Baked Protein Donuts
⏱ 25 min💪 16g protein per donut🔥 ~165 cal🍽 6 donuts
Protein donuts get a bad reputation because most recipes use straight whey isolate and bake them like muffins. Whey squeezes out water as it sets, so an extra two minutes turns them into sponges. This version uses a whey-casein blend, Greek yogurt for insurance, and a bake time short enough that they come out cakey.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (75g) oat flour
- 1/2 cup (60g) vanilla whey-casein blend protein powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) plain Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk, plus more as needed
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons (22g) vanilla protein powder, for the glaze
- 2 tablespoons cold milk, for the glaze
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350F and grease a 6 cavity donut pan thoroughly with butter, getting into the center posts.
- Whisk the oat flour, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in one bowl.
- Whisk the Greek yogurt, eggs, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla in another, then fold the two together with a spatula just until smooth. If the batter mounds like paste instead of falling off the spatula, add milk one tablespoon at a time.
- Scrape the batter into a zip-top bag, snip off a corner, and pipe it into the cavities until each is about three quarters full.
- Bake 11 to 13 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed and a toothpick brings up a few moist crumbs. Do not bake until it comes out dry.
- Cool in the pan 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Whisk the glaze powder with the cold milk half a tablespoon at a time until it ribbons off the whisk, and dip the tops.
- Store airtight in the fridge up to 4 days, or freeze them unglazed up to 2 months and glaze after thawing.
Tips
- Grease the pan with butter or shortening even if it says nonstick, and skip the spray. Protein batters carry very little fat of their own and they weld themselves to the center post.
- Glaze made with warm milk seizes into paste. Use cold milk, add it half a tablespoon at a time, and stop the moment it pours in a ribbon, because one extra splash makes it run right off the donut.
- Straight whey isolate turns these into sponges. If it is all you have, cut it to 1/3 cup and add 3 more tablespoons of oat flour so there is enough starch to hold water during the bake.
FAQ
- Why are my protein donuts dry?
- Two extra minutes in the oven. Protein sets near 160F, long before a normal cake batter looks done, and every minute past that point pushes water out of the crumb. Start checking at 11 minutes.
- Can I bake these in a muffin tin?
- Yes, but the missing hole means the center takes longer. Fill 6 cups two thirds full and bake 14 to 16 minutes, and expect a denser result.
- Can I make them without protein powder?
- Use 1 1/4 cups oat flour total and add 2 extra tablespoons of maple syrup. They bake up fine but drop to roughly 7g of protein each.
- Can I use plant-based protein powder?
- Pea protein absorbs even more liquid than casein does. Add 3 tablespoons of extra milk and let the batter rest 5 minutes before piping so the powder can hydrate.
