Chocolate Baked Donuts
Published 1/28/2022 • Updated 3/17/2024
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These tender chocolate baked donuts are baked in the oven and never fried. They’re perfectly tender and topped with a yummy chocolate frosting and sprinkles.
Luscious Baked Donuts
Who loves donuts? ME!!!! We’d like to introduce you to Chocolate Baked Donuts!
I fell in love with donuts early on, I mean who doesn’t like donuts. I’ve always been a huge cake donut fan, which is why I love this particular recipe so much. It’s cakey, chocolatey, and perfectly sweet.
We’re using classic donut ingredients (yes the real deal –> butter, sugar, etc.), but instead of frying them, we’re baking them in the oven. Let’s get started.
What You Need for Chocolate Baked Donuts
- Flour: all-purpose flour is used for the base of these donuts. We have not tested this recipe with any other kinds of flour.
- Cocoa powder: make sure to use a high-quality, unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Brown sugar: for this baked donut recipe we used light brown sugar for the sweetener.
- Chocolate chips: chocolate chips add a fudginess to the inside of the donut.
- Butter: make sure to use room temperature butter for this recipe.
- Egg: this recipe calls for 1 full egg and an additional egg yolk.
- Milk: we’re using almond milk, but any kind works!
make it easy
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Quick Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients: combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar: add room-temp butter and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.
- Add wet: slowly add the eggs and almond milk and mix until smooth.
- Add dry: add the dry ingrdients a little at a time and mix until light and fluffy.
- Pipe: transfer the batter into piping bag or large, gallon-size plastic bag and pipe it into a greased donut pan, filling them around 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake: bake donuts at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes or until fully cooked.
- Cool: let the donuts cool for a few minuts before remoing from the pan to finish cooling on a wire rack.
A Few Quick Tips
Add an extra yolk: we tested this recipe a handful of times and what makes it nice and moist without making them more fluffy is an extra egg yolk.
Cream the butter and sugar: make sure to take the time to cream the butter and sugar before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Use a piping bag: a piping bag works wonders for this recipe. Here’s the piping bag we used.
Don’t over-bake: whatever you do, make sure not to over-bake these donuts! No one likes a crumbly, hard baked donut.
The Chocolate Glaze
We know there are lots of different ways to top a donut, but we’re pretty dang obsessed with this simple chocolate glaze.
What you need
- chocolate chips
- butter
- water
How to make it
- Heat the chocolate chips, butter, and water over medium heat.
- Stir constantly until everything melts and the mixture becomes smooth and glossy.
- Transfer the glaze into a small bowl.
- Once your domnuts are cooled, dip the tops of the donuts into the glaze, making sure to completely coat it.
- Place donut back onto a wire rack to set.
Topping Ideas
We sprinkle obsessed, but we recommend having fun with your toppings. Here are some ideas:
- Mini chocolate chips
- Cereal
- Coconut flakes
- Diced peanut butter cups
- Cream cheese frosting
Storage
Let donuts cool completely. Then, store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 3 days.
Freezer Instructions
If you’re planning to freeze, do not frost.
- Let donuts cool.
- Then, wrap each one with tin foil.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Chocolate Baked Donuts
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoons salt
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg + 1 yolk, room temperature
- 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
Chocolate Glaze
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 teaspoons water
Optional Toppings
- ½ cup rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a bowl and mix the ingredients together until combined.
- Next, cream the butter and the sugar together on medium speed with an electric mixer or stand mixer until light and fluffy.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and then add the egg and egg yolk. Mix on medium speed until just combined.
- Add the almond milk and mix until combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on medium/low. When all of the ingredients are well combined, fold the chocolate chips into the batter.
- Transfer the batter into a piping bag or gallon-size Ziploc bag.
- Then, pipe the donut batter into the donut pan, filling each donut ¾ of the way full.
- Bake donuts at 350ºF for around 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the donuts from the oven and let them sit for a few minutes before removing them from the donut pan and letting them cool completely.
- For the chocolate glaze — heat the chocolate chips, butter, and water over medium heat, stirring constantly. When all of the ingredients have melted and the mixture becomes glossy, remove from the heat.
- Stir the glaze until it is completely melted and smooth.
- Glaze each donut by dipping the top of the donut into the warm glaze. To even out the glaze on the donut, shake the donut from side to side and the glaze should even out.
- Immediately top with sprinkles and allow glaze to cool and harden.
Tips & Notes
- This recipe can be easily doubled.
- Nutrition information does not include the glaze or sprinkles.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was delicious! I did use spelt flour and cacoa. They are so decadent!
Thanks for sharing that these ingredient substitutions worked for you, Bethany!
Made these with my niece, so easy and so yummy! When we poured the milk into the batter it looked curled and milk separated from batter. Is this normal ?
Super yummy recipe!!! Made for my husband’s 30th birthday breakfast. Only comment is that the recipe lists brown sugar in the “dry ingredients” when it should be in the “wet ingredients”! Overall great recipe though!
Just made this recipe for my girls and I am so thrilled! These donuts are absolutely delicious and so moist! Thanks for the recipe!
Nice post! Congratulations
Super yummy. Don’t overtake or they can come out dry. 8 minutes worked for me on the second round. Kids loved it. And fun to do together and make a special Valentines treat!
These are super easy to make and so delicious! They are for sure a hit for a chocolate craving! And of course sprinkles are a must!