These Baked Double Chocolate Donuts are delicious enough for breakfast or dessert! The donuts are moist, packed with chocolate flavor and finished off with a shiny chocolate frosting.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I love my new donut baking pan! This is the one I have, just in case you are wondering. 🙂 I think it is obvious that I am a fan of the pan considering I have made donuts twice now in the past two weeks. It is also because making baked donuts is super easy and so rewarding!
What I love about this baked double chocolate donut recipe is that I use granulated sugar and brown sugar. I have found with baking, that any time you add brown sugar to a recipe, it makes it nice and tender. Add in some buttermilk and the donuts come out sturdy like a donut should be, with a texture that is moist and tender.
If this is your first time making donuts, this a great recipe to start with. There aren’t any magical ingredients or cautionary steps you need to take when you are making the batter. The only ingredient that I have a note on is the buttermilk. There aren’t a lot of recipes that require buttermilk and sometimes buying the quart of milk is just too much. Now, I happen to know a couple of people that like to drink buttermilk, but I think they are the exception to the norm. 🙂
What if I don’t have or want buttermilk?
If you don’t want to buy buttermilk, you can make it. The ratio is 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice, to one cup of milk. Essentially, the acid in the vinegar and lemon juice curdles the milk, making it thick like buttermilk. Since we are not using a full cup for this recipe, I have tested adding 2 teaspoons to the 3/4 cup of milk and it works great. Then all you have to do is let it sit for 5-10 minutes and voilà! You have buttermilk. It will look curdled and that is what we are wanting.
Filling the donut pan
Once you have made the donut batter, there are a couple of ways of getting the batter into each donut cavity. You can just spoon it in, or you can fill a piping bag and pipe it in. The reason you would pipe rather than spoon is that it creates an even distribution around the circle and the dough is easier to pipe. I prefer to spoon the batter into the pan because honestly, I don’t want to take the extra steps of filling a piping bag. 🙂
Glazing (or Frosting) the donut
The glaze for the baked double chocolate donuts is awesome because it has a rich, chocolate flavor and it comes out shiny. The corn syrup is what keeps the glaze shiny, so this is a must for the recipe. The only thing you have to consider with the chocolate glaze is that it does not set hard – which is good. Avoid stacking the donuts on top of each other, otherwise, you will mess up the pretty shiny glaze.
Another thing to consider for glazing the donuts is if you want to amp up the flavor a bit (and why not!) with an additional flavor. I love the combination of chocolate and strawberry, so I thought a strawberry drizzle would be the perfect addition. It is also nice because the tartness of the strawberry cuts through the decadence of the chocolate. This part is totally optional and I would encourage you to get creative with your flavor combinations.
This is such an easy donut recipe that you can whip up in no time. If you are hosting a brunch, need to take breakfast to work, or just hanging out at home on a Saturday, these donuts are sure to be a hit. Plus, they make it look like you spent hours in the kitchen baking these little beauties. There’s nothing wrong with being the center of attention for a while … 🙂
Baked Double Chocolate Donuts
Equipment
- 12 Cup Donut Pan
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cups light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (see notes) (room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons cold pressed refined coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Glaze
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons milk (any milk type will work)
- 2 teaspoons corn syrup
Instructions
Donuts
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees and adjust oven rack to middle position. Lightly grease 10 wells of the donut pan with butter or cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until mixed.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine both of the sugars, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and also add the melted coconut oil at this time. Using a spatula gently mix until no flour streaks remain.
- Spoon the batter into the donut pan, or you can transfer the batter to a piping bag – cutting the tip off the end after adding the batter – and pipe into the donut pan. Fill each donut reservoir 2/3 full. If you are using a 6-donut, donut pan, you will have batter remaining which you will reserve to make the second batch of donuts.
- Bake the donuts for 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the donut comes out clean. Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Glaze
- While the donuts are cooling, make the chocolate glaze. In a microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate chips, butter, milk, and corn syrup and cook until the chocolate and butter have melted – about 45 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir the mixture until fully incorporated. Let the chocolate cool for at least 5 minutes before glazing the donuts.
- To glaze the donuts, dip the top of the donut into the chocolate mixture, letting any excess chocolate drip off before placing on a wire rack to allow the chocolate to set.
- The donuts are best enjoyed the day they are baked. Enjoy!
about the author ...
I'm Erin and I'm all about desserts - and a little bit of butter!
I've tested, written, and photographed hundreds of recipes on my website. Here you'll find the tastiest small batch gluten free and traditional desserts - all homemade, all simple, and all for you!
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