Easy Baked Donuts with Easter Bunny Frosting

If your ideal Easter morning includes coffee in one hand and a dangerously cute donut in the other, you’re in exactly the right place.
These easy baked donuts are fluffy, moist, and covered in Easter bunny and chick frosting so adorable you’ll briefly hesitate to eat them… briefly.

Instead of messing with hot oil, this oven-baked donuts recipe uses a simple batter and a donut pan. You’ll mix, pipe, bake, and then let your inner
cake-decorating artist go wild with pastel frosting, candy eyes, and sweet little ears and beaks. It’s a kid-friendly project, a brunch showstopper, and a
Foodieaholic-approved way to turn a basic cake mix into something holiday-magic-level.

Below you’ll find everything you need: the base easy baked donuts recipe, step-by-step decorating instructions for Easter bunny and chick donuts,
storage tips, variations, and some real-life Foodieaholic experiences to help you avoid common donut disasters.

Why Baked Donuts Are a Foodieaholic’s Best Friend

Traditional donuts are deep-fried, which means you need a pot of hot oil, a thermometer, and nerves of steel. Baked donuts use a thick cake-style batter
baked in a donut pan at about 350°F, giving you a soft, tender crumb with far less mess and oil. Many home bakers swear by baked donuts for holidays like
Easter because:

They’re easier and safer: No hot oil splatter all over your kitchen.
They’re lighter: No extra oil soaking in, so they feel less heavy than fried donuts.
They’re kid-friendly: Children can help mix, pipe, and decorate without you hovering over a fryer.
They’re fast: Most baked donut recipes bake in 8–14 minutes and cool quickly, so you can get to the fun partfrostingfaster.

In short, baked donuts give you the joy of a festive Easter treat with the convenience of a homemade cupcake. Only rounder. And cuter.

Easy Baked Donuts Recipe (Cake Mix Shortcut)

This Foodieaholic version uses a cake mix shortcut similar to many popular “4-ingredient baked donut” recipes. It’s reliable, easy to customize,
and perfect when you’re more interested in decorating than measuring flour molecules.

Yield

Makes about 12 standard-size baked donuts.

Ingredients for the Donuts

1 box (about 15.25 ounces) vanilla or yellow cake mix
3/4 cup milk (whole or 2% works best)
1/4 cup neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, for extra flavor)
Nonstick spray or melted butter for greasing the donut pan

Ingredients for Bunny & Chick Frosting and Decorations

For the Frosting (Base Buttercream)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3–4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2–3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Gel food coloring: pink, yellow, orange, black (or use cocoa powder for brown details)

For the Decorations

Mini chocolate chips or candy eyes (for faces)
Heart-shaped sprinkles for bunny noses (optional but adorable)
Marshmallows or white chocolate candy melts (for bunny ears)
Slivered almonds or candy-coated almonds (optional for ear base or chick beaks)
Pastel sprinkles for extra Easter vibes
Piping bags or zip-top bags with small tips (round tips #2–#4 work great)

How to Make the Easy Baked Donuts

Step 1: Prepare the Pan and Oven

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a nonstick donut pan with nonstick spray or a thin layer of melted butter.
Make sure each cavity is coated, especially around the center post, so the donuts release easily.

Step 2: Mix the Donut Batter

In a large mixing bowl, add the cake mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
Whisk or beat until the batter is smooth, about 1–2 minutes. The mixture should be thick but pourable.
Avoid overmixingonce you don’t see dry pockets of mix, you’re done.

The batter will look similar to cupcake batter. That’s exactly what you want: a soft, tender crumb that bakes up quickly.

Step 3: Fill the Donut Pan

For neat, evenly shaped donuts, scrape the batter into a piping bag or a zip-top bag and snip off a corner. Pipe the batter into each donut cavity,
filling it about 2/3 to 3/4 full. If you don’t want to pipe, you can spoon the batter in and smooth it with the back of a spoon.

Step 4: Bake the Donuts

Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven.
Bake for 10–13 minutes, or until the donuts spring back lightly when touched and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Try not to overbake. Baked donuts can dry out quickly; it’s better to pull them when they’re just done and let them finish cooking slightly out of the oven.

Step 5: Cool Completely

Once baked, allow the donuts to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then gently loosen the edges with a thin spatula if needed and transfer them to a wire rack.
Let them cool completely before frosting. Warm donuts will melt your frosting and turn your Easter bunny into a slightly terrifying horror movie extra.

Make the Buttercream Frosting

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy and pale.
Add 2 cups of powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Beat to combine.
Add 1–2 tablespoons of milk or cream and keep beating, adding more powdered sugar until the frosting is thick, smooth, and spreadable.
Divide the frosting into separate bowls for different colors:
- White or very pale pink for bunnies.
- Yellow for chicks.
- A small amount of orange and darker orange for chick beaks and feathers.
- Optional: a bit of pink for bunny ears and cheeks.

Use gel food coloring so the frosting stays thick and vivid. Add color a little at a timepastel Easter shades are flattering on donuts and humans.

How to Decorate Easter Bunny Donuts

Here’s where your easy baked donuts become Foodieaholic-level bunnies. Plan on working with completely cooled donuts and slightly chilled frosting
(it’s easier to pipe detail work).

Step-by-Step Bunny Decorating

Frost the base: Spread or pipe a swirl of white or pale pink frosting on top of each donut. Smooth it with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
Make the ears:
- Option 1: Use mini marshmallows cut diagonally into ear shapes. Dip the sticky cut side into pink sanding sugar or add a small stripe of pink frosting.
- Option 2: Use flat white candy melts and pipe a pink center onto each with frosting.
Attach the ears: Dip the bottom of each ear into a dab of frosting and press into the top of the donut. Hold for a few seconds until they stand up.
Add the face:
- Use mini chocolate chips or candy eyes for the eyes.
- Add a heart-shaped sprinkle or a dot of pink frosting for the nose.
- Pipe on tiny whiskers and a mouth with a thin piping tip and brown or black frosting.
Optional bunny tail: Add a small swirl of frosting or a mini marshmallow at the “back” of the donut as a tail.

If your bunny faces look a little wonky, embrace it. The cutest donuts are often the slightly crooked ones that look like they’ve had too much sugar themselves.

How to Decorate Easter Chick Donuts

The Easter chick donuts are bright, cheerful, and slightly less fussy than the bunnies. Perfect if you’re decorating with kids or decorating quickly
before guests arrive.

Step-by-Step Chick Decorating

Frost the base: Spread or pipe a generous layer of yellow frosting over each donut.
Add eyes: Press mini chocolate chips or candy eyes into the frosting near the center hole for a cute little face.
Pipe the beak: Use orange frosting in a small round piping tip. Pipe a small triangle or diamond shape for the beak.
Add feathers: Using a slightly darker orange or yellow, pipe tiny “feather” strokes along the top or sidesshort, quick motions work best.
Optional feet: If you’re feeling extra, pipe little “V” shapes at the bottom of the donut for feet, or add tiny orange sprinkles.

Don’t worry too much about perfection. A slightly lopsided beak or oversized eyes just makes your Easter chick donuts look more animated and memorable.

Helpful Tips for the Best Easy Baked Donuts

1. Avoid Overbaking

Baked donuts go from moist to dry faster than you can say “Where did all my frosting go?” Start checking at the 9–10 minute mark. If the tops spring back
lightly and a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs, take them out. They’ll continue to set as they cool.

2. Don’t Overfill the Pan

Overfilling the donut cavities can cause the holes to bake shut, turning your donuts into slightly confused round cakes. Aim for 2/3–3/4 full and
smooth the batter if needed so it bakes evenly.

3. Use Piping Bags (or DIY Ones)

If you don’t own piping bags, no problem. Use a sturdy zip-top bag, fill it with batter, then snip off a small corner. This gives you way more control
than trying to spoon batter into a narrow donut cavity.

4. Let the Donuts Cool Before Decorating

Frosting warm donuts will make the buttercream slide right off and pool around your donuts like a sugary puddle. Cute? Maybe. Practical? No.
Cool completely and, if it’s warm in your kitchen, briefly chill the donuts in the refrigerator before decorating.

5. Make-Ahead and Storage

Plain baked donuts: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
Frosted donuts: Best eaten the same day, but can be refrigerated in a single layer in an airtight container for 1–2 days.
Decorating shortcut: You can bake the donuts the day before, then decorate them the morning of your Easter brunch.

Fun Variations for Your Easter Baked Donuts

Flavor twist: Use a lemon cake mix for bright, springy citrus flavor, or a strawberry cake mix for pink bunny donuts.
Pastel glaze instead of buttercream: Whisk powdered sugar, a little milk, vanilla, and a few drops of food coloring for a thinner glaze, then dip the donuts and decorate while wet.
Mini donuts: Use a mini donut pan and reduce baking time to 7–9 minutes. Tiny bunnies and chicks are unreasonably cute.
Sprinkle explosion: Press pastel sprinkles or Easter-themed jimmies into the frosting before it sets for extra color and crunch.

Foodieaholic Experiences & Extra Tips for Easter Baked Donuts (500+ Words)

The first time I made these easy baked donuts for Easter, I had big ambitions and very little chill. I pictured Pinterest-perfect rows of bunny donuts, each one
identical, all smiling serenely. Reality: the bunnies looked like they had pulled an all-nighter, and one chick had a beak so large it could have starred in its
own cartoon. And yeteveryone loved them.

That’s the secret Foodieaholic lesson: when it comes to holiday baking, fun always beats perfection. Kids don’t care if the bunny’s ears lean left.
They care that they got to pipe the whiskers and sneak a few sprinkles while doing it.

Over several Easters, a few patterns and practical insights have emerged:

1. Set up a “decorating station.”
Instead of hovering over a single messy counter, I now treat donut decorating like a mini craft project. Each decoration type gets its own bowl: candy eyes,
mini chocolate chips, heart sprinkles, pastel jimmies, and colored frosting in piping bags. Lay out parchment paper or a silicone mat under everything.
This not only keeps your table semi-sane, but it also gives everyone clear choices“this bowl is for bunny noses, this one is for chick feathers.”

2. Assign roles by age and skill.
Little kids do best with “press” tasks: adding eyes, sticking on ears, sprinkling decorations. Older kids or more confident decorators can handle piping beaks,
whiskers, and outlines. Adults can tackle any frosting that requires a steady hand, like bunny mouths and fine details. When everyone has a job,
no one stands there feeling like they’re “in the way.”

3. Embrace the “test donut.”
I always designate at least one donut as the “practice donut.” This is where you test frosting consistency, check how bright the food coloring really is,
and try any new design ideas. No one expects it to be perfect, which instantly lowers the pressure. Ironically, the test donut is often the one people
fight over because it looks so quirky.

4. Keep the frosting on the thicker side.
A common mistake is making the buttercream or glaze too thin. It might look smooth and shiny at first, but it runs down the sides of the donut and takes
your carefully placed sprinkles with it. For bunny and chick details, you want frosting that holds its shape: if you pipe a beak or eye and it immediately melts,
add more powdered sugar to thicken things back up.

5. Use the freezer as your secret decorating tool.
If your kitchen is warm (hello, spring sunshine), pop the donut tray into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes before you start piping faces.
Cool donuts plus slightly chilled frosting give you crisp lines and less sliding. This is especially helpful when you’re layering detailsfirst the base color,
then facial features, then extra “fluff” or feathers.

6. Mix store-bought and homemade elements.
Some Easters are full “from scratch” kind of days, and other Easters are “I’m just proud we remembered the eggs” days. The beauty of this baked donuts recipe
is that it plays nicely with whatever energy level you’re at. You can:

Use the cake mix batter and a quick homemade frosting.
Buy plain bakery donuts and only do the decorating at home.
Prep the donuts ahead of time and let guests or kids decorate them as a fun activity.

7. Expect favorites to emerge.
Every year, a new “celebrity donut” appears. One year it was a bunny with one ear flopped down and a sprinkle monocle (no one knows why). Another year
it was a chick whose feet were wildly oversized but somehow charming. People started asking, “Where’s the weird chick donut this year?” and it became a tradition.
Lean into that. Easter baked donuts aren’t supposed to look like they were machine-perfect. They’re supposed to look like everyone in the house had a hand
in making them.

8. Think beyond breakfast.
These easy baked donuts work for brunch, dessert, or even as edible party favors. Box a couple of bunny and chick donuts in a clear treat box tied with ribbon,
and you have a gift that’s way more personal than another plastic egg filled with candy. They also make a fun alternative to cupcakes at a spring birthday party.

At the end of the day, “Foodieaholic” isn’t about perfectionit’s about enthusiasm. This easy baked donuts recipe with Easter bunny and chick frosting checks all
the boxes: it’s approachable, customizable, cute enough for social media, and delicious enough that you’ll “accidentally” test one (or two) before serving.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can keep reinventing the decorations: pastel flowers, speckled egg glazes, or even little carrot-topped bunny donuts.
But no matter how you evolve it, this simple baked donut base will keep earning its place on your Easter table, year after year.

Conclusion

Easy baked donuts are the ultimate Easter dessert hackfast, oven-baked, and infinitely customizable. With a simple cake mix base and a few bowls of pastel frosting,
you can create a whole lineup of Easter bunny and chick donuts that look like they came from a boutique bakery. The best part? You get the joy of making them at home,
with as much laughter, creativity, and powdered sugar as you can handle. That’s the real Foodieaholic way.