Red Bean Baked Doughnuts (Oven-Baked Doughnuts with Bean Paste)
These baked doughnuts encase a core of sweetened red bean paste inside a soft, cake-like crumb, delivering the satisfaction of a filled doughnut without any frying. The batter is spooned halfway into a greased doughnut mould, a teaspoon of chilled red bean paste is placed on top, and more batter seals it in before baking. The result is a ring with a fluffy exterior and a hidden pocket of dense, earthy-sweet filling that reveals itself on the first bite. Because the recipe relies on cake flour and baking powder rather than yeast, the entire process from mixing to cooling takes under forty minutes. Minimal stirring is essential - overworking the batter activates too much gluten and turns the finished doughnut tough instead of tender. Keeping the bean paste cold before assembly prevents it from melting into the surrounding batter and losing its distinct layer. The absence of oil gives these doughnuts a remarkably clean finish, making them well suited as a light afternoon snack.
Adjust Servings
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 180C and lightly grease a doughnut pan.
- 2
Sift and combine cake flour, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl.
- 3
Whisk egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla in another bowl, then fold into dry ingredients.
- 4
Fill each cavity halfway, add a spoon of red bean paste, then cover with more batter.
- 5
Bake for 12-15 minutes at 180C until springy and lightly golden.
- 6
Cool in pan for 5 minutes, unmold, and finish cooling on a rack.
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases.
Tips
Nutrition (per serving)
More Recipes
Injeolmi Scone (Soybean Powder & Rice Cake Scone)
This scone folds roasted soybean powder and small pieces of glutinous rice cake into a classic British scone dough, capturing the flavor of Korean injeolmi in a handheld baked form. The soybean powder lends the crumb a warm, toasted nuttiness that plain flour cannot achieve, while the tteok bits soften in the oven and create chewy pockets scattered throughout. Keeping the butter cold and cutting it into the dry ingredients in small pieces ensures the scone develops flaky layers that crack open at the surface and stay tender inside. A light glaze of honey or a side of sweetened condensed milk echoes the traditional way injeolmi is enjoyed, reinforcing the sweet-nutty pairing. Served alongside warm tea, these scones make an appealing afternoon treat. The key technique is minimal mixing: overworking the dough develops too much gluten and produces a tough, dense result instead of the desired crumbly softness.
Mugwort Red Bean Muffin (Korean Herbal Sweet Bean Muffin)
This muffin combines mugwort powder and cooked sweet red beans in a soft, fluffy batter that bridges Korean traditional flavors with Western baking technique. Mugwort contributes a distinctive herbal fragrance - faintly bitter, grassy, and deeply aromatic - that permeates the entire crumb and gives it a muted green hue. The red beans, folded in whole, add pockets of grainy sweetness that burst with each bite. Cake flour and baking powder keep the rise gentle and the texture light, while melted butter adds moisture without heaviness. The combination of mugwort and red bean is deeply familiar from Korean rice cakes, but baking it as a muffin introduces a crisp top and a pillowy interior that the steamed rice cake format cannot offer. Mixing the batter in no more than ten to twelve strokes prevents toughness - visible streaks of flour are acceptable and even preferred over a smooth, overworked batter. The beans should be folded in last with a gentle spatula motion to preserve their shape. These muffins pair naturally with grain-based lattes, where the roasted notes in the drink echo the earthy quality of the mugwort.
Red Bean Pastry (Korean Gyeongju Soft Bun with Anko)
Gyeongju-ppang is a baked Korean pastry made from a yeast-leavened dough enriched with milk and butter, wrapped around a generous filling of sweet red bean paste. The dough is rolled thin, sealed around the paste with the seam facing down, and baked at 180 degrees Celsius until the top puffs up with a smooth, light golden surface. Because the filling-to-dough ratio is high, the first flavor in each bite is the dense, sweet red bean, followed by the mild dairy aroma of the thin bread shell. Rooted in the baking traditions of Gyeongju and its famous hwangnam-ppang, this pastry stays moist even after cooling, making it suitable as a packaged gift or an everyday snack.
Walnut Cakes (Korean Bite-Sized Red Bean Walnut Pastries)
Hodu-gwaja are bite-sized Korean walnut cakes made from a batter of cake flour, baking powder, eggs, milk, and melted butter, cooked in a dedicated walnut-shaped iron mold. Each cavity is half-filled with batter, topped with sweet red bean paste and a toasted walnut half, then sealed with more batter and cooked over medium-low heat for six to eight minutes per side. Toasting the walnut halves at 160 degrees Celsius for five minutes beforehand deepens their fragrance noticeably in the finished cake. Resting the batter for ten minutes before pouring relaxes the gluten, reducing air pockets and yielding a smoother exterior crust.
Ssuk Bam Crumble Bars (Mugwort Chestnut Bars)
A cookie-like base made with mugwort powder supports a layer of roasted chestnut pieces, all blanketed by a crumbly butter streusel and baked until golden. The mugwort infuses the entire bar with a subtle, herbal earthiness - green and faintly bitter, reminiscent of fresh spring grass - while the chestnuts lose moisture in the oven and concentrate into pockets of dense, natural sweetness. The bottom layer bakes firm and crisp, providing structural integrity, while the crumble on top breaks apart irregularly, delivering varying bursts of buttery crunch with every bite. Sugar and butter in the dough temper the mugwort's bitterness so it reads as aromatic depth rather than sharpness. Pairing these bars with warm green tea creates a resonance between the herbal notes, each reinforcing the other.
Deulkkae Kkul Muffins (Perilla Honey Muffins)
Ground perilla seeds are folded into a quick muffin batter alongside honey and brown sugar, creating a Korean-inspired bake with a pronounced nutty fragrance and gentle sweetness. The perilla flavor is warm and toasty, somewhere between sesame and fresh herbs, and it builds with each bite rather than fading. Honey keeps the crumb moist without making it heavy, and neutral oil replaces butter so the perilla aroma stays at the forefront. Mixing the batter in only ten to twelve strokes is critical: overmixing toughens the gluten and dulls the texture. A light sprinkle of perilla powder on top before baking gives each muffin a visual cue and an extra burst of fragrance when broken open. They pair well with grain lattes, where the roasted notes in the drink echo the seed's toasted character.