My easy double funfetti birthday cake donuts you'll want to eat for breakfast even when it's not your birthday. These are a party in your mouth! Originally published August 2017. Last updated December 2022.
I like to create something unique around my birthday each year, usually a cocktail or a cake. These funfetti donuts come from that annual creative spark and are an awesomely unique homemade birthday cake idea that kids and adults alike enjoy. Let's get into the delectable details.
If you like homemade cake donuts, you'll love these, too!
- Gingerbread Donuts for the Holidays
- Pumpkin Cake Donuts with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Strawberries Donuts with Champagne Glaze
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Making funfetti donuts is simple and so is the ingredient list. Here's what to add to your grocery cart.
- Baking Powder
- Butter
- Eggs
- Flour
- Funfetti Sprinkles
- Milk
- Sea Salt
- Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
Which kind of sprinkles to use for funfetti? For the proper funfetti look and texture, you'll need rainbow jimmy sprinkles, which are elongated. Not to be confused with nonpareils, which are round balls. I use these both in the donuts and on top!
Tips & Tools to Make Funfetti Baked Donuts
Grab a mixing bowl, whisk, and silicone spatula to mix up the funfetti birthday cake batter. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer. Just be sure not to over mix! You'll also need a cake donut pan and wire cooling rack. Use a piping bag to transfer the batter to the pan or a zip-top bag with one corner snipped off. I use the same tools to make all kinds of baked donuts, including mimosa flavored ones.
What's the difference between cake donuts and regular donuts? Cake donuts are baked and have a more dense, cakey texture. Regular donuts are fried pastries that are made with yeast or puff pastry and thus, are more airy and light.
Making the Glaze
I adapted Sally's Baking Addiction glaze recipe and highly recommend it, along with double dipping the each donut in glaze before adding sprinkles. The second layer of glaze gives them the classic sprinkle donuts look you see on TV. Peep the recipe card below for full instructions. Here's what you'll need to make cake donut glaze:
- Milk
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
That's it! Finish off the cake donuts with double sprinkles and they're ready to eat. I add the sprinkles while they're still on the cooling rack for less mess.
How to Serve Donuts as a Cake
Birthday donuts aren't actually just for birthdays. They are the kind of festive dessert you can impress guests with or take to an office event and wow your coworkers. Want to be the envy of the school bake sale? Make these. If you do want to make a cake out of donuts for a birthday party, serve them on a cake stand. Stack the donuts on top of each other in a staggered fashion, add candles and a topper--and enjoy.
More Birthday Recipes
Browned Butter Cake with Praline Frosting
Spiced Pineapple Whiskey Cocktail
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Birthday Cake Baked Donuts Recipe
Funfetti Birthday Cake Donuts
Equipment
- 1 cake donut pan
- 2 mixing bowls
- 2 wire cooling racks
Ingredients
Funfetti Donuts
- 3 cups flour
- ½ cup funfetti sprinkles
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup milk
- ¾ cup butter melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Glaze
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Funfetti Donuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a donut pan with non-stick oil and set aside. If using a zip-top bag for piping, snip one corner away with a pair of scissors.
- Add flour, funfetti sprinkles, baking powder, and sea salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine (about one minute).
- Add eggs, sugar, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract to another bowl and mix until uniform (about four minutes).
- Add wet mixture to dry flour mixture and stir by hand until just combined and no dry pockets remain.
- Transfer cake donut batter into a piping bag or prepared zip-top bag. Pipe batter into prepared donut pan so that tops are about even with the edges of each cavity in the pan.
- Place pan on center rack of oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Tops of donuts will be firm and dry to the touch but will not brown. When fully baked, a toothpick inserted into the center of a donut should come out dry.
For the Glaze
- While donuts bake, add milk, sifted powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to a bowl and mix until uniform and smooth.
- Allow donuts to cool for 5-10 minutes then dip each one (while still warm) into the glaze. The glazed donuts will look glossy. Place onto a cooling rack to allow the donuts to cool and glaze to harden.
- Dip each cooled donut into glaze again then place back on cooling rack and sprinkle funfetti sprinkles over top to decorate.
Brittany Loveall says
These donuts look absolutely delicious! Looking forward to making these at my next event!