Cake vs. Regular Donut — Now Hiring - St. George's Donuts (2024)

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What is the difference between a cake donut and a regular donut? ›

While yeast is the leavening agent in yeast doughnuts, cake doughnuts rely on baking powder. Cake doughnuts are typically made with a mixture of butter, sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder.

The traditional cake doughnuts at Dunkin and Krispy Kreme both have about 290 calories. The Starbucks old-fashioned doughnut is more indulgent at 480 calories.

Most Krispy Kreme doughnut varieties are made of the same yeast-raised dough as the original glazed, but they're prepared differently. Some are dipped in chocolate, caramel or other toppings and some are loaded with filling. Some speciality doughnuts are ring-shaped original glazed coated with different toppings.

But while we often associate yeasted donuts with the deep fryer and cake donuts with the oven, cake donuts can actually be either baked or fried. And whether you fry your donuts in hot oil or bake them in the oven will have an impact on the mouthfeel and flavor of the donut.

Yeast donuts are made from dough that is leavened with yeast, while cake donuts are made from a cake batter that uses baking powder or baking soda. This difference creates a world of difference in terms of texture and flavor.

Yeast doughnuts, as the name clearly spells out, are made from dough leavened with yeast (think brioche), whereas cake doughnuts are traditionally made from a kind of cake batter that uses a chemical leavener (i.e. baking powder or baking soda).

✓ Sugared Donut

The classic sugared donut is also the most nutritious donut on the menu. It has 240 calories, 11g fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 33g carbohydrates, 4g protein, 13g sugars, and 270mg sodium. If you love donuts, you've got plenty of varieties to choose from.

This is why cake doughnuts tend to be very dense and much more moist than actual cake. Yeast doughnuts are more or less made of the same ingredients, plus yeast, but the ratio of ingredients is different. There's more liquid, less fat, less flour, and way less sugar.

"The bottom line is that though the sugar content might be similar, eating donuts is not technically healthier than drinking a bottle of soda," Dr. Laing said. "A key message from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is that everything we eat and drink over time matters.

Airier yeast donuts usually have fewer calories than cake donuts, which have a denser texture.

Are Dunkin Donuts cake or yeast donuts? ›

Raised donuts are the hallmark of donut shops

Raised donuts, also called yeast donuts or just "regular" donuts, are light and fluffy with the characteristic honeycomb structure of yeasted dough. They're staples at Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme, though both chains sell cake donuts, too.

The secret to Krispy Kreme doughnuts is of course the sweet glaze, and this is achieved by bathing the doughnuts in a glaze of icing sugar, vanilla extract and milk, for a thicker glaze increase the quantity of icing sugar by a few spoons.

Jelly Doughnut

These classic doughnuts are typically round without a hole in the middle, and generally leavened with yeast. The center is stuffed with jelly, jam, or preserves (and sometimes chocolate!), giving you a burst of flavor with each bite.

Cake doughnuts, lacking that honeycomb structure of big yeast bubbles, are often (but not always) smaller, with a puckered little hole. A subset, the old-fashioned doughnut, always has a cracked, craggy surface, and in the most classic versions the sides splay out like the petals of a flower.

Some Dunkin' locations bake their donuts in house, but not all. There are three ways Dunkin' locations can acquire donuts, according to TikTok user and franchise owner Amir Mohamed.

For example, the Old Fashioned Cake Donut has a mild vanilla flavor with a slight nutmeg finish. These donuts take about 12-15 minutes to create from start to finish. A French Cruller* has a soft, airy texture with a pleasant light “egg-like” flavor. The center of the French Cruller is wet with a crunchy exterior.

Raised donuts, also called yeast donuts or just "regular" donuts, are light and fluffy with the characteristic honeycomb structure of yeasted dough. They're staples at Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme, though both chains sell cake donuts, too.

Artificially Flavored. Celebrate your birthday every day with our scrumptious Cake Batter Doughnut. Indulge in this festive doughnut filled with creamy cake batter KREME filling, topped with yellow icing and confetti sprinkles. "It's tough to say which doughnut is my favorite."

Regular donuts are bread, fried and glazed with sugar syrup. Sometimes they're injected with jam or other fillings. Cake donuts and crullers are cake, fried and sometimes glazed.