Dulce de Leche Donuts

in Bread, Breakfast, Dulce de Leche, Pastry

If you’re going to have a donut, then have a donut!

That is a baked cake-style donut, flavored with dulce de leche, studded with pretty flecks of vanilla bean, and covered in more dulce de leche. It’s borderline dessert wearing breakfast camouflage.

But at least it’s not fried, right?

I took the spiced cake donut recipe that came with my donut pan, the same one I modified to make the Pumpkin Spice Donuts, and stripped it down to use as a base for these donuts. The vanilla and caramel flavors are pretty much out of this world. You know, if you’re in to the whole dessert-for-breakfast or breakfast-for-dessert thing.

Just please don’t call it “bressert.”

Dulce de Leche Donuts

A moist, baked donut flavored with vanilla bean and dulce de leche.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 Tbsp butter, cold
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp dulce de leche, divided
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (optional)
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • Sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

  1. Spray a 6-well donut pan with baking spray (or use your preferred non-stick method).
  2. Add flour, butter, salt, and baking powder to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix on low until the chunk of butter disappears, ~1 minute.
  3. Add 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp dulce de leche, egg, vanilla, vanilla bean scrapings, and milk to the bowl and mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined.
  4. Transfer batter (it will be thicker than your standard cake batter) to a ziptop bag.
  5. Snip off the corner of the bag (make the opening ~ 3/4 inch) and pipe the batter into the donut wells until 1/2 - 3/4 cup full (you'll get exactly 6 donuts; the batter is very thick and holds it's shape, it won't really settle or bake smoothly if you spoon it into the pan).
  6. Bake 8-12 minutes, until the top of the donut springs back when lightly tapped.
  7. Let cool in pan 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
  8. To make the glaze, warm the dulce de leche slightly in the microwave (~15 seconds). Stir until smooth.
  9. Drizzle the donuts with dulce de leche and add sprinkles.
  10. It's easier to store unglazed donuts in a ziptop bag and then glaze them before eating. Or you can store glazed donuts in a covered cake plate. They'll keep fresh ~3 days.

Notes

Yields: 6 servings

Adapted from Norpro

Estimated time: 20 minutes

23 comments… add one
  • Would it be wrong to eat all 6 in one sitting? Probably…right? They look so delicious though and one of my absolute favourite combinations of flavours!

  • YUM!! I will be making these very soon! You can’t go wrong with dulce de leche!

  • Oh how, those sound amazing! I love doughnuts, and I love dulce de leche, so that sounds like an delicious combination! The serious danger would be that I’d make them when I’m home alone and eat them all. In one sitting.

  • I guess it’s official: I’m going to have to go buy a doughnut pan. These look amazing!

  • You are pure evil.

  • Shawnda, you’re killing me!!! These look way too good… I need to buy that donut pan now that I’m seeing all these donut recipes popping up everywhere! 🙂

  • These sound and look amazing! I have two cans of dulce de leche and have been waiting to do something special with them. This sounds like the perfect use. 🙂

  • Can’t wait to link my momma to this one! Dulce de leche ice cream is her absolute favorite.. she’ll go crazy over these!

  • ah these looks fabulous and reinforce my need for a donut pan like ASAP!

  • I think I might have to go out and buy a donut pan now! Just when I thought I had all baking pans one girl could possibly need.

  • “borderline dessert wearing breakfast camouflage” … Hahaha! agreed! but these look delicious!

  • Ok, it’s official. I NEED a donut baking pan. Like now. Like I’m going to go get in my car and go find one so I can make these donuts kinda-now. Seriously…these look fantastic!!

  • Bressert. Now THAT is awful.

    These beautiful donuts don’t deserve to be called anything so almost-vulgar. They are beautiful!

  • Dulce de Leche and Vanilla Bean combo sounds delicious!!

  • These sound so yummy! LOVE the icing!

  • I keep meaning to try baked donuts…love the way these look & dulce de leche is always a favorite!

  • I think a donut pan purchase is in my very near future. You are killing me with these.

  • I recently bought a donut pan and I’ve been eyeing donut recipes lately. This looks so good! Definitely bookmarking this.

    Love the blog!

  • Beautiful doughnuts! The recipe sounds scrumptious.

  • Oh, wow.

  • Dammit. I have been doing really well at avoiding buying a donut pan, but these may have just sent me over the edge.And actually they don’t seem TOO horrible for you, so you can eat like 4 for breakfast, right?

  • Those looks absolutely delicious!

  • You are killing me with these donuts!! They look fabulous.

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