These chocolate donuts are moist and fluffy cake donuts covered in rich chocolate fudge icing and four different toppings. They’re baked instead of fried, so they’re perfect for instant chocolate cravings!
For years, I worked at a bakery pumping out thousands of baked, cake-style donuts weekly. I love them because they’re so easy to make, no special equipment is needed, and you don’t have to worry about working with hot frying oil!
Like any good bakery-style donut, these baked chocolate donuts are super moist with a rich chocolate flavor. I even included four different flavor variations- chocolate crumb, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate on chocolate, and chocolate sprinkle!
If you’re not a fan of chocolate, try my carrot cake donuts or banana donuts instead!
Table of Contents
Tips for Perfect Chocolate Donuts
Use a kitchen scale. Baking with a scale is my #1 baking tip! Using too much flour can result in dry, crumbly donuts.
Use room temperature ingredients. Ensure the eggs, milk, and sour cream are at room temperature. This helps them mix more evenly into the batter, resulting in a smoother texture.
Use a piping bag. Use a piping bag or a ziplock bag with a corner snipped off. This ensures that your donuts bake evenly and have a uniform shape.
Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing donut batter can lead to tough and dense donuts. It’s okay if there are a few lumps!
Check for doneness early. Since every oven differs, check your donuts a few minutes before the suggested baking time. They should spring back lightly when touched, and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs.
Glaze when completely cool. Warm donuts will melt the glaze, resulting in a messy finish.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds moisture to the batter, preventing the chocolate donuts from becoming dry and crumbly. While you can use homemade buttermilk in a pinch, I don’t recommend it. It will give them a similar tangy flavor, but you will miss out on the extra fat!
Cocoa powder: For a rich chocolate flavor, use an unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder like Ghiradelli.
Oil: Aim for a flavorless oil like canola, vegetable, or avocado oil for best results.
Sour cream: Like in my fruity pebble donuts, it’s added to keep the texture super moist. Substitute with full-fat plain Greek yogurt.
Find the full ingredient measurements and instructions in the recipe card below!
Recipe Instructions
Step 1: Make the chocolate crumb (if using). Combine the melted butter, flour, cocoa powder, and sugar until crumbs form. Keep in the freezer until ready to use. (Image 1 below)
Step 2: Whisk the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. (Image 2 below)
Step 3: Whisk the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, granulated sugar, egg, melted butter, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract. (Image 3 below)
Step 4: Make the donut batter. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing until just combined. (Image 4 above)
Step 5: Fill the donut pan. Use a piping bag to fill the molds of two donut pans 2/3 full with the batter (Image 5 below).
Step 6: Sprinkle with crumb topping (if using). Break up the chocolate crumb into small pieces. Evenly sprinkle them over three molds of batter, gently pressing the crumb into the top. (Image 6 below)
Step 7: Bake the chocolate donuts. Bake until the tops bounce back when touched. Then, allow the pan to cool on a wire cooling rack. (Image 7 above)
Step 8: Glaze and decorate. Once they are completely cool, dunk the tops of the donuts into the glazes. Decorate as desired! (Image 8 below)
Flavor and Decorating Ideas
Feel free to make all your donuts in the same flavor or variety! Here are four different flavor variations I’ve included in the recipe:
- Chocolate chocolate: Top with chocolate shavings, chocolate chips, or chocolate sprinkles.
- Chocolate peanut butter: Drizzle the tops with melted peanut butter and sprinkle with chopped peanut butter cups.
- Chocolate crumb: Dunk the tops in vanilla glaze or chocolate glaze.
- Rainbow sprinkle: Sprinkle the tops with rainbow jimmy sprinkles. You can even switch it up with holiday colors for Christmas or Valentine’s Day!
Storage, Freezing, and Make Ahead
Storage: While they are best enjoyed the day of, store any leftovers in a loosely covered container for 1-2 days at room temperature.
Freezer: I recommend freezing them plain, without the glaze and toppings. They can be stored in a freezer bag or airtight container (with parchment paper in between layers) for up to one month. Let them defrost at room temperature before decorating!
Make ahead: Baked donuts are best enjoyed the day they are made. If you absolutely need to bake them ahead of time, wait to glaze them until the day of serving. This can prevent the icing from wrinkling.
FAQs
Make sure to properly grease the donut molds with cooking spray or butter before filling them with batter. Additionally, allow the donuts to cool for a few minutes in the pan before gently removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the pan is cool enough to touch comfortably, gently tilt the pan at an angle and use an offset spatula, your finger, or a knife to gently pull each one out of the pan.
The donuts are done baking when they spring back lightly when touched, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Start checking for doneness a few minutes before the suggested baking time to avoid overbaking.
If you don’t have one, I highly recommend investing in one! You can find them anywhere, like Amazon, and they are less than $20. If you don’t have a donut pan, you can use a mini muffin pan and adjust the baking time as needed.
Using too much flour, incorrectly measuring the ingredients, or overbaking can lead to a dry and crumbly texture.
Buttermilk is recommended for best results. If needed, you can substitute it with a mixture of milk and lemon juice or vinegar to mimic its acidity. However, the texture and flavor may be slightly different.
More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
- Cinnamon bun muffins
- Chocolate chip cookie rolls
- Snickerdoodle coffee cake
- Brioche French toast casserole
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you’re there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Baked Chocolate Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
Chocolate Crumb Topping
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Chocolate Donut Batter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, *see notes below for measuring*
- 1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Vanilla Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Glaze
- 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3-4 tablespoons whole milk
- melted peanut butter
- rainbow sprinkles
- chocolate shavings or sprinkles
- chopped peanut butter cups
Instructions
- Spray or lightly butter a donut pan and preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.
- Make the chocolate crumb topping. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, light brown sugar, and melted butter in a small bowl until crumbly. Keep in the freezer until ready to use. This will be enough for 3 of the donuts. If you want to make all 12 with the crumb topping, see the notes below for the larger recipe.2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.1 1/2 cups (190 g) all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup (20 g) unsweetened dark cocoa powder, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sugar, egg, melted butter, sour cream, oil, and vanilla. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet.3/4 cup (150 g) buttermilk, 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 1 (52 g) large egg, 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons (30 g) sour cream, 2 tablespoons (30 g) canola oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Fill a piping bag with the batter, then fill the greased donut molds about 2/3 full with batter. If you only have one pan, you will need to bake two rounds in the oven. Once the first pan is done cooling, wash the pan, re-grease it, then fill it with the rest of the batter.
- Break up the crumb topping. Evenly sprinkle it across the tops of three donuts, gently pressing it into the batter. Then bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven; until the tops spring back when touched. Allow the pan to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, then remove them from the pan and keep them on the cooling rack until glazing.
- Make the vanilla glaze for the crumb donuts. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. The glaze should be thin. Dunk the tops of the crumb-topped donut into the glaze, then set it back on the rack to set.1/2 cup (50 g) powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon milk
- Make the chocolate glaze. In another bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and milk. The glaze should be thick, and fall off your whisk slowly but smoothly. Dunk the rest of the chocolate donuts in the chocolate glaze.1 3/4 cup (180 g) powdered sugar, 1/4 cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, 3-4 tablespoons whole milk
- Decorate the tops with melted peanut butter and peanut butter cups, rainbow sprinkles, and chocolate shavings!melted peanut butter, rainbow sprinkles, chocolate shavings or sprinkles, chopped peanut butter cups
Notes
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 42 g
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 10 g
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 50 g
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar, 15 g
- 3 tbsp butter, melted, 42 g
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below & tag @cambreabakes on social!
These were so yummy and fun to make! The crumb was my favorite. Like the others, I recommend making all four and experimenting with toppings!
Yay! Thanks SO much Sarah! 🙂