These baked Red Velvet Donuts are super moist and delicious. They are baked, not fried and have the flavor of red velvet cake in donut form! These vibrant donuts are perfect for Christmas and Valentine’s Day and can be made in less than 30 minutes.
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Red velvet donuts are soft and full of flavor! This doughnut recipe is inspired by red velvet cake. These donuts can be made in less than 30 minutes!
I love red velvet cake and these donuts are like red velvet cake in donut form. Since these are donuts, you can enjoy the flavor of red velvet for breakfast, a snack and dessert!
For more donut recipes, try my Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Cake Donuts, Lemon Blueberry Donuts and Baked Banana Donuts.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- You will love how soft and moist these donuts are.
- Like red velvet cake, these donuts are made with cocoa powder, buttermilk, white vinegar and red food coloring!
- The two-ingredient ganache is the easiest topping. It adds the perfect chocolatey finishing touch.
- Their festive red color makes them the perfect bake for Valentine’s Day and Christmas!
- These red velvet baked donuts make the perfect breakfast, snack or dessert.
Ingredients
Below are notes about some of the ingredients for this red velvet doughnut recipe.
- Flour: Use all purpose flour.
- Baking powder: Gives these donuts their rise and fluffy texture.
- Salt: Salt brings out the flavor of these donuts. Without salt, the donuts would be bland.
- Vanilla extract. Adds flavor.
- Red food coloring: Red food coloring gives that bright red color. If you don’t have enough or don’t want to use food coloring, you can leave it out. You just won’t get that red color but the donuts will still be delicious.
- Cocoa powder: Use regular natural or Dutch cocoa powder.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds tang and makes these donuts moist.
- White vinegar: Vinegar is optional, but recommended.
- Heavy cream: Use heavy cream for the ganache. I don’t recommend half and half or whole milk in place of the heavy cream.
Please see recipe card below for full list of ingredients and their measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you don’t have buttermilk, make your own! Use 1/2 cup of whole milk plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice as a substitute.
- Instead of buttermilk, use whole milk, 2% milk, or full fat sour cream.
- Top with melted white chocolate or cream cheese glaze instead of chocolate ganache.
Instructions
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and sugars.
Step 2: Combine wet ingredients. In another bowl, use a whisk the room temperature buttermilk, egg, vinegar and vanilla with the melted butter. Whisk in the food coloring.
Step 3: Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Stir til just combined.
Step 4: Fill donut pans. Spoon batter into a piping bag or zip lock bag. Pipe the batter about half way full in the buttered donut pans.
Step 5: Bake. Bake donuts at 350 Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes. Cool in the pan for 3 minutes then turn donuts out of pans. Let the donuts cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 6: Make the chocolate ganache. While donuts cool, make the ganache. Place the chocolate chips in a bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a low boil then pour over the chocolate chips. Allow to sit for 2 minutes then stir till smooth.
Step 6: Drizzle ganache over the donuts. Drizzle ganache over the cooled donuts.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend using a donut pan for this red velvet donuts recipe . Donut pans are basically molds with holes in the middle which give your batter a donut shape. I have heard about people baking donuts in muffin tins. I haven’t tried it, but I could see how it could work. You would just need to adjust/increase the cooking time if you used a muffin tin.
They are a dessert, so I wouldn’t call them healthy. That said, baked donuts are definitely healthier than fried donuts since they’re not fried in oil.
Donuts are freshest and most flavorful the day they’re made. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Expert Tips
- Avoid overmixing. Mix the batter til just combined. This helps the donuts stay soft and fluffy.
- Use a piping bag to fill donut pans. Fill a large piping bag with the batter. Snip off the tip and pipe the batter into the donut pan! This is generally the least messy way to fill the donut pan.
- Use room temperature buttermilk and egg otherwise the melted butter could harden a bit if added to cold ingredients. You can pop the buttermilk in the microwave for a few seconds if you don’t have time to let it come to room temperature.
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Red Velvet Donuts
Ingredients
Red Velvet Donuts
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature*
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1-2 teaspoons red food coloring according to color
- 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk ** room temperature
Chocolate Ganache
- 1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Red Velvet Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease donut pans well with butter (preferable- for flavor) or nonstick spray. Lightly dust pans with flour. Tap out excess flour.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vanilla, white vinegar, melted butter, and food coloring. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Add more food coloring if desired.
- Use a piping bag or zip lock bag with a corner snipped off or spoon to fill the dough into the molds evenly. Molds will be just about half full.
- Bake 8-10 minutes until toothpick comes out dry or edges are lightly browned. Let cool in the pans for 2-3 minutes then remove from pan and let donuts cool completely on wire rack.
- Dip the cooled donuts in the ganache or drizzle the ganache over top. Set the donuts glaze side up on a cooling rack set over a sheet of parchment paper to catch any drips.
Chocolate Ganache
- Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan on low heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil then pour over the chocolate chips. Do not stir.
- Allow to sit for 3 minutes then stir til smooth. If there are still bits of chocolate that haven’t melted, place the bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water. Don’t let the surface of the water touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir constantly just until the ganache is smooth.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
*This site contains affiliate links which means that I may receive commissions for purchases made through these links. Please know I only link to products that I use and can recommend based on my experience!
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