Glazed Cherry Cake Baked Donuts - Cozy Country Living

We like donuts at our house! I don’t know too many people who don’t enjoy one once in a while either. This time of year I am usually baking only one thing in my kitchen…cookies. I took a little break from Christmas Cookie making this morning and decided to bake some donuts. Have you baked donuts before? I think it’s fun because you can try all different flavors and my kiddos just love them as a special treat. These Glazed Cherry Cake Baked Donuts are sure to be one of their new favorites!

When I was little, if I was out running errands with my dad we sometimes stopped at the donut shop in town before we went home. That was special. I remember placing my hands on the edge of the counter and moving my head from side to side as I looked up and down the many shelves of freshly baked donuts. It was a big decision, picking out with flavor I wanted. Somehow I always settled on a glazed cherry cake donut. They were my favorite!

Today, that donut shop is no longer here, but our area does have a Tim Hortons. We love Tim Hortons by the way. 🙂 We enjoy their coffee and their wonderful assortment of baked goods. They don’t have a cherry cake donut, so I’ve had it in my mind for a while now to make my own.

The last time I baked donuts I made White Chocolate & Almond Donuts. They were very good and my family really liked them too. After I was done making them, I washed my donut pans, tucked them away, and I haven’t used them since. I thought since I was in the baking mood, I would get them out again, and I’m so glad I did!

This cherry cake batter is really easy to make and you can adjust it a bit to your taste. I mixed finely chopped maraschino cherries into the buttermilk batter and baked them quickly in a hot oven. While they were baking I mixed up a simple glaze that I covered the warm, freshly baked donuts in after they came out of the oven. I then I set them on a cooling rack so the glaze could set.

Although these donuts are not exactly like the fresh, fried cherry cake donuts that I loved as a child, they will definitely do. The best part is, is that I made them at home too. With love!

I hope you find time soon to bake up a dozen of these tasty donuts for your family too! Enjoy!

Glazed Cherry Cake Baked Donuts

Ingredients

For the Donuts:
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 maraschino cherries, finely chopped
1 tsp. juice from maraschino cherries for color (optional)
1/2 tsp. almond extract
For the Glaze:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/3 cup half and half
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla (optional)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, powder, and salt.
Whisk together to combine and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, cooled butter and optional juice and almond extract.
Add the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
Fold in the maraschino cherries.
Lightly spray the donut pans with nonstick cooking spray.
Place the batter into a gallon sized plastic bag and cut the tip off so you can pipe the batter easily into the donut pans.
You can also spoon it in there if you like.
Be careful not to overfill the donut pans. Half way should work out perfectly.
Bake for 7-8 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the glaze in a medium sauce pan over low heat until combined nicely.
Turn off the heat. If the glaze gets thick midway through glazing, you can warm it up again for a few seconds as needed.
Remove the donuts from the oven.
Let them sit for a few minutes, then glaze, place on a cooling rack and let them dry.
Serve fresh with milk or coffee.
Makes a dozen donuts.
Enjoy!