Sourdough Pumpkin Donuts (with brown sugar maple glaze)
These Sourdough Pumpkin Donuts (with brown sugar maple glaze) are soft, cakey, full of warm fall spices, and dipped in a brown sugar maple glaze that might be my favorite part. They’re baked instead of fried, easy to throw together, and made for a cozy morning with a cup of coffee.
Equipment
- Standard donut pan (or muffin pan) - for baking donuts. I love these pans from Wilton linked here. If you want to bake mini donuts, this pan linked here is great too.
- Kitchen scale (optional) - for accurate measuring, especially helpful with sourdough baking.
- Measuring cups and spoons - for measuring smaller ingredients.
- Small pot - for melting the brown sugar for the glaze.
- Spatula - for combining ingredients.
- Mixing Bowl - for mixing donut batter.
- Hand mixer or sturdy whisk - for mixing donut batter.
- Cooling rack - to cool donuts.
- Ziplock bag or pastry bag (optional) - for piping batter into pans.
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 (30g) Tbsp sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
- ⅓ (80g) cup sourdough discard
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ (180g) cup pumpkin purée
- ⅓ (75g) cup avocado oil or neutral oil
- ½ (100g) cup granulated white sugar
- ¼ (50g) cup light brown sugar
Dry Ingredients:
- 1¾ (220g) cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon you can substitute spices listed for 2 tsps pumpkin pie spice blend
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
Sourdough Discard Swap:
- 1/3 (40g) cup all-purpose flour
- 3 (40g) Tbsps whole milk
Brown Sugar Maple Glaze:
- 2 (28g) Tbsp unsalted butter
- ¼ (50g) cup light brown sugar
- 3 (60g) Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1¼ (140g) cups powdered sugar sifted
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp maple extract
- ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
- 1-2 Tbsps half-and-half or milk
Instructions
Step 1: Mix the Batter
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolk, sour cream, sourdough discard, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, pumpkin purée, and oil until smooth.1 large egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 (30g) Tbsp sour cream, ⅓ (80g) cup sourdough discard, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ¾ (180g) cup pumpkin purée, ⅓ (75g) cup avocado oil , ½ (100g) cup granulated white sugar, ¼ (50g) cup light brown sugar
- Sourdough Discard Swap: If you're swapping the discard for additional flour and milk, add the milk to the wet ingredients above and the extra flour to the dry ingredients below.1/3 (40g) cup all-purpose flour, 3 (40g) Tbsps whole milk
- Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients. If you want to use pumpkin pie spice instead of the spices listed, please see the notes under ingredients.1¾ (220g) cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, ⅛ tsp ground cardamom, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet gently until all of the batter is smooth and no streaks remain. Avoid overmixing the batter or the donuts will get tough.
- Optional Overnight Fermentation: Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8–12 hours for added fermentation benefits. If baking the donuts the same day, skip this step.
Step 2: Bake the Donuts
- If you fermented your batter overnight, allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes to an hour at room temperature to warm up before baking the donuts. Use a spatula to mix the batter after resting to pop any air bubbles.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray your donut pans with cooking spray so they don't stick.
- Transfer some of your donut batter to a ziplock bag or a pastry bag. Snip a 1/4 inch tip off the corner of the bag.
- Pipe the batter into the pans filling the donut cavity 3/4ths of the way full. This will give you a really nice tall fluffy donut.
- Bake the donuts for 13-14 minutes. They should spring back when you touch the top with your finger. Remove from the oven and dump gently onto a cooling rack, and allow the donuts to cool fully before icing.
Step 3: Glaze the Donuts
- While the donuts cool, prepare the maple brown sugar glaze.
- Add the unsalted butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup to a small saucepan over medium/low heat.2 (28g) Tbsp unsalted butter, ¼ (50g) cup light brown sugar, 3 (60g) Tbsp pure maple syrup
- As the glaze cooks, whisk allowing the butter to melt. Once the glaze is smooth, bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for 30–60 seconds, stirring frequently to help dissolve the brown sugar.
- After the brown sugar has dissolved fully, remove the glaze from the heat and allow the glaze to cool for a few minutes.
- Once the glaze has cooled, whisk in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, maple extract, and salt. If the glaze is too thick, add milk or half and half by the Tablespoon until the glaze is thick but able to run off of a spoon.1¼ (140g) cups powdered sugar, ½ tsp vanilla extract, ¼ tsp maple extract, ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
- Go slow adding the milk to avoid thinning out the glaze too much; this glaze is meant to be thick!1-2 Tbsps half-and-half
- Allow the glaze to stand for another 2–3 minutes, or until it reaches a thick but dippable consistency.
- Dip the tops of the cooled donuts into the warm glaze, allowing any excess to drip off. Place them back onto the cooling rack and allow the glaze to set before serving. I like to sprinkle the tops with a little extra cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
- Glaze Tip: The glaze thickens quickly as it cools. If it gets too thick for dipping, microwave for ten seconds and whisk then continue dipping the donuts.
- Yields 15 donuts
Notes
How to Store:
Room Temperature- Keep frosted donuts in an airtight container at room temp up to 2 days. Refrigerator- For longer storage, keep them refrigerated for up to 4–5 days and bring them back to room temperature before serving.Nutrition
Serving: 1donutCalories: 234kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 3gFat: 7.5g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!