These baked maple glazed donuts are spiced cakey-style donuts with a thick and rich maple icing on top. This is my go-to baked donut recipe and I love adding different flavors, spices, and glazes. Try my cinnamon sugar donuts next!
Have you ever considered adding a donut pan to your collection of best baking pans? They’re an inexpensive, but very fun tool if you’re looking to bake something different. I have plenty of donut recipes—most of which are baked—so you’ll always have an excuse to whip that donut pan out. These maple glazed donuts are definitely a favorite. Start here!
Why You’ll Love These Baked Donuts:
- No electric mixer required
- Baked, not fried
- Soft, dense, and cakey (more like a muffin than a fried donut)
- Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
- Sweetened with brown sugar
- Generously dunked in maple icing
- Comfort food at its finest
Two Parts to Baked Maple Glazed Donuts
- Donuts: We’re using my standard baked donut recipe as the base. It’s what I use for my cinnamon sugar donuts, crumb cake donuts (doubled for that recipe), chocolate frosted donuts, and lemon poppy seed donuts. It’s a very thick batter that produces tight-crumbed, cakey donuts. There’s a small handful of very basic ingredients required like flour, egg, leaveners, and milk. I like to add a little Greek yogurt to the donut batter for a moisture punch (sour cream works too) and prefer sweetening them with brown sugar. Add cinnamon as well as a little nutmeg and ground clove. After you mix this donut batter together, the aroma alone will remind you of a donut shop—it’s those spices!
- Maple Icing: We’re using the same maple icing as my maple bacon doughnuts, only slightly scaled down. It’s creamy and sweet, but thickens and sets quickly. If desired for a flavor punch, add a little maple extract. You can find maple extract in the baking aisle near the vanilla extract and you’ll use it again in maple brown sugar cookies, maple walnut tassies, and maple bacon doughnuts.
Looking for other flavors? Try my strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla donut frostings.
Quick Overview: How to Make Maple Glazed Donuts
Our mixers can take the morning off for this recipe– you don’t need one here!
- Make the donut batter. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Whisk to combine both. It’s that easy.
- Fill the donut cavities. Transferring donut batter into the donut pan can be tricky, so I always suggest using a zipped-top bag to pipe the batter. (You can see me doing this in my pumpkin donuts post.) Just spoon the batter into a large zipped-top bag, trim off a bottom corner, and squeeze the batter into the pan. The donut batter is thicker than you’d expect, so it pipes pretty neatly.
- Bake. They bake up VERY quickly!
- Make the icing. I usually do this as the donuts bake. Warm butter and maple syrup together, then add confectioners’ sugar, maple extract, and salt to taste.
- Dip into icing. Dip the warm donuts into the icing. Place on a cooling rack so the excess icing drips down. And don’t be afraid to do a double dip! I always double or even triple dip my strawberry frosted donuts, too.
More Donut Recipes
- Pumpkin Donuts
- Glazed Doughnuts (fried)
- Berry Fritters (fried)
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Chai Spice Donuts
Maple Glazed Donuts
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 donuts
- Category: Donuts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These baked maple glazed donuts are spiced cakey-style donuts with a thick and rich maple glaze on top. Baked, not fried– and you don’t need a mixer!
Ingredients
Spice Donuts
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (65g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60g) yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Maple Icing
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (80ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 cup (112g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract (optional, but recommended)
- pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Make the donuts: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla together until completely combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick.
- Spoon the batter into the donut cavities—I highly recommend using a large zipped-top bag for ease. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup, filling about halfway. (If you only have 1 donut pan that bakes less than 8 donuts, keep the remaining batter in the bowl at room temperature until you can bake the next batch.)
- Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. Gently poke a donut with your finger. If it bounces back, the donuts are done. Allow donuts to cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack set on a large piece of parchment paper. Bake the remaining donut batter and once baked, transfer to the wire rack.
- Make the icing: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and maple syrup together, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar and maple extract. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if desired. Cool for 2-3 minutes, then dip each donut into the icing. The icing quickly thickens, so feel free to place it back over heat as you dip. Place dipped donuts back onto cooling rack as excess icing drips down. Feel free to double dip them (I usually do!).
- Donuts are best served immediately. Leftovers keep well covered tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze the baked donuts for up to 3 months, with or without icing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm up to your liking in the microwave. Dip into icing after thawing if you froze them plain.
- Special Tools (affiliate link): Donut Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Large Zipped-Top Bag | Cooling Rack | Saucepan
- No Donut Pan? Make 8-10 donut muffins in your standard 12-cup muffin pan. Line with cupcake liners or grease with nonstick spray. Fill each 2/3 full with donut batter. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Milk & Yogurt: Whole milk is best, but you can use lower fat or even nondairy milk in a pinch—the donuts won’t taste as moist or rich. I recommend Greek yogurt or full-fat sour cream. I usually use low fat Greek yogurt, which is pretty thick. Regular low fat (or full fat) yogurt works too. If you’d like to use buttermilk, substitute it for both the milk and sour cream (1/2 cup/120ml total). All cold ingredients should be brought to room temperature before using, otherwise the butter will solidify.
- Maple Syrup: For the richest flavor, pure maple syrup is best.
This is my first time trying these and I wanted to ask should they egg, milk, and yogurt be room temperature? Thank you! Love your recipes!
Yes! Unless a recipe states otherwise, all ingredients should be room temperature.
Is there a reason why the ingredients need to be room temperature… i use cold eggs all the time and they cone out great so was wondering why recipes require room temperature
Hi Jana, here’s everything you need to know about why room temperature ingredients are important. Hope this helps!
These donuts are wonderful! My husband made them for me for Mother’s Day. But our glaze got grainy what went wrong?
These donuts turned out delicious!!!
Especially during quarantine! I could make these everyday!
By the way, do you have the nutritional info?
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Lena. I’m unsure of the nutritional info of this recipe, but there are many great online calculators like this one: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
Hi Sally,
These donuts are delicious! I made them last time using the yogurt but I have sour cream left from Easter cheesecake. Can I sub that for the yogurt? Thanks in advance!
Hi Nikki, Yes you can use sour cream instead of yogurt. Enjoy!
I made this today-it went over super well with my family! I used canola oil to grease pan and it turned out great-I had extra glaze (so good by the way!) so next time I will try to make this when I am making other treats like scones. I have a feeling this will be a biweekly weekend treat:) Any thoughts on how to make the donuts a maple flavor verses spiced?
This recipe was amazing! The maple glaze is out of this world. These are another new family favourite! ❤️ Thanks Sally!
Help please… I have used this glaze for the Glazed Soft Maple cookies from the Cookie Addiction Cookbook, and while the cookies are amazing, this glaze doesn’t set for me. The second time I made them I bumped up the amount confectioners sugar and chilled the glaze in a bowl in the fridge, but as soon as I spread it on the cookies is runs down and drips everywhere making a delicious, but sticky mess. The cookies have cooled overnight so I don’t know what else to do. I need to ship these for a girlfriend’s birthday. Any suggestions for getting the glaze to set? Thank you!
Hi Lainie, After you let the glaze cool completely, does it look thick (like the picture of the cookies in the book?) The glaze in the book does have a half cup more confectioners sugar than this maple glaze for these donuts. Another thought is to look at your butter: European butters have a higher water content which might hinder the glaze’s ability to set.
I used your base doughnut recipe (linked on this page) with the maple glaze. Then, we added bacon and enjoyed thoroughly. The batter turned out fantastic and the glaze delicious! We will make again!
If I want to keep these donuts dairy free, what can I use instead of yogurt?
A dairy free yogurt would be great such as coconut or soy.
Would food coloring work well in this recipe? Hoping to make some for Halloween. Thank you!
Should be fine, yes!
Thank you for this recipe! I used vegan butter, coconut milk and coconut yogurt, and half a mashed banana instead of egg for my milk and egg allergic toddler, and these are AMAZING. I’ll be making these regularly. He keeps asking for another donut. 🙂
This glaze is to die for! Its so warm, gooey, and has just enough maple flavor and I may or may not have had a whole spoonful (without the donut)… Thank you Sally, you are great at making recipes.
Oh- I was also wondering, will the glaze harden?
The glaze will eventually “set” yes!
These were DELICIOUS! The spice cake donut was perfect and the glaze tasted great, but it never really dried / set up like I hoped it would. Do you think more confectionary sugar next time would help?
More confectioners’ sugar would definitely help. That’s what helps it set!
I made the recipe this morning and they were delicious! I used maple extract in the glaze which really enhanced the maple flavor. I will make a batch for Easter brunch and top half with bacon crumbles Great recipe ~ thanks!
Can this glaze be used on scones?
Absolutely!
Made these this morning and fell in love! I don’t have a donut pan so made the muffin version. Amazing!! can’t wait to get a donut pan! I’m pretty sure though, once I get one, I’ll be making several of your donut recipes quite often! (will have to increase my exercise regime…) My 8 and 4 year old girls loved them too and helped me make them. I even put some of the leftover glaze on a sausage patty — (really, I don’t eat like this on a regular basis, but I couldn’t help myself!). Thank you so much! Tasted like Christmas morning! 🙂
I absolutely love anything maple so I made the glaze for some scones; it was wonderful with just the syrup but since I really, really love maple flavoring I added the Maple flavoring; BIG MISTAKE that I won’t make again. Let the glaze stand on its own with just the pure maple syrup.
Hi! I was really looking forward to making these donuts, but unfortunately, they just did not come out right at all. I doubled the recipe, as my family and I usually go through baked goods very quickly, so I figured 8 wouldn’t be enough. You weren’t kidding when you said the batter was thick! Mine was as thick as cookie dough. The donuts came out very flavorless. I doubled the spices, but they didn’t taste like anything to me or my family. The donuts were also a bit dry. I thought the glaze was great, but the majority of my family said it was way too sweet. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I was really disappointed. I’ve made a lot of your other recipes though, and they’re great!
I just got a donut pan and super excited to use it on these donuts! Do you think I could use pumpkin pie spice in place of the nutmeg and cloves without making the donuts taste overly spiced?
Absolutely! That sounds delicious. I do not think the donuts will be over spiced.
Hi Sally – LOVE your website.. such great recipes.. i find myself sitting in front of my tablet or computer for hours, browsing what i would make next.. Can these donuts also be made in the donut maker? (well, mini-donut, i guess) – and if yes, will i have to make less glaze then?
My friends and collegues at work always love when i bring stuff i baked (especially nutella filled muffins have been a big hit, as well as Banana Bread) – they consider me so ‘american’ now..
Thanks for all your great recipes, most DEFINITLY worth the translating and converting the weight, measurements and temperatures.. and trying to find the ingridients over here..
Hi Regina! I’m almost positive these can be made in a mini donut maker. I have never tried it myself, but I know a few readers who have reported back with luck. So give it a try! You may have to make a little less glaze, yes. Thanks for the sweet comment, so happy you (and your coworkers!) enjoy my recipes.
I really LOVE all your photos. When my friends take pics of *their* cooking, it ends up looking…unappetizing. But yours always come out great. It’s nice that you take time to really put effort into your baking AND photos. We all love them!
Quick question… Do you let the donuts cool completely before dipping them in the glaze or do you dip them while warm?
Dipping them while warm is just fine.
Made these last weekend, and I had to fight to keep my husband away so he wouldn’t gobble them all up at once! lol! Used a good gluten-free flour and put them in the freezer for 15-20 mins. They don’t really freeze…but get colder and a bit harder, but wow! Amazing! If any Canadian has tried maple kinnikinnick donuts, these are similar-but way better!! I’m going to try your chocolate donuts with glaze tonight! YAY! Thank you for your awesome (donut) recipes 🙂
Sally, these were sooo good! I made them this morning – skipped the sifting on the confectioner’s sugar (too lazy on a Sunday morning!), and added about 1/4 tsp of maple extract to the glaze. The donuts came out amazing and were done (and devoured) in under an hour. Thanks so much for the recipe! Hope you have a wonderful honeymoon in Hawaii!
These look so yummy but question no one in my family like cloves or. Do you have to put that and if not any suggestions on something i could add or just cinnamon?
You may leave it out. How about adding a little more cinnamon in its place.
Ive been wanting to try your donut recipes for the longest time but am not quite ready yet to invest in a donut pan. So I’m super excited about the muffins!! Can you make all your donut recipes into muffins, technically?
Definitely. I would say they would all take 15-18 minutes in the oven baked as muffins.
I was really excited to try this recipe, but unfortunately I found it just too sweet, which is something I rarely say as a 17 year old who LOVES sweets. Maybe if you only dip it once, or do half maple syrup and half water/milk for the glaze. It was too grainy and sugary for my taste (as in the glaze). In addition, I think the cake needs salt. But do not be deceived, I LOVE your website and all your other recipes!!
Hey Katherine! Thank you so much for reporting back. I realize now that I did not add salt to this ingredient list. I sincerely apologize – I typically add 1/4 teaspoon to the cake. Thank you for trying the recipe!
Made these today and they really are unreal! I added the maple extract and the glaze was over the top delicious maple goodness! The doughnuts are moist and delicious. Thank you Sally!
Happy wedding day on Saturday! It goes by so quickly so try to take time and enjoy your big day!