Enjoy donuts at home with these easy chai baked donuts! Tender cake donuts are spiced with chai spices and topped with a luscious spiced glaze.
Let's get cozy with some chai inspired donuts!
I'm going to go out on a limb and admit to you that I don't drink coffee. Promise you'll still love me?
I mostly do my best to stay away from caffeine. So even though tea and I are on pretty good terms, it's only the decaf ones that make it into my house.
While chai tea is usually caffeinated, I chose to go with a decaf version for these donuts because that's what I have around for my general day-to-day drinking.
If all you have is caffeinated tea it will work exactly the same, so no worries! I love how spicy chai is because it's almost like having a snack, but it's a warm, cozy drink instead.
Today we're turning that cozy snack drink into a real snack - donuts! My town is seriously lacking in the donut department so I enjoy making my own from time to time in order to satisfy the craving.
Chai baked donuts are the perfect pairing for your fall tea, coffee (I'm not hating on you for loving coffee), or apple cider break. I infused some milk with chai tea, then used it in both the batter and the frosting for the most flavor.
Let me just say, that frosting is something special. It's sweet, spicy, and so, so silky. I'm thinking it would also be a lovely way to ice my banana bundt cake for fall.
Chai baked donuts
Chai donut ingredients
- Milk
- Chai tea bags
- Flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Allspice
- Egg
- Vegetable oil
- Yogurt
- Vanilla extract
Chai glaze ingredients
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Chai milk (leftover from mixing the donuts)
How to make chai baked donuts
- Infuse the milk - Heat the milk, then add tea bags and let steep for 5 minutes
- Combine the ingredients - Whisk together dry ingredients, then stir in the wet ingredients until fully incorporated
- Fill the donut pan - Pipe or spoon the batter evenly into a donut pan
- Bake 10-12 minutes
- Allow to cool
- Make the glaze by stirring powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and chai milk together in a bowl
- Dip cooled donuts in glaze and let set
Top tips
How many donuts does this make?
Lots of donut recipes I find make 8 donuts, which is kind of annoying because the donut pan I have makes 6 donuts. I was very careful to ensure this donut recipe makes 6 perfect donuts, and here is an affiliate link to the donut pan I use.
If you'd like you can double this recipe and bake in two donut pans or chill the batter while the first batch is in the oven, let the pan cool, and bake your second batch.
Are baked donuts as good as fried donuts?
Fried donuts are delicious, but baked donuts are also really good. They're more cake-like and not at all greasy like fried donuts. I really love the texture and they're perfect for dipping in your coffee (if you enjoy that sort of thing).
How to get perfectly even baked donuts
One way to get perfectly even donuts is to pipe the batter into the pan with a plastic zip top bag. You can watch the video to see just how easy this is. You could also use a pastry bag if you happen to have one of those sitting around.
Tips for customizing
- If you don't have any chai tea bags, omit the infusion step and add to the batter an additional ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon cardamom, and ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- Experiment with other tea flavors (affiliate link --> Celestial Seasonings makes some really fun options!)
- Skip the icing and dip cooled donuts in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar
- After dipping the donuts in icing, while it is still wet, drizzle with store-bought or homemade caramel sauce
More breakfast treats
- Chocolate Pistachio Star Bread
- Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars
- Pistachio Rose Muffins
- Apple Spice Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
If you make this recipe be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Chai Baked Donuts
Ingredients
For the Chai Baked Donuts
- ½ cup milk
- 3 chai tea bags
- ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons yogurt or sour cream
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Chai Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Remaining chai milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease a donut pan with cooking spray.
- In a small pot, heat milk over medium high heat until just shy of boiling. It should be hot, steamy, and small bubbles will appear around the edge. Remove from the heat and submerge the chai tea bags in the milk. Allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags, using the back of a spoon to squeeze out all the milk that may have been absorbed by them.
- Meanwhile, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and allspice in a large bowl. Add the egg, vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons of the chai infused milk, yogurt, and vanilla. Refrigerate the remaining chai milk until you're ready to make the glaze. Stir the batter until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Transfer the batter to a large zip top bag and snip off one of the corners. Squeeze batter evenly into the donut pan. Alternatively, you could use a couple of spoons to spoon the batter into the pan.
- Bake 10-12 minutes until donuts are springy and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once the donuts are cool, prepare the glaze by adding powdered sugar to a small bowl along with 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and about 1 tablespoon of the chai infused milk. Stir until smooth and shiny, adding a few drops of chai milk at a time until the desired consistency is reached. You will probably not need all the chai milk. I like my glaze thick but runny enough to drip down the sides a bit. If it gets too runny just add a little more powdered sugar. If it is too thick and you run out of chai milk you can use regular milk to thin it out.
- Dip one side of the donuts in the glaze and return to the cooling rack to let it set. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon if desired.
Vanessa says
I bought some of Celestial Seasonings (my favorite brand to date) Bengal Spice tea and found that as fun and different as it it, I'm more a fan of fruity herbal tea. But then what do I do with a box of tea I don't want? Now I know! I'm really excited for this recipe! I've already started figuring out what variations I'll be making as well! Country Peach! Raspberry Zinger! Haha, now I just need a donut pan!
Lindsay Moe says
Bengal Spice is my favorite, and would be perfect in these donuts! All your ideas sound delicious, I'm glad you're excited about this recipe!
Susanna Phipps says
These are absolutely delicious, but 1/2 cup of milk seems to be a bit excessive when you end up using only about 3 tbsp. Is it really necessary to waste this much for the brewing of the chai or would it be ok to use less milk?
Lindsay Moe says
The remaining milk is meant to be used in the glaze, and I usually like to have too much than not enough since people like different consistencies in their glazes. However you could experiment with infusing less milk, or check the customization tips in the post for how to add spices directly to the batter instead of infusing the milk.