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Cinnamon Sugar Sweet Donut Bread

by Jessie Daye

First published: December 18, 2025 | Updated: October 4, 2026

This is my grandma’s sweet donut bread. It’s warm, comforting, and perfect for a party, morning brunch, or holiday gathering. It’s fairly simple to make and you can bake it in any loaf pan. The one I used is linked below!

You can purchase my gold loaf pan here: https://amzn.to/3KZ88kW

Cinnamon Sugar Sweet Donut Bread

Author: Jessie Daye
5 from 1 vote
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Prep 30 minutes
Cook 1 hour
Servings 1 Loaf
Course Desserts
Cuisine American

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup buttermilk or Eggnog
  • 1 tablespoon C&H® Light Brown Sugar
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture for Middle & Top
  • ½ cup unsalted butter melted
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar Topping (After it has baked)
  • 1 tablespoon butter melted (for brushing)
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour the loaf pan.
  2. Cream the softened butter, granulated sugar, and C&H® Light Brown Sugar until pale and fluffy.
  3. Add eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
  4. Pour in buttermilk or Eggnog and stir to combine.
  5. Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl (flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon).
  6. Combine wet + dry gently until just mixed.
  7. Make cinnamon sugar mixture for middle layer and topping: Mix melted butter, C&H® Light Brown Sugar, C&H® Granulated Sugar, and cinnamon.
  8. Layer: Add half the batter to your loaf pan, sprinkle 1/2 the cinnamon sugar topping, add the rest of the batter, and top with remaining topping.
  9. Bake 50–60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
  10. Cool + slice once fully cooled for clean cuts.

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16 comments

  • Jennifer

    What are you doing with the pastry brush in the above photo? The directions don’t include any steps for the loaf after it’s baked and there’s no ingredients beyond the batter & filling which all gets used in the loaf itself prior to baking. Thanks!

    • In her video on Insta, she brushed the warm cake with melted butter, then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

  • Daniela Fernández

    Hi ! Do you grease de loaf pan with just butter or do you ad something else?

  • Jayme Marie Triumfante

    Thank you for sharing your recipe. I will make this later. It looks really delicious. This kind of cake is new to me.

  • I made this today. It was good but very sweet. I noticed for the middle layer it says to add some of the mixture. I added it all, otherwise why would I make it? I did have problems with it sticking but that can happen with any loaf bread.

  • Hi there! Can you use a regular loaf pan or does it need to be fluted? Thank you!

  • What are the measurements for the topping? The ingredient list doesn’t differentiate between the loaf and topping.

    • A
      Jessie Daye

      Hi! I’m so sorry we just launched our new website 3 days ago so we can have printable recipe cards etc. and a lot of the recipes are missing ingredients (EEK) so I am going through them manually to correct them all! I just corrected it above. Thank you!!

  • Amanda

    What are the measurements for the topping?

    • A
      Jessie Daye

      Hi! I’m so sorry again! I just corrected everything above.

  • Amanda

    And what do you do with the topping that isn’t mixed in?

    • A
      Jessie Daye

      Hi! I’m so sorry we just launched our new website 3 days ago so we can have printable recipe cards etc. and a lot of the recipes are missing ingredients (EEK) so I am going through them manually to correct them all! I just corrected it above. Thank you!!

  • Melissa Jordan

    5 stars
    Made this today! It was great. What are the measurements for the topping? I really didn’t measure

    • A
      Jessie Daye

      Hi! I’m so sorry we just launched our new website 3 days ago so we can have printable recipe cards etc. and a lot of the recipes are missing ingredients (EEK) so I am going through them manually to correct them all! I just corrected it above. Thank you!!

5 from 1 vote

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Hi, I'm Jessie. 

Mama to three girls and a lifelong creative who loves making everyday moments feel a little more special. Here, I share whimsical recipes, holiday inspiration, and creative projects designed to bring a little more joy to your day. I hope to inspire you to get creative, celebrate the little things, and make something beautiful. Welcome!

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