How to make mini doughnuts in a doughnut pan is a 30-minute job once the pan is hot, and almost every batch that goes wrong goes wrong for one of two reasons: the wells were filled too full, or the doughnuts were pulled out too soon. The method below gives you the oven route first, then the deep-fried route in the same pan, with the visual cues that tell you each step actually worked.
Here is the short answer people are usually looking for. Fill each well about one-third full for oven-baked doughnuts and just over half full for frying, because the batter rises in the oven and spreads in oil. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for roughly 8 to 11 minutes in a metal mini pan, or drop the oil to 350°F and fry 60 to 90 seconds a side.
One quick clarification before we start, because it trips up a lot of people. A doughnut pan is an oven pan with ring-shaped wells. A mini doughnut maker is a small electric appliance with a closed lid and its own two to three minute cycle, and it never sees hot oil. The batter below works in both, but the temperatures and times are not interchangeable.
Table of Contents
- What You Need
- Step-by-Step: How to Make Mini Doughnuts in a Doughnut Pan
- Common Mistakes
- Frequently Asked Questions
- What kind of batter works best for mini doughnuts made in a doughnut pan?
- How full should each doughnut pan cavity be?
- What oil temperature is best for mini doughnuts?
- Can I bake mini doughnuts instead of frying them in a doughnut pan?
- How do I keep mini doughnuts from sticking to the pan?
- How should I store extra mini doughnuts?
- Conclusion
What You Need
A mini doughnut pan holds anywhere from 20 to 36 wells depending on the maker, and the recipe below yields about 24. A standard-size pan with 6 to 8 wells works too, just give it more time in the oven.
Equipment
- A mini doughnut pan, metal or silicone, with 20 or more wells for a full batch
- Large mixing bowl, whisk or electric mixer, and a rubber spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons, or a kitchen scale for the metric amounts
- A resealable plastic bag or a piping bag with a small tip for filling the wells
- A wire cooling rack set over a baking sheet
- For the fried version: a medium pot with 3 inches of neutral oil, a deep-fry thermometer, a slotted spoon, and a heatproof splatter screen
Nonstick cooking spray or a pastry brush with melted butter is your release agent, plus a little flour or sugar for dusting metal pans. Keep the oven mitts within arm’s reach but not touching the burner, and clear the area around the stove of anything that loves oil.
Base cake batter for 24 mini doughnuts
This is the plain vanilla base. It works in an oven pan, in a donut maker, or fried. Measurements are given US first, metric second, because the one cup and quarter cup of flour is where most home bakers go wrong.
- 1 1/4 cups (160 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 g) salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk, or milk with 1 teaspoon white vinegar added and left 5 minutes
- 1/3 cup (75 ml) neutral oil or melted butter
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the big bowl first. Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla and beat on medium for 60 to 90 seconds, until the batter is smooth with no dry flour streaks at the bottom. Scrape the sides once, then thin it with a teaspoon of milk at a time until it falls off the spoon in a slow ribbon.
Simple glaze for 24
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, maple extract, or cocoa powder
Stir until smooth. If it runs off the doughnut, add more sugar. If it sits in a thick mound, add milk a drop at a time. You want a slow, thick drizzle that sets within about 10 minutes.
How the pan material changes your prep
A metal pan needs a real coating of grease or spray, and a light dust of flour if it is not nonstick. Silicone needs a light mist of spray at most, since silicone is already nonstick and too much oil pools in the bottom of the well. A cast mini pan from the 2010s that came with its own recipe card is designed for a hotter, shorter bake than a thin nonstick steel pan, and the timings later in this guide reflect that.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Mini Doughnuts in a Doughnut Pan
Two routes run through the same batter. The oven route is the everyday one: no oil, no splatter, a cake-style crumb. The frying route is the one that gets you a chewier edge and a cruller-like texture, and it takes about five minutes of active attention once the oil is up.
| Method | Baked in a doughnut pan | Deep-fried in a doughnut pan |
|---|---|---|
| Oil needed | None, just spray for the pan | 3 inches of neutral oil in a pot |
| Temperature | 350°F (175°C), or 400-425°F (200-220°C) for a cast mini pan | 350°F (175°C) oil, checked with a thermometer |
| Time per batch | 8-11 minutes in a thin metal pan, 4-6 minutes in a cast pan | 60-90 seconds per side |
| Fill level | About one-third full | Just over half full |
| Crumb | Soft and cakey, tender | Chewier crust, slightly cakier center |
| Best for | Kids, parties, low-cleanup baking | A treat that tastes fried, without a fryer |
Here is the baked version as a numbered method, so you can follow it without scrolling back up:
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Set a rack in the middle so the wells cook from the bottom without the tops browning early.
- Grease or spray the doughnut pan thoroughly, working the coating into the ring shape with a pastry brush.
- Mix the batter until smooth, then thin it with milk until it falls from the spoon in a slow ribbon.
- Fill each well about one-third full using a piping bag or a snipped corner of a resealable bag.
- Bake 8 to 11 minutes, until the tops spring back when tapped and the edges look set and pale gold.
- Cool in the pan 1 to 2 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack so the undersides do not steam.
- Dip or drizzle with glaze while the doughnut is still slightly warm, then add sprinkles before the glaze sets.
Prepare the Doughnut Pan and Batter
Spray the pan on a lined baking sheet rather than over the sink, so a stray drip does not end up on the counter. Use enough spray that the wells shine when you tilt the pan under the light. Metal pans get a second pass; silicone gets one pass and no flour.
Fill the wells with a bag rather than a spoon. A 1/4 cup of batter lands in the middle of the ring and spreads itself, while a spoonful dropped in off-center bakes into a lopsided donut with a fat edge and a thin one. If you have no bag, a small medicine cup or a 1/3 cup measure works, and you can nudge the batter level with a gentle tap of the pan over the counter.
Before the pan goes in, look at one well. The surface should be smooth, glossy, and no more than a third of the way up the ring. That is the whole difference between a clean batch and one where nine of the wells have fused into a single lopsided mess.
Heat the Oil Carefully
Only for the fried route. Choose a neutral oil with a high smoke point such as canola, vegetable, peanut, or sunflower. Fill the pot no more than a third to halfway, and use a pot with straight sides so a foam-up has somewhere to go.
Heat the oil to 350°F (175°C) and check with a thermometer, not with a guess or a bread cube. Hold the thermometer tip in the middle of the pot, not against the bottom. While the oil heats, dry your hands, dry the pan, and dry the spoon. Water hitting hot oil spits, and a single spit can ruin the batch and burn you.
Keep a metal lid or splatter screen next to the burner rather than within reach, and keep children and pets out of the kitchen. Never add batter to oil that is smoking. If you see faint smoke, turn the heat down and wait five minutes before you do anything else.
Fry the Mini Doughnuts in Batches
Dry the doughnut pan, set it beside the pot, and lower it into the oil. If your pan is not metal and will not tolerate the heat, use a well-greased metal pan or drop free-form rings instead. Fill the wells just over half full and let the batter spread on its own.
Hold the pan level in the oil and keep the heat between 330°F (165°C) and 350°F (175°C). Watch the edges: they set to a golden ring within 30 to 40 seconds, which is the cue that the oil is doing its job. If the edges are pale and the surface is slack, the oil is too cool and the doughnuts will soak it up. If the edges brown almost on contact, pull the pan up, lower the heat, and wait two minutes.
Fry 60 to 90 seconds per side, then lift the pan and let the oil drain back into the pot for 10 seconds before tipping the doughnuts out. Work in batches of a third of the pan at most. Crowding the oil drops its temperature, and a crowded pan is also how hot oil jumps.
Drain, Cool, and Finish
Baked doughnuts rest in the pan for 1 to 2 minutes only. That rest is what firms the crumb enough to release cleanly, and staying longer bakes them dry against the metal. Run a thin knife around each ring, tip the pan over the rack, and slide the doughnuts out rather than pulling them by an edge.
Fried doughnuts go straight from the oil to the rack over a baking sheet, and they need 20 minutes before any glaze goes on. Glazing a hot doughnut thins the glaze out and slides it down the sides.
A finished doughnut is even gold on top and bottom, springs back instantly under a fingertip, and feels soft rather than springy. The glaze should set to a matte shell in about 10 minutes, thick enough to see through only if you spread it very thin. A runny glaze that goes transparent means too much liquid in the mix, so add a tablespoon of powdered sugar and stir it through.
If you want a coating instead of a glaze, toss the warm doughnuts in a shallow bowl of cinnamon sugar, or dip each one in melted butter and then in a mix of granulated sugar and cinnamon. A quarter cup of sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon is enough for 24.
Common Mistakes
Almost every bad batch of mini doughnuts traces back to one of six things. The table matches what you see to what caused it and what fixes it.
| What you see | What caused it | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Doughnuts with one fat side and one thin side | Batter dropped off-center into the well | Use a piping bag or snipped bag, or tap the pan on the counter to level the batter |
| Wells fused into a single sheet | Overfilling, usually out of fear the wells look empty before baking | Fill to one-third for baking, just over half for frying |
| Doughnuts crack and tear as you remove them | Lifted straight from the pan while still hot and soft | Cool 1 to 2 minutes, run a knife around the ring, and slide them out onto the rack |
| Pale, greasy, heavy doughnuts | Oil below 340°F (170°C) on the fried route, or an oven under 325°F (165°C) on the baked route | Use a thermometer, and let the oil recover between batches |
| Doughnuts welded to the pan | Under-greased metal pan, or batter sitting past its window in the well | Grease more thoroughly and pull them the moment the edges set |
| Oil spitting across the stove | Batter or utensils still wet, or the pan held too high in the pot | Dry everything first and keep the pan low and level in the oil |
A dry crumb, by the way, is the accepted trade-off of baking. A baked doughnut is a cake donut: it will never taste like a fried one. What you can control is moisture, and the lever for that is underbaking by a minute rather than trusting the clock alone. Pull them while a skewer still shows a couple of damp crumbs, and the carryover heat finishes the center while it cools on the rack.
If the batter sits out for more than 20 minutes before you fill the pan, the baking powder starts losing its lift. Mix it right before you bake, or mix it and keep the bowl warm. Leftover batter is best used the next morning rather than the next hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of batter works best for mini doughnuts made in a doughnut pan?
A thick, sweetened cake batter with baking powder works best, which is why nearly every recipe for mini doughnuts in a doughnut pan is a cake batter rather than a yeast dough. No kneading and no rising time are needed. A boxed vanilla or chocolate cake mix works too: prepare it as directed but reduce the water by about a tablespoon so the batter is thick enough to pipe.
How full should each doughnut pan cavity be?
Fill each well about one-third full if you are baking, and just over half full if you are frying. The baking powder in the batter lifts the doughnut in the oven, so a third full rises to a full donut. Oil spreads batter sideways instead of upward, which is why the fried version takes more. A doughnut that overflows its well fuses to its neighbor and tears on removal.
What oil temperature is best for mini doughnuts?
Aim for 350°F (175°C), and stay between 330°F and 350°F for the whole batch. Too cool and the doughnuts drink oil and come out heavy; too hot and the edges brown before the centers cook. Use a thermometer rather than a test bite, and give the oil 60 to 90 seconds to recover between batches. Crowded pans are the usual reason the temperature sags.
Can I bake mini doughnuts instead of frying them in a doughnut pan?
Yes, and for most home bakers baking is the better default. A doughnut pan is an oven pan, so the 350°F (175°C) method in this guide is the standard use, and it needs no oil and no splatter. Expect a softer, cakier crumb rather than a chewy fried crust. Bake 8 to 11 minutes in a thin metal mini pan, or 4 to 6 minutes in a cast pan at 400-425°F (200-220°C).
How do I keep mini doughnuts from sticking to the pan?
Coat the wells thoroughly, and pull the doughnuts the moment the edges look set. On metal pans use nonstick cooking spray plus a pastry brush to work the coating into the ring, and dust with a little flour. Silicone needs only a light mist. Let the doughnuts rest 1 to 2 minutes before turning them out, and always slide them onto the rack instead of gripping an edge.
How should I store extra mini doughnuts?
Store them in a single layer or with parchment between layers in an airtight container at room temperature, where they stay good for one to two days. For longer, freeze them in a single layer on a sheet pan first, then move them to a freezer bag for up to two months. Reheat in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 4 to 5 minutes, and glaze only after they cool back down.
Conclusion
Start by filling two or three wells of a third full and baking them, so you learn your own pan’s behavior before committing a full batch. After that, the four things that decide whether the mini doughnuts turn out well are all quick to check: grease every well, measure the fill, trust the thermometer or the spring-back test instead of the timer, and let the doughnuts rest a minute before you touch them.
Once the basic vanilla version is reliable, change one thing at a time. Swap in a cake mix, add cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips for chocolate, or fold in lemon zest and a little extra sugar. Toss half the batch in cinnamon sugar and glaze the rest, and you have two desserts from one 20-minute job. If you are batching for a party, bake two pans and freeze the second tray, which is a much better plan than making everything in the hour before the guests arrive.
