Baked Chocolate Doughnuts. Delicious, light, cake like doughnuts with chocolate glaze feature cocoa powder, vanilla bean paste, fine sea salt and some sour cream for a bit of tang and moisture. Doughnuts garnished with a variety of toppings including chopped pistachios, toasted coconut, sliced almonds, chopped macadamia nuts, chocolate sprinkles, and drizzles of warm caramel sauce and warm creamy peanut butter.
I made jumbo doughnuts, but this recipe works great for regular size doughnuts.
Why You Should Make These Doughnuts
- tender chocolate doughnuts are the perfect brunch treat.
- doughnuts can be made a day in advance of glazing and garnishing.
- unglazed chocolate doughnuts can be frozen for up to a month.
- these doughnuts are amazing plain, glazed or garnished.
- chocolate doughnuts + topping ideas = endless.
How To Make These Baked Chocolate Doughnuts
Jumbo or regular doughnut pans are wiped with vegetable oil or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and set aside momentarily.
All-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and fine sea salt are added to a medium mixing bowl and whisked to combine. Set aside.
Slightly chilled unsalted butter is beaten with granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes on medium speed in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer.
Three eggs are added to the sugar mixture, one at a time and beaten long enough to incorporate after each addition.
Vanilla bean paste is added to the sugar mixture and beaten long enough to incorporate.
Half the reserved flour mixture is added to the sugar mixture and beaten for a few seconds, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula, if necessary. The sour cream is added to the doughnut batter and beaten for a few seconds. The remaining flour mixture is added to the doughnut batter and beaten just long enough to fully incorporate. Scrape down the bowl again, if necessary.
I like to transfer the doughnut batter to a large plastic bag or piping bag, and pipe the batter into the individual cavities in each doughnut pan. I fill each cavity about 2/3 full. Alternately, the batter can be spooned into the doughnut pan.
The doughnuts are baked until they’ve domed and are firm to the touch, about 20 minutes for jumbo doughnuts, 10 to 12 minutes for regular size doughnuts.
The doughnuts are cooled in the pan for a few minutes and then removed from the pan to cool completely.
The glaze is made by combining powdered sugar and cocoa powder with vanilla bean paste and milk. Thin the glaze to your desired consistency by adding additional teaspoons of milk. I added the vanilla bean paste and 2 tablespoons of milk and the glaze was thick and to my liking.
I dipped my doughnuts in the chocolate glaze, inverted them, set them on a wire rack and topped them immediately with chopped pistachios. Toasted coconut, sliced almonds, chopped macadamia nuts, chocolate sprinkles, caramel sauce and a peanut butter drizzle.
Other Doughnut Recipes You Might Enjoy
Some of our most popular doughnut recipes include baked apple doughnuts with whipped ganache, coffee cake doughnuts, and lemon blueberry doughnuts.
Baked Chocolate Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze
Equipment
- 3 (6-cavity) regular small doughnut pans OR 2 (4-cavity) jumbo doughnut pans
Ingredients
Doughnuts:
- 170 grams unsalted butter, room temperature (3/4 cup)
- 150 grams granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
- 100 grams light brown sugar (1/2 cup)
- 100 grams egg (3 large), room temperature
- 15 grams vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (1 tablespoon)
- 260 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups)
- 60 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (1/2 cup)
- 10 grams baking powder (2 teaspoons)
- 3 grams baking soda (1/2 teaspoon)
- 5 grams fine sea salt (1 teaspoon)
- 240 grams sour cream (1 cup)
Chocolate Glaze:
- 90 grams powdered sugar (3/4 cup)
- 15 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (2 tablespoons)
- 45 grams milk (3 tablespoons)
- 5 grams vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
Instructions
Doughnuts:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 6-cavity doughnut pans (OR two 4-cavity jumbo doughnut pans ) with non-stick cooking spray or wipe with vegetable oil. Set aside.
- Add unsalted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar to stand mixer. Beat on medium until smooth and creamy.
- Add eggs one at a time and beat on low to incorporate after each addition. Add vanilla beat extract and beat on low until incorporated.
- Add the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and fine sea salt to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add 1/2 flour mixture to stand mixer. Beat on low just until incorporated. Add sour cream. Beat on low just until incorporated. Add remaining flour mixture. Beat on low just until incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Add doughnut batter to large gallon size plastic storage bag and cut a small hole in corner of bag. Seal the bag and squeeze the batter through the opening into the doughnut pan cavities about 2/3 of the way to the top. Smooth batter with wet finger.
- Bake jumbo doughnuts in hot oven for 20 minutes. Bake regular doughnuts 10 to 12 minutes. Doughnuts will be firm to the touch.
- Remove doughnut pans from oven and cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pans to cool completely.
Chocolate Glaze:
- Add powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla bean paste to small bowl. Stir to combine. Add additional milk in 1/2 teaspoon increments to achieve desired thickness. Glaze will be very thick before any additional milk. Dip doughnuts in chocolate glaze. Invert doughnuts and place on rack for the glaze to set.
- If you are garnishing your doughnuts, its best to do so right after you dip the doughnut in glaze as the glaze begins to set very quickly.
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