King Cake Donuts Mardi Gras (Printable Version)

Soft baked donuts topped with vanilla glaze and vibrant Mardi Gras sprinkles for a festive treat.

# What You Need:

→ For the Donuts

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
03 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
05 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
06 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
07 - 2 large eggs
08 - 3/4 cup whole milk
09 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
10 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 - Zest of 1 lemon

→ For the Glaze

12 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
13 - 2 to 3 tablespoons whole milk
14 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ For Decoration

15 - Green, purple, and gold sanding sugar or sprinkles

# How To Make:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a donut pan with nonstick spray.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
03 - In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until combined.
04 - Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
05 - Spoon or pipe batter evenly into donut pan cavities, filling each approximately 2/3 full.
06 - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until donuts spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
07 - Let donuts cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
08 - Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and pourable.
09 - Dip cooled donuts into glaze, allowing excess to drip off.
10 - Immediately sprinkle with green, purple, and gold sanding sugar in sections to mimic King Cake design.
11 - Allow glaze to set before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • They're baked, not fried, so you can actually enjoy them guilt-free without the heavy oil-soaked feeling.
  • The combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon zest tastes way more interesting than standard donuts—there's real depth in every bite.
  • Those Mardi Gras colors make them feel festive for any occasion, not just the holiday itself.
  • They come together in under an hour from start to finish, making them perfect for last-minute entertaining.
02 -
  • Don't skip the cooling step on the wire rack—glazing warm donuts will absolutely ruin them, no matter how impatient you are.
  • The lemon zest is not optional; it's what transforms these from basic donuts into something memorable and keeps them from tasting one-dimensional.
  • Sanding sugar sticks way better than regular sprinkles, and it photographs beautifully too—it's worth hunting down.
  • If your glaze feels too thick after a few minutes, whisk in a tiny splash of milk to restore pourable consistency before dipping more donuts.
03 -
  • Room temperature ingredients mix together more smoothly and create a better batter texture than cold ingredients straight from the fridge.
  • If you don't have a donut pan, don't let that stop you—this batter works beautifully in a muffin tin; just bake for the same time and skip the center hole, creating little donut muffins instead.
  • Make your lemon zest fresh right before mixing—pre-zested zest loses its brightness and aromatic oils sit in a jar too long.
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