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+ servings
5 from 2 votes

Christmas Wreath Doughnuts

Pretty in pink, these Christmas wreath doughnuts are just too beautiful to say no to! Perfect for edible gifting, Christmas morning breakfast, or a fun holiday baking activity with the kids. Best of all, they are baked, not fried.
Servings 9 servings
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

For the doughnuts

  • 150 g (¾ cup + 3 tbsp) plain (all purpose) flour
  • 60 g (¼ cup + 1 tbsp) soft light brown sugar
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 80 ml (⅓ cup) milk
  • 4 tbsp melted unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
  • 1 tsp vanilla

For the buttercream and decoration

  • 110 g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • 200 g (1 ½ cups) icing (powdered) sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • pink food colouring (I used sugarflair fuchsia)
  • gold sprinkles, to decorate

Instructions

For the doughnuts

  • Brush the doughnut pan with some melted butter and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F whilst making the doughnut mixture.
  • Into a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add in the brown sugar. Whisk it all lightly to combine, then set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, or ideally a jug, tip in the milk, egg and vanilla and whisk together. Gradually add in 4 tbsp of melted butter, whisking as you go so the butter does not solidify when it hits the cold ingredients in the jug. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined.
  • Transfer the doughnut batter to a piping bag and fill the doughnut pan no more than ⅔ full. Bake in the preheated oven for 9-10 minutes until a skewer comes out clean and the doughnuts are springy to touch. Cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then carefully loosen and transfer to a wire rack to cool whilst preparing the buttercream.

For the buttercream and decoration

  • Press a little red fondant into each of the bow moulds, then smooth the top to level. Flip the mould over and gently tap the bottom of the mould to release the bows onto a work surface or plate. Set aside until needed for decorating.
  • Cream just the butter until light, fluffy and really soft. This normally takes me about 4-5 minutes. Your patience will be rewarded, I promise!
  • Add half the sugar to the whipped butter and beat to combine. Once mixed together, add in the second half of the sugar and vanilla and beat again to combine. Beat the vanilla buttercream for 3-4 minutes until wonderfully airy and light.
  • When the buttercream is ready, give is a really good mix around using a spatula to get rid of air pockets, leaving you with a smooth buttercream. Split the frosting equally in two, then colour both buttercreams different shades of pink by using more or less gel colour in each batch to achieve the desired colour. Transfer the two buttercreams into two piping bags fitted with star nozzles ready for piping.
  • Pipe random star shaped blobs of buttercream all over the top of each doughnut, changing the sizes of the stars by pressing out more or less frosting each time. Once you have finished piping, decorate each wreath with some gold sprinkles and a fondant bow. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Pipe the doughnut pan no more than ⅔ full. If the doughnut pan is filled more, the doughnuts will no longer have a hole once baked as the mixture will rise and fill the space.
  • Leave the doughnuts to cool completely before decorating. They cool pretty quickly, taking about 20 minutes or so. Doing it sooner could result in the buttercream melting, leaving you with buttercream soup instead!
  • When making the buttercream, beat the butter really well until it is really fluffy before adding the sugar. This will give you a light and soft buttercream, which is really easy to work with.
  • Likewise, give the buttercream a good, vigorous stir after everything has been incorporated. This smooths out any air bubbles, so you are left with a smooth buttercream to work with.
  • Pipe larger and smaller stars of buttercream over the doughnut or equal sized ones for different effects of the decoration of the wreath.
  • Author: Andrea
    Calories: 323kcal
    Course: Dessert, Snacks
    Cuisine: American, British, International
    Keyword: Baked Christmas Doughnuts, Baked vanilla doughnuts for Christmas, Christmas cake doughnuts, Christmas Wreath Doughnuts, Festive Doughnut Recipe

    Nutrition

    Calories: 323kcal