Peach Donut Recipe

These peach donuts are baked in a donut pan, finished with a white chocolate glaze, and topped with toasted coconut for a summery bite that comes together in under 40 minutes.

I made these on a Sunday morning with fresh peaches from the farmers market and they were gone within the hour. The toasted coconut on top adds such a nice crunch against the soft doughnut. Definitely going to make these again before peach season ends.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Renata

Peach season doesn’t last long, and this peach donut recipe is one I reach for when I want to make the most of good, ripe fruit without spending a lot of time in the kitchen. The batter comes together quickly and the whole batch is glazed and ready before I’ve even finished my first cup of coffee.

If you love baked donuts as much as I do, these pair perfectly with a lazy summer morning or a weekend brunch spread. My baked donuts or this baked chocolate donut recipe use the same baked donut method and are a wonderful companion recipe to keep in your back pocket.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Cake Flour: Cake flour gives these donuts their signature tender, soft crumb. It has less protein than all-purpose flour, which keeps the texture light rather than chewy. If you only have all-purpose flour, it will work, but the donuts will be slightly denser.
• Unsalted Butter
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk reacts with the baking powder to give the donuts a gentle lift and keeps the crumb moist. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make a quick substitute by stirring a teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into regular milk and letting it sit for a minute. But if you buy some then you can make these buttermilk pancakes!
• Egg
• Granulated Sugar: Sugar sweetens the batter and also helps the donuts brown lightly on the outside as they bake.
• Baking Powder: This is the leavener that makes the donuts puff and spring back when you press the tops. Make sure yours is fresh. Old baking powder loses its lift, and the donuts will come out flat and dense instead of airy.
• Nutmeg
• Salt
• Peaches: Fresh peaches folded into the batter are the heart of this recipe, adding fruity flavor and little pockets of juicy sweetness in every bite. Peel and dice them before adding so the pieces bake into the donut evenly rather than sitting heavy on top. If you love baking with peaches try this peach cobbler recipe next!
• White Chocolate Chips: White chocolate chips melt into the glaze and give it a creamy sweetness that complements the peach flavor without overpowering it.
• Light Corn Syrup: A small amount of corn syrup keeps the glaze smooth and glossy and prevents it from setting up too thick or cracking once it dries.
• Unsweetened Coconut Flakes: Toasted coconut pressed onto the finished donuts adds crunch and a lightly nutty flavor. Sweetened coconut flakes can be used if that’s what you have on hand, which is fine, though the topping will be a touch sweeter overall.

Variations for This Peach Donut Recipe

• Salted Caramel Glaze. Swap the white chocolate glaze for a drizzle of salted caramel sauce instead of dipping. The salty-sweet contrast plays really well against the peach and toasted coconut.
• Spice it up! Add some ginger to the donut batter for a perfectly spiced peach donut. You could also add cinnamon along with the ginger and nutmeg.
• Mini Donut Holes. Spoon the batter into a greased mini muffin tin instead of a donut pan for bite-sized rounds. Reduce the bake time by a couple of minutes and watch for the tops to spring back as your cue.
• Cinnamon Sugar Topping. Skip the glaze entirely and toss the warm donuts in a mix of cinnamon and granulated sugar right out of the pan just like with these apple cider donuts.

Professional Tips for Perfect Peach Donut

• Don’t overfill the donut pan wells. Two-thirds full is the right amount here. If you go higher, the batter will bake over the center post and you’ll lose the donut shape entirely.
• Let the glaze cool before dipping. The donuts need to be completely cool before they go into the glaze, and the glaze itself should be warm but not hot. If the donuts are still warm, the glaze will slide right off instead of setting into a smooth coat.
• Toast the coconut before you do anything else. The coconut needs 8 to 12 minutes in the oven and then time to cool, so starting it first means it’s ready to go the moment the glazed donuts come off the rack. Rushing this step and adding warm coconut to fresh glaze makes it steam and get soft instead of staying crisp.

How to Make This Peach Donut Recipe

Use these step-by-step instructions to make soft, fruity baked donuts topped with a white chocolate glaze and toasted coconut. Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Toast the coconut. Preheat your oven to 350°F and spread the coconut flakes in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the flakes are golden and fragrant.

The coconut can go from pale to burnt quickly near the end, so keep an eye on it and pull it out as soon as you see even color across most of the flakes. Set the pan aside to cool while you prepare everything else.

Make Batter

Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, and lightly beaten egg until the mixture looks smooth and uniform. The buttermilk and butter may look slightly separated at first, which is completely normal. Keep whisking and it will come together into a cohesive, pale mixture in about 30 seconds.

Step 3: Whisk the dry ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sifted cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Whisking rather than just stirring distributes the baking powder and nutmeg evenly throughout the flour, which means every donut bakes up with the same lift and spice.

Step 4: Combine and fold in the peaches. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Overmixing activates the gluten in the flour and toughens the crumb, so stop stirring as soon as you no longer see dry streaks. Fold in the diced peaches gently so the pieces stay intact rather than breaking down into the batter.

Make sure your peaches are peeled and diced before they go in. Uniform small pieces distribute evenly through the batter and bake into the donut rather than sinking or sitting heavy on the surface.

Fill the Donut Pan

Step 5: Spoon the batter into 6 lightly greased donut pan wells, filling each about two-thirds full. The batter is thick enough that a spoon works well here, though a piping bag or zip-top bag with the corner snipped makes it easier to keep things tidy. Don’t overfill the wells or the centers will bake shut and you’ll lose the donut shape.

Greasing the pan well, including the center post of each well, makes it much easier to turn the donuts out cleanly after baking.

Bake the Donuts

Step 6: Bake at 400°F for 8 to 12 minutes, until the tops spring back when you press them lightly with a fingertip. The edges will look set and just barely golden while the tops stay pale, which is exactly right for baked donuts. Let them cool in the pan for a minute or two before turning them out onto a wire cooling rack set over wax paper. They need to cool completely before glazing, so give them at least 20 to 30 minutes.

Make the Glaze

Step 7: Combine the white chocolate chips, light corn syrup, butter, and water in a shallow bowl. Microwave in 10-second bursts, stirring between each, until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.

The shallow bowl is important here since you’ll be dipping the donuts directly into it. If the glaze thickens as it sits, a quick 5-second burst in the microwave will loosen it right back up.

Glaze and Top

Step 8: Dip each cooled donut face-down into the glaze, or spoon it over the top if you prefer more control, then return it to the cooling rack to set. Immediately scatter the toasted coconut over the wet glaze before it dries so the flakes adhere. Work one donut at a time so the glaze doesn’t set before you add the coconut.

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

I hope this peach donut recipe earns a regular spot in your summer baking rotation. Browse our Dessert Recipes or try this peach galette next!