Cake doughnut calories come to 234 for one medium doughnut (54 g) and 434 per 100 g. The thing to notice is where those calories come from: fat supplies 52% of them, more than the carbs do, and protein barely registers. Size matters too, because a large one jumps to 308.
234kcal
1 medium doughnut · 54 g, plain, old-fashioned
5%protein
2.9 gProtein
25 gCarbs
13.5 gFat
How to burn off 234 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Plain, old-fashioned · per 54 g
Calories
234 kcal
Protein
2.9 g
Carbohydrate
25 g
Fat
13.5 g
Saturated fat
6 g
Cholesterol
5 mg
Sodium
258 mg
Potassium
72 mg
Iron
1.4 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Cake doughnut: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
1 medium (54 g)
234
2.9 g
25.4 g
13.5 g
258 mg
12%
1 large (71 g)
308
3.8 g
33.4 g
17.7 g
339 mg
15%
Sugared or glazed (45 g)
192
2.3 g
22.9 g
10.3 g
181 mg
10%
100 g
434
5.3 g
47.1 g
24.9 g
477 mg
22%
3 × 1 medium (54 g)
703
8.6 g
773 mg
5 × 1 medium (54 g)
1,172
14.3 g
1,288 mg
One medium doughnut is a 234-calorie snack
A medium plain cake doughnut weighs 54 g and lands at 234 calories, which is 12% of a 2000-calorie daily value. Step up to a large one at 71 g and the total climbs to 308, or 15% of the day. The large looks only a little bigger on the plate, yet it adds a real chunk of energy.
The sugared or glazed version in the USDA data is a smaller piece at 45 g, so it comes in at 192 calories. That lower number reflects the lighter weight, not some lighter recipe. If you compare doughnuts by the piece, always check how big the piece is.
Doughnuts rarely come alone. Two medium ones add up to 469 calories, three reach 703, and five, the kind of count that quietly disappears from a shared box at the office, hit 1,172 calories across 270 g of dough. The first doughnut is a snack. The third is a meal's worth of energy with very little protein attached.
Fat supplies more than half the calories
The calorie split is 52% fat, 43% carbs and only 5% protein. Per 100 g that works out to 24.9 g of fat, 47.1 g of carbs and 5.3 g of protein. Most people file doughnuts under sweets, but by calorie share this is a fat-first food.
Saturated fat is the part to notice. There are 11.1 g per 100 g, against a daily value of 20 g, so a 100 g portion uses more than half the day's allowance. A single medium doughnut carries 13.5 g of total fat, and a large one carries 17.7 g.
Protein hardly moves the needle: 2.9 g in a medium doughnut, 6% of the daily value. Fiber is 0.9 g. Sugar sits at 9.8 g per medium doughnut, so of the 25.4 g of carbs, a good share is sugar and the rest is mostly starch. That mix explains why one doughnut rarely keeps you full until lunch.
Sodium is higher than a sweet snack suggests
A plain cake doughnut has 477 mg of sodium per 100 g. One medium doughnut delivers 258 mg, which is 11% of the 2300 mg daily value, and a large one brings 339 mg, or 15%. Those are numbers you would expect from a savory snack, not a pastry.
The totals stack quickly. Two medium doughnuts carry 515 mg, three carry 773 mg, and five reach 1,288 mg. Because doughnuts taste sweet, this row is easy to miss when you add up a day.
The style matters here. The chocolate doughnut on our site lists 215 mg per 100 g, less than half of the cake version. If you watch sodium and want a doughnut anyway, that is a meaningful difference, and it is worth glancing at this row before you pick from the case.
Treat it as dessert, then build around it
A cake doughnut works best as a planned treat rather than the whole breakfast. On its own it gives you calories, fat and sugar with little protein or fiber, so it does not do much to hold off hunger. Pairing it with something protein-rich, such as eggs, cottage cheese or plain Greek yogurt, makes the meal more balanced.
Drinks matter too. A black coffee or unsweetened tea keeps the total close to the doughnut itself, while a sweet coffee drink can add as much again. If you are tracking, log the doughnut by size rather than as a generic pastry, since medium and large differ by a noticeable margin.
Packaged cake doughnuts such as Krispy Kreme Glazed Blueberry Cake Doughnuts or Krispy Kreme Dipped Cake Doughnuts vary in size and coating, so check the label for those. BodyPal can log a doughnut from a photo, which helps when it comes from a bakery case with no label at all.
How does cake doughnut compare?
Here is how the plain cake doughnut stacks up against chocolate, jelly and bite-size doughnuts, both per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the fewest calories pick a single doughnut hole at 64, and if you want a full-size treat the jelly doughnut has the lightest dough at 340 per 100 g against 434 for cake. If sodium is your concern, the chocolate doughnut wins clearly with 215 mg per 100 g versus 477 mg, at 250 calories per serving.
Most popular cake doughnut brands in the United States
These label rows are glazed, dipped or filled versions rather than the plain doughnut above, so their per 100 g numbers land both under and over it. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Cake doughnut FAQs
How many calories are in one cake doughnut?
A medium cake doughnut of about 3 1/4 inches (54 g) is 234 calories. A large 4 inch one (71 g) is 308 calories.
Is a cake doughnut good for weight loss?
One medium cake doughnut is 234 calories with 13.5 g fat, 9.8 g sugar and only 2.9 g protein, so it takes a sizeable share of a day with little staying power per calorie.
Cake doughnut vs chocolate doughnut: which has fewer calories?
Per 100 g a plain cake doughnut is 434 calories and a chocolate cake doughnut 417. At the same 54 g medium size that is 234 calories against 225.
How much sugar is in a cake doughnut?
A medium cake doughnut has about 9.8 g sugar and 25.4 g carbs. Per 100 g that is 18.2 g sugar and 47.1 g carbs.
How many carbs are in a plain cake doughnut?
A medium plain cake doughnut has 25.4 g of carbs, including 9.8 g of sugar and 0.9 g of fiber. A large one has 33.4 g, and 100 g contains 47.1 g.
How many calories are in a large cake doughnut?
A large cake doughnut (71 g) has 308 calories, 15% of a 2000-calorie daily value. That is noticeably more than the 234 calories in a medium one at 54 g.
How many calories are in a glazed cake doughnut?
A sugared or glazed cake doughnut of 45 g has 192 calories, with 10.3 g of fat and 22.9 g of carbs. It is lower than a plain medium mainly because the piece is smaller.
How many calories are in two cake doughnuts?
Two medium cake doughnuts come to 469 calories and 515 mg of sodium. Three reach 703 calories, so a few from a shared box add up faster than most people expect.
How much fat is in a cake doughnut?
A medium cake doughnut has 13.5 g of fat, and fat supplies 52% of its calories. Per 100 g there are 24.9 g of fat, of which 11.1 g is saturated.
