Quick and Easy Air Fryer Cake Donuts

Enjoy homemade cake donuts in less than 20 minutes in the air fryer! Yep, no yeast, no rising, no fuss. These cake donuts are tender, moist, and flavorful. If you’re a fan of cake donuts and you have an air fryer, you must try this recipe!

Follow along and cook with me in this YouTube video!

How to Make Air Fryer Cake Donuts

The ingredients are pretty straight forward and simple. There is the special addition of plain yogurt for some extra tenderness and deliciousness. Plain regular yogurt, plain Greek yogurt, or sour cream all work well in this recipe. You could probably even get away with vanilla yogurt, if you reduce the vanilla extract amount.

Why use room temperature ingredients?

It is ideal to have room temperature ingredients for this recipe because it helps the ingredients to mix better and more evenly. Room temperature eggs are less thick and sticky. Using room temperature eggs may also help batter to rise more easily. Another factor is using room temperature ingredients, opposed to cold, may reduce the needed cooking time.

To bring an egg to room temperature quickly, place the egg in a bowl and add warm water. Let the egg sit in the warm water while you gather the rest of the ingredients. It only takes a few minutes of sitting in the warm water to make a difference.

What kind of donut pan should I use?

For this donut recipe, we want the donut cavity to be about 3 inches in diameter and you want the pan or mold to fit in your air fryer. If you have a basket air fryer, like the Cosori 5.8 Qt, a mold for four 3-inch donuts will work.

I bought a silicone donut mold for six 3-inch donuts and cut it to fit. It is also a good idea to cut a vent in the middle of the mold to help air circulate more evenly in the air fryer. Silicone donut molds are super affordable and easy to cut!

How long to cook donuts in the air fryer?

These air fryer cake donuts are done in just 6 minutes! Of course, I recommend using a toothpick test or use an instant read thermometer to be sure. A few moist crumbs on the toothpick is fine, but you don’t want to see batter on it. The internal temperature should be above 160°F.

I like to add an additional 2 minutes of cooking time AFTER I’ve dipped the donuts in butter and the cinnamon sugar mixture. You end up with a delicious, crackly, cinnamon sugar coating!

Cooking time may vary depending on your air fryer and donut pan/mold.

Give these air fryer baked donuts a try. I hope you love them!

Interested in keto low carb donuts? Check out this version of keto air fryer donuts.

Check out more of our favorite air fryer recipes!

Quick and Easy Air Fryer Cake Donuts

Try these Air Fryer Baked Donuts! So quick, easy, and delicious! Ready in less than 20 minutes.

4.59 / 5 ( 104 Reviews )

Print Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes

Total Time: 18 minutes minutes

Serves: 8

Adjust Servings: 8

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Air Fryer
• Donut molds

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour 120 grams
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 large egg room temperature
• ⅓ cup brown sugar 65 grams
• ¼ cup milk, room temperature 60mL
• ¼ cup plain yogurt (or Greek yogurt or sour cream), room temperature 60 grams
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 30 grams
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a medium bowl, lightly beat egg. Whisk in brown sugar, milk, and yogurt, until smooth. Add melted butter and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Don't over mix.
• Pipe or spoon batter in 3-inch silicone donut mold.
• Preheat air fryer at 400˚F/204˚C for 2-3 minutes. Place donut mold in air fryer and bake at 330˚F/166˚C for 6 minutes, or until internal temperature of donuts reads above 160˚F/71˚C. Remove from air fryer and let cool for 2 minutes in mold, then carefully remove donuts from the mold.
• Dip the rounded side of the donuts into the melted butter, then the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place coated donuts in air fryer for another 2 minutes at 350˚F/177˚C.
• For donut bites: Use muffin bites pan, but don't fill the center cavity. Air fry at 350˚F/177˚C for 6 minutes. Cooking time may vary because muffin bites pans vary in size.

Nutrition

Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Sodium: 217mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g

Recipe Adapted From: Sally's Baking Addiction