Baked Chocolate Donut Recipe – Girl Versus Dough

This Baked Chocolate Donut Recipe is rich, chocolatey, and so easy to make. They have the same soft texture as fried donuts without the oil or mess!

Whether you are craving a chocolate donut and don’t want to deal with fryer oil or looking for a healthier option, these baked chocolate donuts are for you! You’ll get the signature cake-donut bite from sour cream, milk, and cake flour. They are perfectly chocolatey and super easy to make. You’ll make tender, rich chocolate donuts in under 30 minutes!

For some more equally delicious and easy donuts, check out these vanilla baked donuts or these maple donuts with crumb topping. Once you feel ready to fry, you can try these easy French crullers, and then you must make this Krispy Kreme donut recipe!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Cocoa Powder: Use high-quality cocoa powder. I prefer Dutch-processed cocoa powder for the flavor and color, but you can also use non-Dutch-process cocoa powder for these donuts.
• Cake Flour & All-Purpose Flour: Using a combination of flours gives the donuts enough structure to dip them in glaze but also a tender texture!  
• Whole Milk: I use whole milk for its added flavor and fat. It has a lower water content, and the extra fat helps keep the donuts tender and moist. You can substitute skim or milk alternatives. 
• Sour Cream: Sour cream adds moisture and fat to the donuts. Like with sour cream donuts, it adds to the flavor of the donut. You can substitute Greek yogurt if that’s what you have on hand, just use full-fat to keep the tender crumb of the donut. 
• Granulated Sugar: Sugar is added here for sweetness and leavening when beating the eggs. It helps create a soft, tender, light texture.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Change the glaze. Make chocolate strawberry donuts using the glaze from these strawberry lemon cake donuts. You can make them double chocolate by making a simple chocolate glaze or this chocolate fudge glaze recipe. Also, I would never say no to peanut butter-glazed chocolate donuts! 
• Add additional flavors with a mix-in or filling. Mix in mini chocolate chips, dehydrated raspberries, white chocolate, or even peanuts! You can also fill the donuts like these jelly donuts! Add Nutella, raspberry, or strawberry jam—pipe in four spots on the donuts to ensure filling in each bite. 
• Make mini donuts. Buy mini doughnut pans and make adorable mini donuts. They will bake a little faster, so check them around 6 minutes. I would use a small round piping tip to fill the molds to help prevent overfilling. 
• Add some color. Change the glaze color to red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July or blue or pink for baby shower donuts. Maybe even top the donuts with some fun sprinkles or mini M&M’s! They make adorable sprinkles for everything now, from Halloween to bridal showers. 

Professional Tips 

• Don’t overfill the molds. Overfilling the donut molds will cause the batter to bake together over the hole, resembling a cupcake more than a donut. You can trim this off with a serrated knife, but for the prettiest donut, fill the mold only ⅔ of the way. 
• Dip the donuts while warm. Baked donuts don’t have the structure of fried donuts. Let them cool slightly before glazing—too hot and they’ll fall apart, too cool and the glaze won’t stick. With a side benefit that the donuts will retain more moisture and stay fresh longer.
• Donut pans vary in depth. The donut pan that I use is deeper than other pans. So, your yield and bake time can change depending on what pan you have. If your pan is thinner, your donuts might be done in 8 minutes.  
• Buy two pans. Not only will all your donuts be done at once but it is better for the batter to bake immediately. If you only have one pan you can add the batter to the hot pan just be sure to spray it again to keep the donut from sticking. 

How to Make Baked Chocolate Donuts

Use these instructions to make these rich, baked chocolate donuts! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Make and bake the donuts: 

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease 2 donut pans with non-stick cooking spray.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and milk. 

Sift the dry ingredients together if your cocoa powder is clumpy. Otherwise, you can end up with pockets of unmixed cocoa powder in the donuts. 

Step 3: Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave.

Step 4: In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, followed by the milk mixture, melted butter, and vanilla extract until well combined.

Step 5: Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir together until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.

Step 6: Spoon the batter into a piping bag or resealable plastic bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan, filling each cavity about 2/3 full.

Step 7: Bake the donuts for 9 to 10 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Step 8: Remove the donuts from the oven and turn out immediately onto a cooling rack to cool. 

I prefer to glaze the donuts when they are warm because you get a nice, thin coating without making the glaze too thin. Too thin a glaze will not set.

Glaze the donuts:  

Step 9: For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth and well combined. Add more milk if needed to achieve your desired consistency.

Step 10: Dip the slightly warm donuts into the glaze, allowing any excess to drip off, and place them back on the wire rack. I like putting the crinkled tops facing up because they resemble fried chocolate cake donuts! 

Step 11: Add sprinkles or other toppings to the glazed donuts if desired. Let the glaze set for a few minutes before serving. 

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