Bourbon Sugar French Toast Donuts

Boozy breakfast meets donuts with these bourbon sugar french toast donuts! Soft, tender cake donuts that taste like french toast are dipped in bourbon-infused sugar. A fun and creative baking project!

Baked donuts are so fun to bake up on a rainy day. We absolutely love making baked pumpkin donuts with cream cheese frosting, or lemon angel food cake donuts with toasted coconut frosting. These bourbon sugar french toast donuts are another fun and tasty donut recipe!

Classic homemade donuts are a labor of love, involving yeast and a pot of oil for deep frying. Cake donuts on the other hand, are simple to prepare and healthier because they are baked rather than fried.

Don't confuse this to mean that they aren't delicious, though! These french toast donuts are soft and tender, with those familiar french toast flavors: cinnamon, nutmeg and maple.

We get a unique twist when we dunk them into bourbon-infused sugar. Yum yum YUM!

Making cake donuts

Cake donuts differ from classic donuts in that they use baking powder to leaven them. This results in a cake-like texture, with a firm exterior and tender, soft interior.

To bake cake donuts, you will also need a donut pan (here are the ones I own). After mixing together the donut batter, we spoon it into the well-greased donut pan. Sometimes this can be tedious, and another option is to use a piping bag to fill the donut cavities until they are ⅔ full.

Bake the donuts until they spring back to the touch. Cool in the pan before transferring to a wire rack.

The bourbon sugar

Inspired by the December 2014 issue of Bon Appetit, this bourbon sugar goes so well with the french toast flavors of the donuts. To prep the bourbon sugar, combine 1 teaspoon of bourbon with 1 cup of granulated sugar. The original recipe called for letting it sit overnight to properly infuse, but you still get great flavor from letting it sit for just a few minutes.

Sugaring the donuts

Once the donuts have completely cooled, you can begin adding the bourbon sugar topping. Melt ¼ cup of butter in a shallow bowl, and place the bourbon-infused sugar in a second bowl. Gripping the donut by the sides, dip into the melted butter, allow excess to drip off, then dip into the bourbon sugar, rolling around so that all the melted butter grabs some sugar.

Place on a wire rack and repeat with remaining donuts.

Prep ahead + storage directions

Without toppings

Like all donuts, these are best served fresh, however they can be baked ahead and stored:

• Store in an air tight container, separating the donuts with strips of wax paper. They can last for up to 1 week stored at room temperature or in the fridge. Their quality does decline over time.
• Freezer- donuts may be frozen by placing in a freezer bag with bits of wax paper separating them. Suck out the air with a straw and freeze for up to 1 month.

With sugar topping

After adding the sugar topping, the donuts have a shorter shelf life:

• Store in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days

Recipe tips

• make sure to measure your flour correctly: do not scoop it with a measuring cup, but instead spoon it into the cup before levelling with a knife
• you may swap the all purpose flour for cake flour or white whole wheat flour
• maple extract helps give these donuts a distinctly 'french toast' flavor, and you should be able to find it in the spices aisle of your grocery store near the vanilla
• if you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own from regular milk. See how to make buttermilk
• if you want to skip the bourbon, simply dip the donuts in granulated sugar, or add a teaspoon of cinnamon to make it cinnamon sugar

More dessert recipes

• Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
• Lemon Meringue Pie Bites
• Cream Cheese Swirl Blackberry Coffee Cake
• Strawberry Shortcakes
• Healthy Lemon Blueberry Bread

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Bourbon-Sugared French Toast Donuts

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 25 mins

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Boozy breakfast meets donuts with these bourbon sugar french toast donuts! Soft, tender cake donuts that taste like french toast are dipped in bourbon-infused sugar. A fun and creative baking project!

12 donuts

Ingredients

French Toast Donuts

• ▢ 2 cups all purpose flour (250 g)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons maple extract
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 cup packed brown sugar (200 g)
• ▢ ⅔ cup buttermilk
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter (28 g; melted; salted or unsalted are fine)

Bourbon Sugar

• ▢ 1 teaspoon bourbon
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
• ▢ ¼ cup butter (55 g; melted; salted or unsalted are fine)

Instructions 

French Toast Donuts

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Spray a 12-count donut pan and use a paper towel to distribute oil evenly. Set aside.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder.
• In a separate medium bowl, combine the maple extract, eggs, sugar, buttermilk and melted butter.
• Mix the wet ingredients into the dry and combine until smooth.
• Spoon mixture into the donut pan cavities. If you are having troubles with this you could try using an icing bag. Don't fill more than ⅔ full.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, donuts will spring back when touched when they are ready.
• Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Bourbon sugar

• While donuts are cooling, combine bourbon and sugar in a container with a lid, and shake for a minute, or until they are completely combined.
• Brush donuts with melted butter, then dip them into the bourbon sugar.
• Donuts will last in a sealed container for up to 3 days (if you can last that long!)

Tips:

Feel free to swap the bourbon for 1 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar.

Storage

Store in an air tight container with wax paper strips separating the donuts.

• Without toppings- in the fridge for 4 days, in the freezer for 1 month
• With toppings- store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1donut, Calories: 282kcal, Carbohydrates: 52g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 44mg, Sodium: 275mg, Potassium: 142mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 35g, Vitamin A: 238IU, Calcium: 69mg, Iron: 1mg

Author: Denise Bustard

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

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