While yeast donuts are generally softer and fluffier, cake donuts, like these homemade ones, tend to be a bit sweeter. Since baking them in the oven would result in a tough texture, yeast donuts are either deep-fried or air fried. Cake donuts on the other hand are baked in the oven in a donut pan. They have a denser texture, similar to the texture of cake, hence the name.