Saving Room for Dessert

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Baked Chocolate Doughnuts

5 from 4 votes

Baked Chocolate Doughnuts -rich luscious & completely delicious, we adore these soft little cakey doughnuts with a chocolate icing or buttermilk glaze!

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A platter of chocolate cake doughnuts with a buttermilk glaze or chocolate icing

 

Baked Chocolate Doughnuts – rich and luscious and completely delicious!

We adore these soft little, tender cakey doughnuts with the velvety chocolate icing or simple sweet buttermilk glaze. If by chance you really need a chocolate doughnut, these will absolutely, without a doubt, completely and totally satisfy your craving!  They’re like mini-cakes with all the trimmings.  A little sweet for breakfast, I’ll stick with oatmeal or a protein packed smoothie and save these for dessert!

chocolate cake doughnuts with chocolate icing

I’ve had doughnuts on my bucket list for a long, long time and finally broke down and bought a pan.

They’re inexpensive, generally less than $10. Check the link at the bottom of this post to order one from Amazon. My husband said I could make blueberry donuts next time so I guess I’ve got the go-ahead to make some more.  I made chocolate icing for some and the others were dipped in a simple buttermilk glaze.  My favorite is the buttermilk glazed doughnuts. As much as I adore chocolate, the chocolate icing is a little too chocolatey for me.  There I said it.  I finally met my match.  I used to think there was no way you could have too much chocolate on anything.
Chocolate cake doughnuts with a buttermilk glaze or velvety chocolate icing

These remind me of the chocolate cake donuts from Dunkin Donuts.

Soft chocolate cake with just a hint of sweet crunch from the glaze on the outside.  Yum! The texture is pretty fantastic.
Rich chocolate doughnuts on a cake stand
My son, daughter-in-law and their good friend Michael stopped by this afternoon.  I made a gift of the doughnuts and Michael asked me if I was making some sort of reference to cops and doughnuts.  I forgot he is a police officer so this is perfect!  It’s always good to be nice to the boys in blue.

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Baked Chocolate Doughnuts - rich and luscious and completely delicious, we adore these soft little, tender cakey doughnuts with the velvety chocolate icing or simple sweet buttermilk glaze! #savingroomfordessert #doughnuts #chocolatedoughnuts #donuts #chocolatedonut #bakeddonuts #bakeddoughnuts

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Here’s another doughnut recipe you might enjoy:

Try these lovely Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts with Caramel Icing & Toasted Pecan. They have a wonderful texture and terrific flavor. They’re easy to make but hard to stop eating! Click HERE to get the recipe for Pumpkin Doughnuts.

Baked Chocolate Doughnuts

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 16 doughnuts
Course: Breakfast
Author: Tricia
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5 from 4 votes
Soft chocolate cake with just a hint of sweet crunch from the glaze on the outside.

Ingredients

For the doughnuts:

  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 1 ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup light brown sugar packed
  • â…“ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon instant espresso coffee granules
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ cup butter melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 cup semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips

For the buttermilk glaze (OPTIONAL):

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons buttermilk milk or cream will work fine too
  • drop of vanilla extract

For the chocolate icing (OPTIONAL):

  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate chopped
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 teaspoons light-colored syrup like Karo
  • ¾ teaspoon vanilla
  • 3-4 tablespoons hot water

Instructions

To make the doughnuts:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.  Coat the doughnut pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, espresso granules, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Whisk the dry ingredients until blended and make a well in the middle.  Set aside.
  • In a small mixing bowl lightly beat the egg.  Whisk in the milk and then add the melted butter.  Quickly add the egg mixture to the flour and cocoa mixture all at once.  Stir just until the batter is smooth.  Do not over beat.  Stir in the mini-chocolate chips.  Spoon the batter into the doughnut pan filling about two-thirds full.  Bake for 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Allow the doughnuts to cool in the pan for 2-4 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before icing. To make powdered sugar donuts, roll the warm donuts in a bowl of powdered sugar until coated.  Cool on a wire rack.
  • This recipes made about 16 full size doughnuts depending on how you fill the pan.

To make the buttermilk glaze:

  • Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.  Dip a cooled doughnut into the glaze and turn it over to coat the other side.  Allow the excess glaze to drop back into the bowl. Place the glazed doughnut on a wire rack to dry.

To make the chocolate icing:

  • Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium-low heat until melted, stirring frequently.  Stir in the syrup, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and hot water.  Blend until smooth.  Iced cooled doughnuts as desired.  Additional water can be added to thin the icing if needed.

Recipe Notes

  • Adapted from a recipe published in the January 2012 Better Homes and Gardens – Chocolate Special Interest Publication
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition

Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 102mg | Potassium: 156mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 47IU | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg

 

Here’s a link to an inexpensive doughnut pan like the one I used in this recipe. Click on the photo for more information:

SRFD participates in the Amazon Affiliate Program.  If you decide to purchase something at Amazon after following my affiliate link, I receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, which I use to pay for web hosting and services for this blog. 
Thanks to everyone who passed along favorite recipes for our upcoming pre-wedding cookout.  I love all the ideas and will run them by the bride-to-be.  I have my mother-of-the bride dress (on sale!  whoohoo!) but still need shoes – don’t guess you can help me with that one?!?!
Have a wonderful week and thanks so much for stopping by!  Tricia

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35 Comments

  1. sue

    5 stars
    perhaps the 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar is what put the chocolate glaze over the top. Maybe just a simple ganache dip would feature the chocolate without it being overbearing. Also, the mind boggles at the customizable range you could experiment with using spices like caradmon, nutmeg, deep smokey chile powder, lavender, mint, etc etc. I need a donut pan as well!

    Reply

  2. Shaherose Lalji

    Hi Tricia: I love the recipes you share with us. While I know that donuts should be baked in a donut pan, would it be ok if I made these in a muffin pan instead as I do not have a donut pan at this time and would really like to make the donuts?

    Reply

  4. Tanna at The Brick Street Bungalow

    Oh. My. Goodness!! The Little Men would be beside themselves with these!! I think their Noni needs to be on the hunt for a donut pan! =D<br /><br />Tricia, the clematis in your last post is just amazing! Wow! Such a beautiful color. <br /><br />Hope you'll share photos of your dress. =) And, I wish I knew something really wonderful to share… but, I steal all my recipes from you and

    Reply

  10. Cathy Beaman

    My husband bought me a donut pan at BB&B for Christmas last year so now I have the perfect use for it. Thank you so much for the donut recipe! ♥

    Reply

  17. Shiloh Barkley

    They look really pretty. I tried making donuts a few weeks ago and it didn't work for me–not a good recipe I was using because I wanted to fry them. Anyways…the failures are on my instagram if you wanna have a laugh!

    Reply

  18. TLady

    OH MY!!!!!!!!! My son is sitting here & I had him look at your pictures…He's a donut kind of kid! AND chocolate donut kid to boot! Then he said, "Daddy can you get me some donuts???" LOL TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!! (They DO LOOK GOOD!) 🙂

    Reply

  20. Monica

    oh my goodness, this is a great way to wake up to a Monday morning! That chocolate glaze looks amazing. I would be willing to taste test and see if it is too much chocolate for me (I doubt it… : )! Great pictures – I feel I can stick my hand in and grab one in the last shot.

    Reply

  24. Mary Younkin

    oh my GOSH! Those look amazing, Tricia. I am going to have to cave to the doughnut pan purchase eventually too!<br /><br />P.S. Send me a pic or link to the dress. I betcha I could find you some awesome shoes. My best friend and I do that all the time. It's fun to shop together from a distance. 😉

    Reply

  25. Chris Scheuer

    Oh Tricia, I am drinking a smoothie for breakfast but I think I'll trade it in for one of your doughnuts. Would they be legal for breakfast if I've already had half of the protein shake? Maybe you could check with your police officer friend. 🙂

    Reply

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