How to Make Birthday Cake Doughnuts

These crispy, cakey doughnuts were meant to be frosted. Make the doughnuts a day in advance of your celebration and store in an airtight container. The frostings can be made ahead as well: Just refrigerate it, let it come to room temperature and then whip it with an electric mixer until smooth. Frost, decorate and serve — no cake cutting required!

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A Birthday Twist

Multicolored confetti sprinkles lend these festive, cakey doughnuts an essential burst of color. Gather your ingredients and start preparing this dessert mash-up that just might replace traditional cake at future birthday celebrations.

Prepare the Dough

To start, fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch-round pastry tip. Prepare the dough using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a hand-held electric mixer), then transfer to the prepared pastry bag.

Draw Circle Patterns

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; then, using a pencil and a circular cookie cutter, lightly trace circle patterns onto the parchment paper. The circles will work as a target for creating neater-looking doughnuts.

Pipe and Refrigerate

Once you've finished piping the dough over the circle patterns, refrigerate while the oil heats up. Fill a medium Dutch oven or pot with about 2 inches of oil and bring to 340 degrees F over medium heat.

Prepare Doughnuts for Frying

Once the oil is hot and ready for frying, remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut the parchment paper around each doughnut, leaving a border.

Fry the Dough

You'll want to use the paper border to carefully place two doughnuts at a time into the oil face first, then carefully remove the paper with tongs. Fry the doughnuts until golden, turning, 1 1/2 minutes per side. Cool completely. Store at room temperature in an airtight container up to a day in advance.

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