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Three Red Velvet Donuts with white cream cheese glaze and red velvet crumbles on a white cake stand.
Daniel

Red Velvet Donuts

Baked cake donuts with that signature cocoa-kissed red crumb and tangy cream cheese glaze, ready in under an hour.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 12 donuts
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 210
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Donuts
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder natural, not Dutch-processed
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp kosher salt
  • 0.75 cup buttermilk room temperature
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1.5 tsp red food coloring liquid or gel
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.5 tsp white vinegar reacts with baking soda for lift
For the Cream Cheese Glaze
  • 2 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
  • 2 tbsp whole milk plus more if needed
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment

  • Donut pan (2 standard 6-cavity pans)
  • Large mixing bowls
  • Whisk
  • Piping bag or zip-top bag
  • Wire cooling rack

Method
 

Prep
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease two 6-cavity donut pans with nonstick spray, making sure to coat all the ridges so the donuts release cleanly.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined and no cocoa lumps remain.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, oil, red food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar until smooth. The mixture should be a vivid, uniform red.
  4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and fold with a spatula just until no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix. Transfer batter to a piping bag and pipe into donut cavities, filling each about two-thirds full.
  5. Bake 10-12 minutes until the donuts spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  6. Beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla and beat until pourable but thick enough to coat. Add milk a teaspoon at a time if too thick.
  7. Dip the tops of cooled donuts into the glaze, letting excess drip off. Return to wire rack and let glaze set 15-20 minutes before serving.

Notes

For the brightest red color without using a whole bottle of food coloring, use gel paste color. You can make these a day ahead and glaze them the morning of. Store glazed donuts in a single layer; the glaze will soften if stacked.