This Cinnamon Donut Bread is super sweet and has the same consistency as a donut coated with cinnamon sugar. Some may disagree but if you try this recipe, you will love it nonetheless.
This donut bread is very similar to my Donut Muffins and my Cinnamon Swirl Bread recipes. You would need to try both to see the similarities.
For another delicious cinnamon-flavored bread, make sure you try my Cinnamon Bread recipe. Equally delicious!
I love these types of recipes because it’s almost impossible to screw up. Well, I guess you can but if you follow my directions closely, you will end up with a great tasting loaf that everyone will love.
Buttermilk Substitution
If you don’t have Buttermilk on hand, you can use this trick as a substitute: Add one tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring cup. Add milk and fill to the 1 cup measurement line. Stir the mixture together and let sit for 5 minutes. Since this recipe calls for 1/2 cup you will need to adjust accordingly.
Another option is to use a cultured buttermilk blend. All you need to do is add water. I was very skeptical at first but in a pinch it works great!
Reader Feedback
“Fabulous…did not disappoint one tastebud! Moist and delicious! Will definitely make again as a loaf and muffins.”
– Cori
Tips
- For even more flavor, try doubling the amount of cinnamon and molasses in the batter for the center and top of the loaf.
Gather your Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make this Cinnamon Donut Bread recipe. For ingredient amounts please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Canola Oil – you can also use vegetable oil
- Unsalted Butter – you can use regular salted butter if you prefer
- White Sugar – you can also use any sugar alternative
- Eggs – fresh large eggs as much as possible
- Vanilla Extract – Homemade or store-bought
- All Purpose Flour – I mostly use King Arthur but use what you got (no affiliation)
- Baking Powder – helps this bread loaf rise and gives it texture
- Salt – a must for most recipes
- Buttermilk – if needed you can make your own using milk and lemon juice
- Ground Cinnamon – adds a warm, sweet, and slightly woody flavor
- Molasses – A substitute for molasses would be dark corn syrup, brown sugar or honey
- Light Brown Sugar – you can also use dark brown sugar
How to Make Cinnamon Donut Bread
Make the Cinnamon Donut Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Grease a loaf pan with your favorite cooking spray and set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix oil, butter, and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Gently add in dry ingredients and buttermilk until a nice smooth batter has formed.
- Add 1/2 cup of the batter and place it into a separate smaller bowl. To that small amount of batter, stir in cinnamon and molasses.
- Pour half of the batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Spoon half of the cinnamon batter in small dollops over the batter. Pour the remaining plain batter over the top. Put the remaining cinnamon batter on top of the regular batter.
- Using a butter knife, swirl two batters together. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Make the Topping
- Pour melted butter into a large shallow dish. Stir sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a separate large shallow dish.
- Let the loaf cool 10 minutes before removing the loaf from the pan. The loaf should be warm to the touch. Dip each side of the loaf into melted butter. Spoon the remaining melted butter over the edges to ensure the loaf is totally coated in butter.
- Place the loaf in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, one side at a time until fully coated. Slice into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.
Printable Recipe Card
Cinnamon Donut Bread
↑ Click stars to rate
Ingredients
- ¼ Cup Canola Oil
- ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Powder
- ½ Tsp Salt
- ½ Cup Buttermilk
- ½ Tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ Tsp Molasses
TOPPING
- ½ Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted
- ¼ Cup White Sugar
- ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- ½ Tsp Ground Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease a loaf pan with your favorite cooking spray and set aside.
- In large mixing bowl, mix oil, butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Gently add in dry ingredients and buttermilk until a nice smooth batter has formed.
- Add 1/2 cup of the batter and place into a separate smaller bowl. To that small amount of batter, stir in cinnamon and molasses.
- Pour half of the batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Spoon half of the cinnamon batter in small dollops over the batter. Pour remaining plain batter over the top. Put the remaining cinnamon batter on top of the regular batter.
- Using a butter knife, swirl two batters together. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Pour melted butter into a large shallow dish. Stir sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a separate large shallow dish.
- Let the loaf cool 10 minutes before removing loaf from pan. The loaf should be warm to the touch. Dip each side of loaf into melted butter. Spoon remaining melted butter over the edges to ensure the loaf is totally coated in butter.
- Place the loaf in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, one side at a time until fully coated. Slice into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Can I double this recipe?
I see absolutely no reason why you could not. Depending on the types of pan(s) you use your baking time may vary. Just make sure you use a toothpick to ensure it is fully cooked.
This recipe sounds absolutely delicious!! Could I use cup-for-cup Gluten Free AP flour instead of regular flour? If so, any other adjustments that I should make? thanks
You should be fine. It’s my understanding that you substitute 1:1 without any other adjustments.
Hi there!
Would love to make this but my son has an egg allergy. Any suggestions on what may be substituted?
I have used the following as a substitute for 1 egg with great results: Whisk together two tablespoons of water, one teaspoon of oil (like vegetable oil) and two teaspoons of baking powder. Let us know how it turns out if you try this method!
Love this one! Regarding the egg allergy question – my daughter is a vegan and I’ve had great success using this vegan “egg” substitute: add 1 tablespoon whole flax seeds to 3 tablespoons of water (I just use room temp) – let sit for 10 minutes till it gets kind of gelatinous. This makes 1 egg substitute.
Awesome. Thanks for sharing with us!
Oh oh I am in the middle of baking this and need an answer right away! So it tells you below how to substitute butter milk which I use in a banana bread recipe. The only question I have is this recipe calls for 1/2 C buttermilk and the substitute made with milk and lemon juice is 1 cup.. is it a cup of substitute? Thanks!!
Use 1/2 Cup of liquid. The note was a generic formula. Thanks for pointing that out. Happy Holidays!
I haven’t made this yet, but it looks great! How would it do in a bundt pan? Rolling it in cinnamon sugar at the end may be challenging, but otherwise would there be alterations to cooking time or anything?
You should be fine. Once it cools a bit and you remove from the bundt pan you could brush the butter on with a pastry brush and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar by hand or with a spoon. Cookin time may vary so I would start checking it with a toothpick once it starts to brown.
Like minds!! I was going to suggest same. 😊 Often if you think about it for a bit an idea on how to comes to you but asking here is really great! You’re the first person who’s ever answered any questions, not that I’ve had many but you’re a legend! Thanks so much!! From all of us here asking you small questions that are huge for us lol Thanks Rod!
Thanks for the kind words. While we are not the most popular recipe site (yet!), we do make every recipe posted on this site and will only post those that meet our standards. We never post just for the sake of posting.
Does the butter and oil have to be creamed or just mixed until incorporated?
I’ve done it both ways with the same outcome. Whatever method you use just make sure all the ingredients are well incorporated as you pointed out in your comment. Thanks for visiting!
I’d like to make muffins instead. I have trouble adjusting timing..might you have a recommendation? I’d like to freeze these.. Thank you.
I haven’t made muffins yet but I would suggest doing a toothpick test at the 20-minute mark and go from there. As soon as the toothpick comes out clean you are good to go!
Sorry I have not tried your recipe yet . I dont know what temperature to bake it and how many minutes. Thank you very excited.
Hi – On the recipe card near the bottom of the page you will see this cinnamon donut bread bakes for 45 to 50 minutes at 350°F. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
ugh, like dealing with toddlers!
Can you substitute vegetable oil for the canola oil?
You absolutely can! Thanks for asking. Enjoy!
I Love donuts, so I made it. On my very first bite, the cake did taste like a cinnamon donut, very moist, full of flavor, just like a cinnamon donut from the bakery, only a little lighter, which is perfect. Will be sharing a little of the bread and will be made again, soon.
Glad you liked the Cinnamon Donut Bread recipe. Thanks for letting us know!
I want to make this….sounds yummy….but I need clearance on the recipe….you said to sub for buttermilk use lemon juice and fill measure with milk to measure 1 cup but the recipe only calls for 1/2 cup….maybe that’s why one cooks bread didn’t cook in the middle if she used 1 cup..can you please explain.Thankyou
Olive
This recipe calls for buttermilk. If you don’t have any on hand you can substitute for a milk and lemon juice combination. The substitution I list is a generic tip to show the ratio of milk to lemon juice. Since this recipe calls for 1/2 cup of buttermilk you would obviously adjust accordingly. Add 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice to a 1/2 cup measuring cup then fill it with milk.
Thank you so much for asking this question because I would have likely done it wrong and have soupy bread!
can i skip out of the molasses i do not have any in my pantry or can i put something else in instead
Thanks for asking! Dark Corn Syrup, Honey or Maple Syrup are an ok substitute for the Molasses.
Hi
Just wondering if I could substitute golden syrup for molasses. I know it changes the flavor slightly but I never use molasses. Must be an Aussie thing?! I also will use olive oil as canola is just poison! It’s a good cheap crop to grow harvest etc but not good for any of us. Do you think the olive oil or any other veggie oil would matter?? Thanks so much. I love yr recipes btw and can’t wait to make THIS! I love cinnamon donuts. Thx Tracey :0)
I think both of those substitutions would be fine. It should not change the consistency but maybe the flavor. I don’t think it would change that much though. Would love to hear back from you if you decide to try it. Thanks for your comment!
You can use Treacle!
Chef Rodney –
I noticed that you named your recipe “Cinnamon Donut Bread”. Where does the Donut come in? I owned a donut shop for years and the above ingredients listed have very little to do with donuts, but more like, just cinnamon bread. The name of your recipe is very misleading, has nothing to do with donuts. Can you explain why you used the word donut in the recipe title? Maybe I am missing something? Thanks
This recipe was shared with me many years ago (author unknown) with that recipe name.
I have followed this recipe to the tea. I’m not a new baker, for me this should be easy. Baked mine for almost an hour since 50 mins was still soupy in the middle. Didn’t turn out the same like your photo so I wonder if there was some secret you didn’t share😩😩😩
No secret. Several factors may cause longer baking times like accuracy of the temperature or even the rack location. That’s why I always check the center for doneness. Thanks for the feedback!
When I made the cake it was a little dry. Not sure what I can do to make it more moist.
I made this and it was sssoooo goood !
Yummy , turned out perfectly .
Mine was done in 42 min .
I believe the name would be from the tiny cinnamon sugar donuts that are so popular. They are sold everywhere.
seriously!!!! lol
This is her choice to call it what ever she wants. DELICIous. Get a Life.
Thank you but “her” is a “he”… 😉
Can I use Karo (dark) in place of molasses? I never have molasses in my pantry. Thank you for an answer.
While I have never used Dark Karo in this recipe, it is a perfectly acceptable substitute for molasses. It will alter the taste a bit from the original recipe but should be equally delicious!
I don’t know what I did wrong. The top was a dark golden, but the very center was soupy, we got a slice off each end and was good. Any longer in the oven and I think the top would have been burnt. What size pan is needed. Maybe that was my issue.
I use a standard loaf pan which is typically 9 x 5. I also keep my baking rack on the 2nd from the bottom.
You might buy an oven thermometer. Ovens temps can be off regularly.
You can also put tin foil over the top of your bread pan, like teepee. This will help the top from burning. Just a thought.
Look delicious got
to try it
This bread is so soft and fluffy. It’s perfect with morning coffee!!
Absolutely gorgeous.
Thanks! It’s one of my favorites!
Sooooo good. I made it for my dad and he loved it. Thank you so much for the recipe. So easy and absolutely delicious.
Perfect bread for my pudding! Thanks alot! Btw, how long can I store this bread?
Really moist