How to Make Baked Rainbow Donuts?

Looking for a fun and festive recipe to make for your next party? Look no further than these rainbow donuts! This easy rainbow donut recipe only requires a few simple ingredients and is perfect for any occasion.

It’s a great way to get the kids involved in the kitchen. We’ll show you how to make the dough, bake the donuts, and top them off with white frosting. These colorful donut treats are sure to be a hit with kids and adults alike!

Let’s get baking!

About Rainbow Donuts

Rainbow-Doughnut
Image Credit: bakingmad

What’s not to love about rainbow donuts? They’re colorful, fun, and delicious! The colorful spirals of dough (or icing) are enough to brighten anyone’s day.

And what’s even better, they are surprisingly easy to make at home. All you need is a simple donut recipe, some food coloring, and a little bit of time.

This rainbow donuts recipe is also healthier for you because it’s baked. Baked donuts are a lot better for you than donuts that are fried, making these an ideal treat to enjoy anywhere–especially for National Donut Day or for a unicorn party!

How to Make Baked Rainbow Donuts

Now that you know all about rainbow donuts, let’s get to the recipe! You will have a blast making these, and they will taste as good as they look.

Kitchen Tools You Will Need:

Before you begin to bake, you’ll have to collect your kitchen tools.

  • A donut pan is definitely the most important tool you’ll need to make these rainbow donuts. If you don’t have a donut pan, you can use a mini muffin tin, but the donuts won’t be the correct shape and will take a bit longer to bake.
  • A large bowl
  • A whisk or a stand mixer.
  • Some piping bags or Ziplock bags to pipe the batter into the donut pan. If you don’t have piping bags, you can just spoon the batter in, but it might be a bit messier.

Finally, you’ll need a wire rack to place the rainbow donuts on to cool.

Ingredients You Will Need:

Time to grab all of your ingredients! Here is what you will need:

Baked Rainbow Donuts Ingredients
Image Credit: dessertsonadime
  • 1 package of White or YellowCake Mix
  • 1/4 cup of Butter (melted)
  • 1 cup of Milk
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • Food Coloring (multiple colors)

How to Make Baked Rainbow Donuts Step-by-Step

After you’ve gathered your ingredients, it’s time to wash your hands, and then clean and prepare your work station. Now you are ready to get started!

Step 1: Preheat the Oven

Before you do anything else, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray your donut pan with non-stick cooking spray and set it aside.

Note: You can use olive oil cooking spray or basic vegetable oil spray. In a pinch, you could also coat the donut shapes with butter.

Step 2: Start Making the Batter

Then start by making the donut batter. In a large bowl, pour in the white or yellow cake mix. The wonderful thing about using cake mix is that you don’t need all the other dry ingredients you often need for baking, such as all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and yeast. With this method, you only need the one ingredient!

Step 3: Add the Wet Ingredients

Next you will add the wet ingredients: the melted butter, the milk, the egg, and the vanilla extract. Whisk or stir them all together with the cake mix, or place the bowl under a stand mixer to make the process faster and more thorough.

Step 4: Divide the Dough Mixture

Once all the ingredients are incorporated, you should have dough with a slightly wet and creamy texture. Divide the mixture into multiple separate bowls.

Once the dough is divided, add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl so that you have a variety of colored batter.

Note: The number of bowls will depend on how many colors of food coloring you have. We suggest using around 5 or 6 colors. Those amounts really give these donuts that rainbow feel that you are going for.

food coloring
Image Credit: threesnackateers

Step 5: Put Into Piping Bags

Spoon the batter into separate piping bags or Ziplock bags, cut the tip of the bags, and squeeze a small amount of each into the donut shape in the pans. Repeat each color until each donut shape is filled with a bit of each color.

You can even do this with mini donut pans!

Note: Only fill each donut shape about half full, so that there is room for the donut batter to rise while baking.

Step 6: Bake the Donuts

Bake the donuts for about 8 minutes. Add a minute or two if needed, but be sure to keep the batter from getting too brown! If they get brown, the rainbow colors won’t be very visible.

Step 7: Cool in the Pan

Let the donuts cool a bit before turning over the pan and getting the donuts out onto a sheet of parchment paper. If they stick at all, just use a knife or spatula to carefully cut along the outside of the donut shape to loosen them.

Step 8: Place Them on a Cooling Rack

To finish cooling, place the donuts on a wire rack. Allow them to cool completely before moving them or adding any icing or frosting.

There you have it: baked rainbow donuts! The colors alone are enough to make you fall in love. Add in the delicious flavor and topping options, and it’s impossible not to adore these rainbow donuts!

Baked-Rainbow-Doughnuts
Image Credit: threesnackateers

Frequently Asked Questions about Rainbow Donuts

Now that you know how to make rainbow donuts, you might have a few follow-up questions. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about rainbow donuts, along with our best answers!

Can I use store-bought frosting?

Absolutely! If you’re short on time or just don’t feel like making your own frosting, you can use store-bought frosting. If you do, then simply pipe or spread it on top of each cooled donut. Then add some rainbow sprinkles, and you’re done!

Note: You can use a solid color overtop your rainbow donuts, or you can divide the frosting and use food coloring, like you did with the donut dough. If you do that, though, just be sure to get white frosting, so that the rainbow colors of the donuts show through.

Do rainbow donuts taste different than regular donuts?

The rainbow donut batter is the same as a regular cake mix batter that you’d use for donuts. However, you can add different flavors to each color of batter to make them taste different. For example, you could add chocolate extract to one, almond extract to another, and so on.

Can I make rainbow donuts without food coloring?

Yes! If you want to avoid food coloring, you can use natural food coloring agents such as turmeric, spirulina, and beet juice to color your rainbow donuts. However, the colors may not be as vibrant as they would be with artificial food coloring, and the taste may vary some.

How do you make glaze for cake donuts?

There are many different ways to make glaze for cake donuts. A simple glaze is made with confectioners’ sugar and milk, while a chocolate glaze is made with melted chocolate and a bit of cream.

Mix your ingredients together until they are a consistency you like. Then dip the tops of each donut into the glaze and let them sit until the glaze hardens

You can also add food coloring to the glaze to make it rainbow-colored. Don’t forget the rainbow sprinkles!

Can you make fried rainbow donuts?

Yes, you can make fried rainbow donuts! You’ll simply follow the same procedure with your dough, dividing it into multiple balls and mixing in a couple drops of food coloring to each. Then flatten them out and lightly roll them together, making a rainbow-swirled donut! You’ll need to use a deep fryer and heat the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry the donuts for about 15-20 seconds on each side and pull them out to cool. Then you have friend rainbow donuts! (Add rainbow glaze, too, if you’d like!)

What’s the best way to store rainbow donuts?

Rainbow donuts are best stored in an airtight container. They’ll stay fresh for a few days, but they’re best eaten the same day they’re made.

If you want to make rainbow donuts ahead of time, you can freeze them. Just place them in a freezer-safe bag or container and store them for up to a month. When you’re ready to eat them, let them thaw overnight in the fridge or for a few hours at room temperature.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoy this rainbow donut recipe! They are the perfect recipe to make for any party or celebration. Not only are they easy to make, but they also only require a few simple ingredients. Plus, they’re sure to be a hit with kids and adults alike! So what are you waiting for? Get baking!

Do you have any other questions about rainbow donuts? Let us know in the comments below!

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