Powdered Donut Cake
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Heavy on the butter and nutmeg, this cake has all the flavors of your favorite cake donut in a convenient square shape.
This donut cake comes from the wonderful new cookbook Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings by Yossy Arefi. I’m having so much fun baking my way through this sweet book—all the cakes are made using just one bowl (no electric mixers needed!) with ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen. Yossy writes, “Heavy on the butter and nutmeg, this cake has all the flavors of your favorite cake donut in a convenient square shape—no frying necessary! Just take my word for it, and don’t wear a black shirt when you eat it. You are definitely going to get confectioners’ sugar all over yourself with every bite.”
Table of Contents
Powdered Donut Cake Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar and eggs.
Whisk until pale and foamy, about 1 minute.
Add the sour cream, butter, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt.
Whisk until smooth and emulsified.
Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
Whisk until well-combined and smooth.
Pour the batter into a parchment-lined pan. 
Bake the cake until puffed and golden, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes.
Set the pan on a rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Then use the parchment paper to lift the cake out of the pan and set it on the rack to cool almost completely.
Finish the cake: While the cake is just warm to the touch, brush the top with the melted butter.
Dust with the confectioners’ sugar — you should have a nice thick layer, more than you think might be necessary. Cut into squares and enjoy!
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Powdered Donut Cake
Heavy on the butter and nutmeg, this cake has all the flavors of your favorite cake donut in a convenient square shape.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1¼ teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with a knife
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
For Topping
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter or coat an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with a strip of parchment paper that hangs over two of the edges.
- Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the sour cream, butter, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until smooth and emulsified.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk until well-combined and smooth.
- Pour the batter into the pan and bake the cake until puffed and golden, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Then use the parchment paper to lift the cake out of the pan and set it on the rack to cool almost completely.
- Finish the cake: While the cake is just warm to the touch, brush the top with the melted butter and dust with the confectioners’ sugar. You should have a nice thick layer of confectioners' sugar—more than you think might be necessary. (Store the cake, covered, at room temperature for up to three days. The cake will absorb the sugar on top, so it might need a fresh dusting of confectioners’ sugar after the second day.)
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (16 servings)
- Serving size: 1 square
- Calories: 181
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 2.5 g
- Sodium: 190 mg
- Cholesterol: 46 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hello Jenn Segal,
I want to thank you for sharing this recipe, anyone saying there is too much nutmeg or that nutmeg is not in powdered doughnuts is a fool. I love this cake, it is perfection as it is. I personally love nutmeg, so I used 1tsp. and 1/4 tsp of mace, to enhance that flavor. Thanks again for sharing it I will be making this again… and again! 🙂
the nutmeg is too overpowering for me (also why nutmeg in a powdered donut cake?) i’ve never had a powdered donut with nutmeg so it was odd to me. also texture wise it’s like regular cake not denser like i would expect it to be.
The nutmeg flavor is so overpowering. I would either cut it back by half or omit it next time. Otherwise this is a delightfully moist cake. It wasn’t really reminding me of a donut but good nonetheless.
I quite enjoyed this recipe. Took less than 10 minutes to prepare and baked in about 27 minutes. I love a good sour cream donut and this is a close match. It’s lighter than a sour cream donut, and definitely not as greasy. I think this would be delicious with a cup of coffee, tea, or milk. My toddler approves as well, so a added bonus! I did read reviews who mentioned it was too much nutmeg, so I err on the side of caution and used 1 tsp nutmeg and 1 tsp cinnamon (because we love cinnamon). Came out great!
I made these exactly per the recipe (unusual for me) and I’ve made FOUR of them this week — people can’t get enough! I love dessert recipes that can be made without a mixer and I always have the ingredients on hand for this recipe. Definitely a winner!
Mine took much longer to bake. Closer to 45 minutes and I cut the nutmeg back to a heavy 3/4tsp. as some of the comments suggested. It was PERFECT! Moist and delicious. I love that no mixer is needed for this. Just a bowl and a whisk!
Just tried this recipe for Sunday brunch and it is a winner! I made it exactly as written except that I substituted ground nutmeg because that’s what I had. The texture of this cake is dreamy; it’s got a lovely crumb and is really moist. This would be so good with fresh apple cider.
This recipe does not taste anything like a powdered donut. More like good cornbread, actually. This recipe and the donut muffin recipe do not taste like donuts at all. I made the powdered donut cake recipe because I anticipated that is what I would find, based on the many commenters’ review. However, that is not what I experienced at all. And I followed the recipe as written.
Jessica, You might have used a brand of AP flour with a different percentage of protein. It can make cake taste like cornbread.