Moist and fluffy chocolate glazed donuts that are baked, not fried. They’re glazed with a thick chocolate glaze and are perfect for any chocoholic craving something extra indulgent!
Donuts are one of my favorite desserts. Baked apple cider donuts in the fall and jelly donuts during Hanukkah time are always a treat! I love the shape and the colorful sprinkles or creamy glaze that covers the top. These chocolate glazed donuts are baked instead of fried, giving them a moist, cake-like texture.
Types of chocolate in the donuts
As a chocolate lover, anything that has chocolate two different ways is guaranteed to cure my chocolate cravings. There are two kinds of chocolate in this chocolate donut recipe: cocoa powder for the batter, and bittersweet chocolate for the glaze. Combined, these chocolate glazed donuts have a light yet moist crumb and a rich, smooth chocolate glazed top. Paired with a glass of milk, these can be a sweet breakfast treat or a nice afternoon snack. Both kids and adults love them!
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What do I do if I don’t have a donut pan?
I love using a donut pan for this recipe because it just makes life easier. Donut pans are similar to muffin pans but have a hole in the middle to give you that fun donut shape. Most pans only have 6 molds in them so I recommend buying two pans. Be sure to grease the pan well as the batter can easily stick to the pan.
However, if you don’t have a donut pan you can make your own. Here’s what you’ll need:
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Muffin pan
- Tin foil
- Cooking spray
Here’s how to make your own DIY donut pan:
- Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Take a square of tin foil, about 5x5in works well, and roll it into a thick cylinder the size you want the hole of your donut to be.
- Next, stand the tin cylinder upright in the middle of each muffin tin, pressing it down flat so it stands up straight.
- This will allow you to pipe the donut batter around the tin cylinder in the muffin pan so each donut bakes with a hole in the middle.
How to make chocolate donuts
- Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Mix together the wet ingredients, including the sugar. In a medium bowl whisk the egg and sugar until well combined. Add milk, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla extract, and whisk together well.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix just until just combined. Note that the batter will be thick.
- Fill your pan. Fill donut cavities with batter ¾ way full using a spoon or a piping bag (it’s much easier with a piping bag).
- Bake. Bake for 9–10 minutes at 350°F/180° or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the donuts comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in pan, then remove donuts from pan and transfer to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before glazing.
Tip: If you don’t have a piping bag, you can place the batter in a large Ziploc bag and snip the corner. Then, squeeze the batter slowly into your donut pan.
The final step: chocolate glaze
No donut is complete without a frosted top! These chocolate frosted donuts get covered in a rich chocolate glaze made with bittersweet chocolate and butter. You can simply melt the ingredients, in intervals, in a microwave or use a double boiler. Be careful not to heat the chocolate too much.
To glaze the donuts:
- Dip the top of each donut into the chocolate glaze and place on a cooling rack to set.
- Shake some sprinkles on top for a colorful finish, if you like.
Since these donuts are baked, they’re best enjoyed the same day or can be kept for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Any longer and the donuts lose their moist texture, but trust me, they won’t last longer than a day on your kitchen counter.
Tips for making chocolate glazed donuts
- Don’t over mix the batter. This can cause the donuts to be tough and dense. To avoid this, simply mix together all the ingredients until they are combined.
- You can make a makeshift piping bag if you don’t one. If you don’t have a piping bag for depositing the batter into your donut pan, you can place the batter in a large Ziploc bag and snip the corner. Then, squeeze the batter slowly into your donut pan.
- Use a good quality chocolate for the glaze. While any chocolate will work, I prefer using a better quality chocolate because the better the quality, the better it tastes! 🙂
More donut recipes I love:
- Banana Donuts with Maple Glaze: Full of rich flavors an perfect for fall and wintertime.
- Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes: Perfect for all occasions!
- Old-Fashioned Fried Sugar Doughnuts: Classic fluffy and tender fried donuts coated in sugar and a touch of cinnamon.
Chocolate Donuts
These soft and tender chocolate donuts have the texture of soft cake and are topped with a rich chocolate glaze.
Ingredients
Chocolate Donuts
- 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) milk
- ¼ cup (60 ml) yogurt
- 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Glaze
- ½ cup (85g) semi-sweet chocolate or chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350°F/180°. Grease a donut pan* with oil or butter. Set aside.
-
Make the donuts: Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
-
In a medium bowl whisk egg with sugar until well combined. Add milk, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla extract, and whisk until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and mix until just combined. The batter will be thick.
-
Fill donut cavities with batter ¾ way full using a spoon or a piping bag (it's much easier with a piping bag)**. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup.
-
Bake for 9–10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the donuts comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in pan, then remove donuts from pan and transfer to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before glazing.
-
Make the chocolate glaze: Melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and butter gently in the microwave (in 30-second intervals, stirring in between) or a double boiler until smooth. Dip the tops of the donuts into the chocolate glaze, and place on a cooling rack to set.
-
Donuts are best eaten the same day or keep them for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
*No donut pan? No problem! You can make a DIY one at home.
Here’s what you’ll need:
-
- Muffin pan
-
- Tin foil
-
- Cooking spray
How to make a DIY donut pan:
-
- Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Take a square of tin foil, about 5x5in works well, and roll it into a thick cylinder the size you want the hole of your donut to be.
- Next, stand the tin cylinder upright in the middle of each muffin tin, pressing it down flat so it stands up straight.
- This will allow you to pipe the donut batter around the tin cylinder in the muffin pan so each donut bakes with a hole in the middle.
** If you don’t have a piping bag for depositing the batter into your donut pan, you can place the batter in a large Ziploc bag and snip the corner. Then, squeeze the batter slowly into your donut pan.
Lana Green says
Will the glaze turn out ok if I use milk chocolate instead of bittersweet?
Shiran says
Yes!
Sanah says
Can’t wait to try these! What kind of yogurt do you use for this recipe? Is it okay to use Greek yogurt?
Shiran says
I use plain yogurt.
Madeeha says
Is it American cups cause i want to convert it to grams
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Madeeha, yes it is.
Mo says
Hi, do you think, I could substitute the flour for,almond flour
Sara says
Hi. Do we have to heat the chocolate, heavy cream and butter after combining them ? Thanks
Ella baby says
Wow it’s beautiful and delicious.
Eunice says
Yes! Recipe says, put in microwave or melt in double boiler.
Heather says
Turned out great and very yummy. Easy to make too.
Mary says
What can I use instead of yogurt?
Thanks
Patrick says
This is a great recipe. I added 1/4 cup of chocolate chips to the dry ingredients and 1 tbsp of powdered sugar to the glaze
Ann says
These were just right! I substituted a glaze I use for chocolate Bundt cake, made with butter, cocoa , powdered sugar and vanilla. It worked fine , and they are delicious.
Tes says
Can I cut out the cut out the donut shapes and bake? Do t have a donut pan handy!
Shiran says
The batter is more like a cake batter so it won’t be possible to cut out shapes.
janice says
can i use curd/dahi instead of yogurt?
Shiran says
Yes it should work, or you can use sour cream.
Sally says
Is it the same measurement if we use sour cream? 🙂
Shiran says
Hi Sally, yes it is 🙂
Karen says
These were delicious and easy. The hard part was waiting for them to cool to add the glaze and eat. A definite “make again” recipe. I ended up with 10 donuts from my batch and had to cook for about 12 minutes. Totally worth the wait!!!
Heidi Barton says
These are SOOOOOO delicious! I’m not a baker at all but these are incredibly easy to make and glaze! I did use a different glaze recipe to make it easy on me and it worked perfect! The donuts were fluffy & light, more like a cupcake than a cake. I doubled the recipe and ended up with 24 donuts, i guess i have a smaller donut pan,
Hubby said i need now to learn how to make jelly filled donuts but to keep making these too!!!
Wenliang Chen says
wow
Chandni says
I just made this & they turned out AMAZINGGGG!!!
Can this recipe also be made eggless ? Any substitute for egg???
Shiran says
Sorry Chandni, but I have no experience baking with egg substitutes.
Ronni says
You can substitute the eggs with unsweetened applesauce .
Pernille says
Just use chick pea water and you’ll get same result in all baking – 3 tablespoons equals 1 egg.
Kt says
You also can use applesauce. 🙂
Jenny says
I haven’t tried it with this recipe but I found that you can use tofu in place of eggs. Just make sure it’s soft enough to whisk with the rest of the ingredients.
Ella baby says
Wow it’s beautiful and delicious. Can I have a taste of it.
Linda says
Can these be fried??
Shiran says
The recipe makes a thick cake-like batter, and not dough. So it won’t be good for frying.
Ayda says
Hi. I don’t have the pan for this, can I use a donut maker and get the same results?
Shiran says
It might not be the exact same result, but yes, it would work with a donut maker.
Gigi says
What is the purpose of yogurt/sour cream here?
Lynn says
The yogurt is used to activate the raising agents. It also helps with texture & taste.
Laura Croker says
Hi I was just wondering do I need to use the yogurt?
Kt says
I have a question, are these a dry? Every recipe I have tried ended up being dry, I haven’t tried this one yet but I would like to know before making them!🙂 I’ll give it a 5 star so I don’t mess up your ratings! Cause by the reviews they sound great!
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Kt! These donuts are not meant to be dry, they have a tender, cake-like consistency.
KT says
Is there something that I possibly could add to make them less dry, yours weren’t , but I have A LOT of recipes that are chocolate doughnuts and are dry. I’ve been trying to ask around to see what I can add to make it less dry 🙂
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi KT, you can try adding a bit more liquid to the recipes that you find are dry! Try a few tablespoons and see if it makes a difference 🙂
Rachel says
How long does it take to cool completely before glazing?
Md says
I put them on the rack for quick cool-down. We are impatient 🍩
MD says
One NB, although the donuts turned out perfectly the glaze made with bitter sweet chocolate does not render a sweet enough icing. I would use milk chocolate chips or maybe a combination of semi sweet chocolate chips next time. This is a great recipe for any level Baker!
Thalia says
yum i made 8 of these and i ate them all so good
Stella says
Delicious! I used a few substitutes and it still turned out great! Great recipe!
Jan says
Can these be frozen?
Shiran says
Yes 🙂
Andrea says
These donuts are ridiculous…ridiculously amazing! They puffed up so nicely in the oven, they have a perfect chocolate taste without being too sweet, and they just look perfect, which isn’t necessary but a nice bonus.
Kelly Jo says
Delicious and so easy to make! I will definitely be making these again.
Monique says
Just made these today – WOW!!!! The doughnut batter was jut as you described and the taste was very chocolatey. Super simple to make – I used a silicone pan and swapped high cocoa chocolate for the icing. These will definitely be served at our next brunch!!! YUMMY! Thanks so much!
Michelle says
I used light sour cream as I was out of yogurt and they came out delicious!
Jlbvk says
These are DELICIOUS!! If anyone has any question about making these, do it! They could not be better!!!
Cupid’s arrow says
Wow!! Donuts came out fabulous!
Amazing recipe!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!
Biljana says
Donuts were wonderful, soft, amazing taste, easy to make! Thank you for your recipes!
Jenna says
If I don’t have yogurt or sour cream can I omit? Or use mayonnaise?
Shiran says
Hi Jenna, I wouldn’t recommend substituting mayonnaise for the yogurt. You can try using buttermilk or milk instead of yogurt, but milk will result in a slightly dryer texture.
smriti says
plz can u tell the substitute of egg in this recipe.
Adriana Nunez says
Can you make these in mini donuts? What will be the baking time?
Shiran says
Yes, you can. I don’t know the exact baking time as I haven’t tried it.
Michelesgifts4u says
Donuts turned out just like your photo. Thank You
Lilly says
My daughter made these and they were amazing!!!
Tammy S says
These are so easy and delicious! I love that they are healthier than regular donuts!
Millie says
These are so good! Made them with my granddaughters and even easy to do with these 2 littles😊. I was out of yogurt, so I used sour cream as a substitute, and I was out of chocolate chips, so I melted 1/2 of Hershy’s chocolate ice-cream topping…. turned out delicious.
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
So glad you enjoyed!
Amelia says
I did these donuts with Bulgarian yogurt and OH MY they are the best. I’ve been wanting to do a Strawberry glazed donut any recipe suggestions?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Amelia, you can make an easy strawberry glaze with sifted powdered sugar and some strawberry jam! Try combining 1.5-2 cups of powdered sugar with about a tablespoon of jam (maybe start with a tad less and gauge the consistency) for a nice glaze that you can top your donuts with! I also recommend sifting your powdered sugar first before mixing in the jam to make it easier to combine.
Billy says
Hi! Can we make these in a mini donut maker? Thanks! 😃
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Billy, I think it should be fine! However, I haven’t tried this recipe in a donut maker myself so I can’t say for sure.
Jenn says
Just made these chocolate donuts and they are delicious!!! Thank you so much for the recipe. They are just the right size for little grandkids. They will be excited to have them for dessert!!! (I might have had to eat one first just to make sure they were ok!)
Emmanuel says
Wooow 🤩 God bless you 🙏🙌❤️❤️❤️
Susan says
I LOVED these!!! Although I think that they were just the saddest bit on the dry side, do you think that there is anything that I can add or add more of in this recipe?
Susan says
I LOVED these!!! Although I think that they were just the saddest bit on the dry side, do you think that there is anything that I can add or add more of in this recipe? Thanks!!!
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Susan, the donuts may have overbaked a bit resulting in them being dry. I would try reducing the baking time next time you make them 🙂
roblox guy says
DONUTS!
I love this recipe of chocolate doughnuts! I will try to make them tomorrow!!
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Let us know what you think!:)
roblox guy says
I love this recipe of chocolate doughnuts! I will try to make them tomorrow!!
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Let us know what you think!:)
Nina says
The raw batter is almost like a mousse!
I made these donuts in not exactly full sized silicone pans. The cooking time was drastically different for me because of that so I think adding some info on various sized pans and pan materials in your post may be helpful to those that are not so comfortable with just winging it. Providing links to the cookware you use so that we have size and material comparison could be helpful as well.
The donuts are more like a cake consistency than a donut consistency. Even if you dont have donut molds, this recipe could make nice cup cakes or sheet cakes if you adjust the cooking time.
Recipe is easy and straight forward so I do recommend giving it a try for a light airy cake like donut.
Monica says
Made it twice- my taste testers could not get enough! Used Greek yogurt both times (that’s what we always have in the house). Used 1/4 cup 70% chocolate chips the first batch, and 1/4 cup semisweet chips the second batch. The second batch won 😋. 9 minutes to cook no testing…. Amazing!
Susan says
Hi Shiraz, I want to make these but my donut pan is a silicone one. Are there any baking changes when using silicone one?
Thank you.
Susan
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Susan, I have not used a silicone pan for this recipe. I would first try baking them as the recipe directs. Watch as the baking time nears the end and add or subtract time depending on how your donuts are looking.
Caity says
The recipe works well and they’re still really tasty however they’re just donut shaped. They taste like a normal chocolate cake. I miss the recipe I lost that taste more like donuts. I’ll keep hunting. Still a yummy cake batter anyhow!
Christi says
These chocolate donuts are simple to make, and delicious to eat! Great texture, and wonderful chocolate flavor! YUM!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Thank you, Christi!
lola says
i just made this and the recipe needs alot more sugar!! unless you like your donuts bland!!
Jaide says
I was wondering how many donuts dose this recipe make.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Jaide, 6-8 donuts – depending on the size of your pan
Joni says
These are the best! Every time I make them people can’t believe they’re not store made!