Toasted Coconut Baked Donut Recipe

June 10, 2019 by Tanya Schroeder · 54 Comments · Last updated: October 1, 2021

Coconut milkis added to white cake mix

and topped with toasted coconut to make the moistest baked donuts ever!

If you love coconut, these coconut donuts are for you! A perfectly sweet little cake for breakfast!

Who doesn’t love donuts? Our family devours them! Every once in a while, I love surprising the kids with bakery donuts. I don’t do this often, however, because I am arrogant and think homemade is better!

After all, the Almond Coconut Chocolate Donuts and theses Cherry Chip Cake DonutsI make are pretty darn delicious! Another reason we don’t do this often is I’m too lazy to change out of my pj’s to drive the 15 minutes to the nearest donut shop!

When I do pick up a dozen donuts, the box will look exactly like this: there will be 10 donuts with loads of sprinkles and then there will be two donuts with toasted coconut. Those precious two are for my husband and me.

And yes, I actually let my 3 kids eat the remaining 10 sugary and sprinkle-y donuts! As I said, we don’t do this very often! But I digress. Back to the coconut donuts.

I fiercely love those coconut donuts! They are lightly sweetened but also a little nutty from the abundance of toasted coconut. I love them so much, that I’m usually tempted to buy an extra one for me to eat in the car.

But then I think of my rear end, and thankfully that prevents me from buying more than necessary!

I recently had a craving for those lovely coconut donuts. But as usual, I really didn’t feel like going to get them.

Then the genius in me remembered I had coconut milk in my fridge beckoning me to create my own perfect breakfast treats! Before long, this toasted coconut baked donut recipe was born!

How To Make Baked Donuts

I have often made baked cake donuts with a cake mix, but, sometimes donuts made with cake mix can be very soft.

This recipe uses cake flour, granulated sugar and other dry ingredients which will give these donuts a cake-like texture and make them light and tender.

The wet ingredients are made up of buttermilk, eggs, and cream of coconut. The cream of coconut bottle is usually found with the drink mixer (it is usually used in pina colada cocktails).

In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients followed by the melted butter. Stir just until combined.

Fill your donut baking pans with the batter and bake for about 12 minutes. Once the donuts have cooled, they are ready for the glaze!

For the glaze, I combine powdered sugar and coconut milk creamer. I like using creamer because it has just enough sweet taste and has the consistency I like. However, any coconut milk will work as will cow’s milk and coconut extract.

Carefully dip the tops of the donuts into the glaze and then cover them with toasted coconut. Place the baked cake donuts on wax paper until set.

Tips and Suggestion For This Baked Donut Recipe

-No cake flour? No problem! I always keep cake flour in my pantry for recipes like this roll cake and for certain cupcakes like these Key Lime Cupcakes because it yields such a soft, sponge-like texture.

But if you would rather avoid buying cake flour, then measure one level cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons and replace them with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Whisk and then sift this mixture.

-You can omit the coconut milk and use buttermilk instead. Coconut extract can be used to flavor the batter.

-To toast coconut, place shredded coconut in a single layer into a 300-degree oven. Toast the coconut for 15 minutes, turning the coconut every 5 minutes. Coconut burns quite quickly, so pay close attention.

– To fill your donut pan, place the batter into a large zip-top baggie. Snip one corner and pipe the batter into your donut pan, filling it only about ⅔ full. The batter should be just enough to fill 12 donut cavities.

-Make sure that your donut pan is greased with non-stick spray so that your donuts easily slide out of the pan.

-Make sure the donuts have cooled completely before dipping into the glaze.

How Long Will Baked Donuts Last?

Baked donuts will last for 2-3 days if stored in an airtight container. They tend to get a little too soft and the glaze begins to run if left for too long.

These donuts disappeared within 24 hours in my donut-loving house, I would venture to say that they won’t last much longer in your house!

Homemade donuts are easy to make. They don’t have to be deep fried to be delicious! With a donut pan, a few key ingredients and a little time, you can have easy baked donuts any time the craving hits!

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