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These sweet little Old Fashioned Cake Doughnut Mini Muffins will become a lunch box and snack time favourite. These treats come together in less than 30-minutes!
I'm smitten. So very smitten with these old fashioned cake doughnut mini muffins.
How smitten? Well, I don't think I've ever used the word smitten before. And I've used it 4 times in the last 5 seconds. So...
Let's back up a bit though so I can tell you how these delicious, sweet bites came to be.
I was scrolling through my Pinterest feed (something I do A LOT, are you following me over there yet?) and came across this pin for Cinnamon Sugar Donuts by Texanerin.
Instant heart eyes.
That recipe gives options to make it vegan but none to make it gluten-free so I thought, hmm...I'm up for this challenge!
And I tore that challenge up, if I must say.
I added my own unique spin by making my doughnut muffins gluten-free, changing the ingredient ratios to make it work as a gluten-free recipe, and adding nutmeg.
What kind of nutmeg is the best?
I don't buy the pre-ground stuff because by the time you get it in your kitchen, it has lost a lot of its beautiful, warm nutmeg flavour.
This is why I always use freshly grated nutmeg in all my recipes, freshly grated give the BEST nutmeg flavour. Here's a little more info on using nutmeg in your recipes.
Doughnut muffins were a favourite of mine back in the day, but I think these are so much better than the real thing (which is rare...when is a knock off ever better than the real thing?).
They also come together very easily and quickly. You can go from craving to satisfaction in less than 30-minutes.
At the end of the 30-minutes, you'll have 24 beautiful, sweet, sugary-spiced bites.
They don't last long here when I make them. I'm pretty sure the same will happen when you make them.
What kind of gluten-free flour should be used for this recipe?
I have only tested this recipe with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose flour, the one with the red label (click the link to see it). Don't confuse it with their 1:1 blend which will not give you the same results as it is made with a different blend of ingredients.
If ingredients are substituted, your result may not be the same as mine, so please keep that in mind.
And one more important note about flour....this recipe will NOT work with coconut flour.
If you like this doughnut muffins recipe, pin it on Pinterest and then check out these other treats you may also like!
- Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Spice Mini Muffins
- Baked Chocolate Doughnuts
- Baked Lemon Doughnuts
- Chocolate Mint Doughnuts
And if you make them, share a pic with me on Instagram! I’m @delightfuladventures over there and my hashtag is #delightfuladventures. Looking forward to seeing your remake!
How to Make Old Fashioned Cake Doughnut Mini Muffins
Old Fashioned Cake Doughnut Mini Muffins
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend **see important note about flour below**
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (see note below)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg (see nutmeg tip above)
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup unsweetened dairy-free milk
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For cinnamon sugar coating
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup fine granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Grease mini muffin tin (x 24)
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- In a small bowl, mix the melted coconut oil, non-dairy milk, applesauce, and vanilla together.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
- Fill each muffin cavity until it is ¾ full.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes
- While muffins are baking, place melted coconut oil in 1 bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl
- Remove muffins from oven and cool for 10 minutes in tin.
- Remove muffins from tin and place on a cooling rack.
- While still warm, dip 1 muffin at a time into the oil first. Make sure the entire top is coated with the oil. Then dip the same muffin into the sugar/cinnamon mixture, ensuring that the entire top is covered with the cinnamon sugar mix. Place muffin back onto cooling rack.
- Repeat with entire batch until done.
Recipe Notes:
- It's important to know that different gluten-free flour blends use different ingredients and ratios, so results will always vary if you substitute. I have never used any other brand of flour to make this recipe, other than Bob's Red Mill in the red bag, NOT the blue bag), so please know that your results may not be the same as mine if ingredients are substituted.
- This recipe will NOT work with coconut flour.
- A few readers have asked what the batter for these muffins should be like after using a different type of flour. Have a look at the batter in this similar recipe to get an idea. If you use the flour recommended in this recipe and follow the recipe exactly as it is written, your recipe will work perfectly.
- The granulated sugar I link to in the recipe is vegan.
- Nutrition info listed below is for 1 of 24 doughnut muffins and is only to be used as a rough guide. Click here for more info on how nutrition info on this website is determined.
Cindy says
This recipe is almost like the one I make, it’s Amish muffins I don’t put in nutmeg but I’ll do that next time I make them, to me that’s a little to much nutmeg , but it’s whatever you like. Thx
Gwen Leron says
I hope you like your recipe with the nutmeg, Cindy. It gives a great flavour that is very reminiscent of an old fashioned doughnuts (in muffin form!)
Tabita says
Hi. I am craving donuts. Could I use a donut tin instead?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Tabita, I haven’t tried making this recipe in a donut pan, so I’m not sure how they would turn out, but if you are still craving donuts, I have several recipes on my website that you can make, you can see them all here: https://delightfuladventures.com/recipes/?fwp_by_category=doughnuts If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask!
YMS says
These were great. You were right about the blue bag gf flour. It was what I had but that did not work one bit jajaja. But then I decided to try again with AP flour and voilà it worked! I also used neutral veg oil, I cut the recipe in half and I had no issues doing so. Lastly I used eb for the coating and not coconut oil. It came out surprisingly delicious and too easy to eat! I wouldn’t skip on the sugar or spices, as it really completes that texture you get from an old fashion “doughnut”..
Gwen Leron says
Happy to know you liked them! Glad everything worked well with your substitutions. And you're right, the spices are everything in this recipe!
Amy says
This recipe looks amazing. One question, and I know this is nearly impossible, my boyfriend also can't have sugar. I can only use maple syrup, fruit or Swerve. It's a very specific list, I know. Do you have any recommendations on how to use any of these as a substitute for sugar i
n the donut recipe? Thanks so much!
Gwen Leron says
Hi Amy! I unfortunately do not have any experience working with the Swerve or fruit sweeteners. I do work with maple syrup in some of my recipes but to use it as a replacement for the sugar in this particular recipe would involve a bunch of changes to the other ingredient quantities. What I would suggest is sticking with a granular sugar and not using a liquid one. Once you decide which one you want to use, you may have to do a little googling to find out the correct equivalents when substituting. If you do try it out, please come back and let me know how things went. I hope this helps a little!
Jenn C says
Do I use refined or unrefined coconut oil?? I want to make these this weekend!!
Gwen Leron says
Hi Jenn! Either will work, but if you use unrefined, there will be a very slight coconut taste. Let me know how things go! 🙂
Diana M says
My family all loved these! We skipped the cinnamon-sugar topping and just added sprinkles before we baked and enjoyed them this way, but next time I definitely want to try the topping!
Gwen Leron says
I'm so glad to hear the family loved them, Diana! I like the idea of sprinkles! And yes, do try the cinnamon sugar topping next time, I think you'll like it, too 🙂 Thanks for your note!
Peggy says
Can I substitute grape-seed oil instead of coconut oil? Thank you in advance
Gwen Leron says
Hi Peggy! Yes, grape seed oil will work. Any neutral flavoured oil will work just fine in this recipe 🙂 Let me know how things go!
jessica says
Question: would these work as full size muffins?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Jessica! Yes, they can be made as full size muffins, but they will need to bake longer, 18-20 minutes. Let me know how things go! 🙂
Diana M says
I made as full size and as you said it did take a longer bake time, but they came out perfect!
Gwen Leron says
Good to know, thanks for adding this, Diana . It will be helpful for others wondering the about baking them full size 🙂
Jill says
These donut cakes have changed our life! My son has multiple food allergies and this is the first gluten free, dairy free, egg free baking recipe that I’ve tried that has not only worked but also turned out deliciously! We can’t get enough! Thank you thank you thank you.
Gwen Leron says
Jill, your note made my day. Thank you so much, this is a big reason why I created this website. I am so happy the recipe is a hit with your family, I have many more recipes where that came from, so look around and feel free to get in touch if you ever have any questions about them 🙂
Penny Mackenzie says
THANKYOU so much.. this recipe is AMAZING.. Everybody loved them..
🙂
Gwen Leron says
Yay! So glad you and everyone else loved them, Penny 🙂
Elle says
Just made these and they are delicious! Classic doughnut flavours. My son says they taste like Timbits. Thank you for a great recipe!
(PS I substituted AP flour and added a little more liquid.)
Gwen Leron says
They do taste like Timbits! So glad you and your some love them, Elle. And very glad to hear that they turned out well with the AP flour. Good to know 🙂 Thanks for your note!
Jessica M says
How much liquid did you add? And by liquid are you referring to the milk?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Jessica, jumping in for Elle here since she likely won't see your comment...using all purpose flour will give you a thicker batter, so some extra liquid will be needed. I would add a little more milk to the batter to thin it out. As for how much, I'm not too sure since I have not made it with ap flour, but likely just a 1-2 tablespoons, you need it to be the consistency of a muffin batter. I hope this helps!
Janine Goodwin says
Hi, can you freeze these muffins?
Gwen Leron says
Hi Janine, yes, BUT...I would freeze them before adding the sugar cinnamon topping. So, freeze them plain, defrost, and then add the topping. The tops would end up wet and not very nice after defrosting if you freeze with the topping. I hope this helps, let me know how it goes!
Amaris says
I took out the cinnamon/sugar mixture, i hope it turns out ok
Gwen Leron says
How were they?
Amaris says
what if i take out the cinnamon and the nutmeg?
Gwen Leron says
If you take out the cinnamon and nutmeg, that takes away all the flavour and what makes it an "old fashioned" cake doughnut muffin. An old fashioned cake doughnut is specifically flavoured with those two spices. That being said, the texture should be fine, it's just the flavour that may be off.
amsale says
I cant wait to try this. Any substitute for Nutmeg?
Gwen says
Hi there! Nutmeg is what gives the doughnuts the classic old fashioned doughnut flavour, but if you can't use it, I would suggest adding more cinnamon in its place, they will still be delicious 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
Norma says
Hey! I was wondering if I could use all purpose flour instead of GF flour?
Gwen says
Hi Norma! Yes, all purpose flour should work just fine. The batter MAY be a little thicker, though, so you will have to add a little more liquid. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Ellie says
I am so excited to try these! Also, I was wondering, is there any way to substitute the applesauce?
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Ellie, you can replace the applesauce with banana puree, but they will have a banana flavour. You can also try replacing it with more coconut oil. I use the applesauce here to cut back on the oil in the recipe. If you try a substitute, let me know what you used and how it goes! 🙂
Merisa Batson says
Hi did you use unsweetened almond milk or sweetened almond milk.
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Merisa! Unsweetened, always, so it doesn't end up overly sweet. I'll update the recipe to clarify that. I hope you like them! 🙂
Kristin says
Do you use Bob's Red Mill 1to1 flour?
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Kristin! In this recipe, I use the Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Baking Flour. I put a link to it in the ingredients list so you can see what it looks like and either buy on Amazon or at a store in your city. If you make the recipe, I hope you like it 🙂
Nicole says
I just made these for my multi food allergic kiddos to eat on Christmas morning. They each got a sample one and the verdict was “yummy” from my two year old and “mom, from now on you should only make this kind of muffin” from my four year old! Success! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
My pleasure! It's always a good sign when the kids approve, they are always the true test 🙂 So happy to hear they love them, Nicole! 🙂
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
My pleasure! It's always a good sign when the kids approve, they are always the true test 🙂 So happy to hear they love them, Nicole! 🙂