Customer Reviews

Norpro 3980 12-Count Nonstick Mini Donut Pan

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was surprised to see a review saying they had problems with their donuts sticking to the pan. I haven't run into that at all. One of the things I love about this pan is how you don't need any oil. You do need to let them cool about 5-10 mins before removing. Maybe that's why your donuts are sticking?

I would buy two if I were buying again though, because who only makes 12 mini donuts at a time?

I like the pan, it is well made and serves the purpose. The holes are very small and getting batter to go in and not get all over the middle is hard. The pan itself is great though and really good at the non-stick, and very heavy duty. If I buy anymore, I will make sure I get the bigger size though. Small one is hard to maneuver batters into without making a terrible mess.

This donut pan is a great pan. Donuts are usually fried and unhealthy. But you can make delicious donuts that are healthy in this pan by following the included recipes and then baking them instead of frying them. I have used our favorite muffin recipes in it, too. Instead of a muffin, they look like donuts. The grandkids love them. I have two pans now, so I don't have to wait for one batch to come out. 1/2 recipe makes two pans full.

I was trying recipes from Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food and needed a donut/doughnut baking pan. This one had some good reviews but I still wondered if the doughnuts would stick or not. Well without even using any cooking spray they worked fine on the pumpkin doughnuts and the doughnuts released perfectly even while hot. Cleanup was also a breeze.

This pan comes with two basic recipes: Chocolate Cake Donuts and Cake Donuts. You can adapt the recipes to suit your needs. One thing about the recipes is that the yield for the cake doughnuts is approximately 36 mini doughnuts so if you only have one pan that is going to take you three times longer to bake them. The chocolate cake doughnuts yeild 24 so you still might want two pans.

To make perfect doughnuts I put the batter in a gallon-sized plastic bag and cut off the bottom tip as directed in the recipe book. It worked fairly well and the doughnuts had a perfect shape once cooked.

I'd suggest you buy at least two pans because most of the recipes I've found make 2 dozen doughnuts. I've looked for additional recipes here at amazon but have only found a few doughnut books. If you know of any others please leave me a note in the comments section. :) Thank you!

~The Rebecca Review

P.S. I tried the vanilla cake doughnut recipe (except I only made half - 18 doughnuts) that comes with these pans and it worked great except use half the salt it calls for. The doughnuts stuck a little while still warm but come out of the pan much better when slightly cooled. The only problem is they don't give you a recipe for the frosting. So here is a strawberry icing recipe I made up today:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon strawberry jam
4 tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 drops red food coloring

Blend all ingredients until creamy
and smooth. I use a spatula but a
wooden spoon works well too. To make
a plain vanilla icing just omit the
strawberry jam and food coloring. This
will frost 18 doughnuts. Double the recipe
if you need icing for 36.

P.S. 2 - I made the chocolate doughnuts and they stuck like crazy. I had to put them in the freezer to cool them down then they came out of the pan OK with a small spatula that I ran around the doughnuts. The second batch was much better because I oiled the pan. So do use the non-stick spray or oil of your choice and you will have better results. The chocolate doughnuts are fairly bland without a good icing so here is the icing I came up with:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
4-5 tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blend everything together with a
spatula and ice doughnuts when slightly
cooled. They ice best when they are still
slightly warm. This will frost 24 doughnuts.

We got interested in making donuts based on a recent Family Circle article and found this pan. We liked the idea of smaller donuts since we have 2 small children 4 and 5. The boys had a great time making and decorating donuts. Don't exactly look the same from both sides, but taste good.
I found out 2 helpful tips for being successful:
1. Follow the instructions about keeping them less than or equal 2/3 full - otherwise you have a muffin with a funny looking bottom.
2. I read in one recipe to put the batter in a bag and cut a 1/4 inch corner out of the bottom to help put them in the pan. I found this VERY helpful - my husband was ready to send back the pan because it looked impossible to get the batter into the donuts w/o making a huge mess. This way we didn't make a mess at all and there was still plenty of batter to make about 1 1/2 pans of donuts from a recipe designed to make 6 large donuts.

Worked great. Donuts didn't stick to the pan. So easy, my 11 year old made the first batch. Be careful to not overfill (follow directions) or they raise too high and look like a muffin instead. Perfect size and fun for kids to snack on. Tasted just like regular donuts, without the grease. Kids absolutely loved them, esp rolled in powdered sugar . . . which is still a lot less sugar and fat than a regular, fried donut. Great price, too, for someone who wants to try it out.

This product is great! I've found that the donuts pop out of the pan very easily if I hit it against the counter right after they've come out of the oven. My only complaints are that the pan is a bit difficult to fill- it may be easier to use a pastry bag. Also, the bottoms of the donuts are kind of oddly shaped due to the very conical middle bit. But on top, they are absolutely adorable, and with the right recipe, tasty! As with other reviewers, I've found that it is useful to have 2 pans- the donuts are pretty small (perfect as a small treat, or for those watching waistlines).

When I first got this, it worked great. 5 or 6 uses later, it doesn't matter how well I grease the pan or how carefully I measure the shortning in the recipe, the things stick. Doesn't matter when I try to take them out - still hot, warm, cool - they stick miserably.

Never made baked donuts until I bought this pan. The pan works great. Makes perfect sized donuts for little kids.

We've had fun with this Christmas gift.......but only the second time that we've used it, we found Teflon flakes on all of our cute little mini-donuts. That's not safe! In the trash it goes......