Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe

This Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Sauce recipe is a flaky and easy recipe, which is made with store-bought puff pastry and a rich homemade salted caramel sauce. It’s the perfect fall treat, an impressive yet simple dessert ready in about 45 minutes.

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Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Sauce Ingredients

A simple list for an impressive and delicious shortcut dessert.

For the Doughnuts:

1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. apple pie spice
2 Tbsp. salted butter, melted

For the Salted Caramel Sauce:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream, warm or at room temperature
1 Tbsp. salted butter
1 tsp. kosher salt

Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe

How To Make Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Sauce

A step-by-step guide to these wonderfully flaky and impressive treats.

Prep Oven and Cut Doughnuts: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on your work surface. Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out as many rounds as you can. Use a 1-inch round cutter to punch out the center of each to create a doughnut shape.
Bake the Doughnuts: Place the doughnuts (and the doughnut holes!) on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, until they are puffed up, deeply golden brown, and crisp.
Coat in Spiced Sugar: While the doughnuts are in their last few minutes of baking, combine the sugar and apple pie spice in a shallow dish. Once the doughnuts are baked, let them cool for just 5 minutes. Working with one warm doughnut at a time, lightly brush it all over with melted butter, then roll it in the spiced sugar to fully coat.
Make the Salted Caramel Sauce: While the doughnuts cool, combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, swirling the pan but not stirring, until the sugar turns a rich amber color, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Finish the Sauce and Serve: Remove the pan from the heat and carefully whisk in the heavy cream (it will bubble up), then the butter and salt, until smooth. Let the sauce cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve the doughnuts with the warm salted caramel sauce for dipping.

Recipe Tips

For the flakiest doughnuts and the perfect caramel sauce.

How to get the puffiest doughnuts? The key is to work with cold puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and to use a very hot oven. The initial blast of high heat is what creates the steam that makes all the buttery layers puff up dramatically.
How to make caramel without it crystallizing? The most important rule is to not stir the boiling sugar! You can gently swirl the pan if you see one area browning faster than another, but a spoon can cause sugar crystals to form, making your sauce grainy.
Can I make these in an air fryer? Yes! An air fryer is fantastic for this. Place the cut doughnuts in the air fryer basket in a single layer and cook at 375°F for about 6-8 minutes, until puffed and golden.
Can I make these ahead of time? The caramel sauce can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the fridge. The doughnuts, however, are at their absolute best—flakiest and crispiest—when served on the day they are baked.

What To Serve With Salted Caramel Doughnuts

The perfect accompaniments for this sweet, festive treat.

These warm, spiced doughnuts are a perfect fall treat, especially for a special breakfast or dessert. They are wonderful served with:

A hot cup of black coffee or an apple cider
A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream for a truly decadent dessert
A simple platter of fresh apple slices

How To Store Doughnuts and Caramel Sauce

Keeping your treats and sauce fresh.

Doughnuts: Store leftover doughnuts in a loosely covered container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Reheat in a 350°F oven for a few minutes to re-crisp them.
Caramel Sauce: Store the cooled caramel sauce in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Reheat gently in the microwave to make it pourable again.

Salted Caramel Doughnuts Nutrition Facts

An estimated guide per doughnut with sauce.

Calories: 350 kcal
Carbohydrates: 45 g
Protein: 3 g
Fat: 19 g

Nutrition information is estimated and may vary based on ingredients and cooking methods used.

FAQs

Are these fried doughnuts?

No, these are “cronut” style baked doughnuts that get their flaky layers from the puff pastry. They are much easier and less messy to make than traditional fried doughnuts.

What is apple pie spice?

It’s a pre-made blend of warm baking spices, typically containing cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. If you don’t have it, you can make your own by mixing 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon with ½ teaspoon of nutmeg.

My caramel seized and became a hard lump! What went wrong?

This usually happens if your cream was too cold when you added it to the hot sugar. Don’t throw it out! Just keep the pan on a very low heat and continue to whisk gently. The hard caramel lump will eventually melt back into the cream and your sauce will be smooth again.

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