
- Stand mixer with standard beater(s) attached
- Spatula
- Separate bowl for dry ingredients
- Angel food cake pan (or other similar Bundt cake pan like this one from Amazon)
Step By Step Baking Instructions
This cake is so easy to make and will surpass any store bought donut or cake in taste. If you don’t have a stand mixer, a whisk and bowl will work perfectly fine.
Step One:
Preheat the oven to 350F and get your baking pan out and have your baking spray ready. You’ll want to spray the pan just before adding the cake batter in.
Step Two:
Add the butter and sugar to your stand mixer and beat the ingredients together for about 2-3 minutes until they take on a light and fluffy texture.
Step Three:
Add each egg separately, mixing well with each addition. Then add the vanilla and mix to combine.
Step Four:
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
Step Five:
Add the flour in three separate additions, alternating with the milk and sour cream in between. You’ll start with an addition of flour and end with an addition of flour. Think flour + milk + flour + sour cream + flour and mix in between each new addition!
Step Six:
Spray your pan with baking spray and transfer your batter to the baking pan. You can use a spatula or spoon to gently level off the batter at the top.
Step Seven:
Set the pan on a baking sheet in the center rack of the oven and bake for 45-48 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean (a few crumbs is fine).
Step Eight:
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before trying to remove the pan. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack until it’s cool to the touch, roughly 1 hour.
Step Nine:
Brush the top and sides of the cake with melted butter and add generous heaps of cinnamon sugar to the top. The first little layer will melt into the cake a bit, so keep heaping it on. Slice and enjoy your cake!!
Tips for the Perfect Donut Cake
Use room temperature ingredients as cold ingredients are hard to mix together and you can avoid overmixing your cake batter which will make your cake denser and tougher!
Don’t overbake your cake, keep an eye on the oven, if you notice the top of the cake is browning too quickly near the end of baking, a loose cover of aluminum foil can help slow the process. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out relatively clean (a few crumbs is totally fine).
Be generous with the cinnamon sugar, the idea is to coat the cake in it, so it resembles the cinnamon sugar coated donut!
How to Store Your Cake
This cake stores beautifully on your countertop in an airtight container for 4 days.
You can also freeze any extra slices to enjoy at a later date, use two layers of plastic wrap and stick them in a freezer bag. Simply defrost at room temperature before serving.
Other Fun Recipes to Try Out:
Cinnamon Sugar Donut Cake
Equipment
- Stand mixer with standard beater(s) attached
- Spatula for scraping sides of mixer bowl
- Tube pan A springform pan or an angel food cake pan will also work nicely here.
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup Granulated sugar
- 3 Large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups All purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup Whole milk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup Sour cream, room temperature
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 3 tablespoons Unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons Ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Gather up a 10 cup tube pan and baking spray. Spray the pan just before adding the batter to it.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium high speed until well combined with a light and fluffy texture (around 2-3 minutes). Scrape the sides of the bowl down with a spatula.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
- Add the vanilla extract, mixing well to incorporate.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in three separate additions, alternating with the milk and the sour cream (Flour mixture > Milk > Flour Mixture > Sour Cream > Flour Mixture). Mix with each addition to combine well.
- Generously spray the sides of the tube pan with non stick baking spray. Do not allow the baking spray to pool on the bottom of the pan.
- Add the batter to the pan, using the spatula to level off the batter in the pan gently.
- Set the pan on a large baking sheet and insert into the oven on the center rack. Bake for 45 to 48 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out relatively clean (a few crumbs is okay).
- Remove the cake from the oven and cool it in the pan for 10 minutes before removing the pan. After 10 minutes, allow the cake to fully cool on a cooling rack for about 1 hour before adding the sugar topping.
- Brush the sides and top of the cake with melted butter and dust with a generous layer of cinnamon sugar. Some of the sugar will melt into the cake so continue to add layers until you have a nice coating of cinnamon sugar on top.
Notes
Don’t forget to pin this recipe to Pinterest for later!
