Doughnuts have a special place in my heart, not least due to the fact that, while growing up, my father and I would snag a couple from our local shop on the way to school every day. And now that we’re back in California I can attest that the doughnuts there are still just as good. But even in Seattle, John and I looked forward every week to a famous mini doughnut booth at the Ballard Farmers Market–we’d happily pick up a bag of a dozen and make it last the whole day

And while doughnuts themselves are quite the treat, making them certainly isn’t. Thankfully, however, there’s a few options–and one among them makes the process absurdly easy. Baking doughnuts turns it into a whole new affair. Prep time’s 15 minutes, bake time’s another 15, and there you have it–fresh treats ready in a pinch. They admittedly take on a different texture than yeasted or fried doughnuts (in fact it’s something like a doughnut-shaped cake), but it’s nevertheless expectedly pleasant. I decided to make mine with some almond oil for a subtle yet present nutty flavor, and to dress them in a blueberry glaze–which is amazing. So basically, if you want fresh, homemade doughnuts roughly half an hour from now, go scoop up a doughnut pan and follow the recipe below!

Baked Doughnuts

Recipe slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 cup (113 grams) Pastry flour or All-Purpose Flour

½ (100 g) cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

¾ tsp cinnamon

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons almond oil or vegetable oil

3 tablespoons plain yogurt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Equipment: 2 medium bowls, whisk, 1-6 cup doughnut pan

Method

Heat oven to 375°F.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and yogurt together until combined.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredient and mix together with a spatula until just combined.

Spray the doughnut pan with some non-stick spray, or grease with some room temperature butter. If you skip this step, the doughnuts will likely stick even if the pan is non-stick.

Fill each doughnut mold half full with batter. The easiest way to do this is to fill a pastry bag or a zip lock bag with the batter, snip of the tip (or one corner of the ziplock) and start filling.

Place the pan in the oven and bake the doughnuts for about 10-12 minutes. The doughnuts are done when slightly browned, and if they spring back to the touch.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and use a spoon to carefully remove them from the pan. Place the doughnuts on a rack and allow them to cool completely before frosting.

Blueberry Glaze

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

1 tbs water

1/2 tsp lemon juice

pinch salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

sprinkles, optional garnish

Equipment: Saucepan, fine mesh sieve

Method

Place the blueberries, water, lemon juice, and salt in the saucepan. With the back of the a spoon, smash the berries, then place the saucepan over medium low heat.

Cook the berries for about 2 minutes, while continuously smashing them, them remove from heat.

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Add 2 tbs of the blueberry mixture to a shallow bowl (should be about all of the juice) along with the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar. Mix everything together until smooth. If the mixture seems too thick, add a tiny splash of milk. Alternatively, if the mixture is to wet, add a little more powdered sugar.

Use glaze right away and garnish and top with sprinkles.

Lemon-Poppyseed Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbs + 1 tsp lemon juice

2 tbs milk

pinch salt

poppy seeds, for garnish

Equipment: 1 small bowl

Method

Mix everything together in a small bowl until smooth.

If the mixture seems too thick, add a tiny splash of milk. Alternatively, if the mixture is to wet, add a little more powdered sugar.

Use glaze right away and garnish with poppy seeds.