Baked Chocolate Donuts, mixed at home
You won't regret making these House-made Baked Chocolate Donuts! They are soft, tender, and topped with a silky chocolate ganache. Make them for an easy breakfast treat to enjoy with family andfriends, or just keep them all to yourself!
This post has been updated from its original date of February 27, 2019.
Grab Your Ingredients
I'm willing to bet you have most, if not all, of the ingredients needed to make these easy-baked glazed chocolate donuts! Here's what you'll need:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Salt
- Granulated Sugar
- An Egg
- Vegetable Oil
- Boiling Water
- Milk
- Vanilla Extract
How it comes together
This is a truly easy house-made chocolate donut recipe to whip up. Here's a quick overview of how to make them!
Whisk the dry ingredients together. This includes all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, and granulated sugar.
Add in the wet ingredients. Add in the egg, vegetable oil, boiling water, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk the mixture together until just combined. Do not over-mix.
Fill the donut cavities. You can use either a glass measuring cup or a large piping bag. You don't need a decorating tip; just snip the end of the bag off when you are ready to start.
With either method, Try having a paper towel nearby to clean up any drips. I also suggest giving each donut pan 3-4 gentle taps on the counter to release any air bubbles.
Bake, cool, then dip! You will bake the chocolate donuts for 8-10 minutes at 350ºF. Let them cool for about 5 minutes before turning them onto a wire cooling rack.
Once cooled, dip them into the chocolate ganache and enjoy!
Additional Ways to Decorate Your Baked Chocolate Donuts
In addition to the chocolate ganache (which I highly recommend), you can decorate your donuts with the following:
- Chocolate Jimmies (or Sprinkles)
- Rainbow Jimmies (or Sprinkles)
- Chopped Pistachios
- Crispearls
- Chopped Oreos
Recommended Donut Baking Tools
Mixing Bowls, Whisk, and Spatula. You will need two mixing bowls—one for the donuts and the other for the chocolate ganache. Having a whisk or two and a spatula on hand will be quite helpful.
2 Donut Pans. Try getting the ones from Wilton. I know there are other donut pans out there, but I find these work truly well, and they make nice size baked donuts, and clean up nicely. You can usually find them in a set of 2.
Flour-Based Baking Spray. If you've seen my other recipes on here you're already going to know what I'm going to say and that's to get yourself some Baker's Joy. I'm not at all sponsored by them, I just truly believe in their product! The reason Enjoy it so much is it makes for an easy release of your donuts from the pan (or bundt cakes, etc.). You can get Baker's Joy at my local Walmart.
Glass Measuring Cup or Large Piping Bag. This will come in very handy when it comes time to fill the donut cavities. Otherwise, you'll more than likely end up with a ginormous mess on your hands. I do recommend keeping a paper towel on hand for any drips.
Cooling Rack and Baking Sheet. You'll need the cooling rack for cooling the donuts and a place to set them after you've topped them with the chocolate ganache.
Questions on this bake
What is the size of each donut?The size of each donut measures 3.5 inches in diameter when baked.
How full should I fill the donut pans?Yes! Unless you have a countertop oven, you can bake the pans side-by-side.
- Yield 10 servings
- Prep 20 minutes
- Cook 10 minutes
- Total 30 minutes
- Calories 215
Ingredients
chocolate donuts
- 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
- 3 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg, room temperature
- 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1/4 cup Boiling Water
- 1/4 cup Milk, any dairy type
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
chocolate ganache
- 1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Method
baked chocolate donuts
- Adjust the oven rack to the 2nd level mark (just above center) and heat the oven to 350ºF. Generously coat 2 donut pans with a flour-based baking spray. Hold to the side.
- Using a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, and granulated sugar. Add in the egg, vegetable oil, boiling water, milk, vanilla extract, and stir together until just combined. The batter will be on the thin, runny side.
- Fill eat donut cavity about 3/4 of the way full, or 3 times around. You can fill them using either a glass measuring cup or a large piping bag (no piping tip needed—just snip the tip of the bag off when ready to use).
- Place the 2 donut pans side-by-side in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350ºF. When done, the donuts should spring back when you gently press on them. Allow them to slightly cool in the pans for about 5 minutes before removing them carefully inverting them onto a wire cooling rack. The donuts should be cooled completely before topping with the chocolate ganache.
chocolate ganache topping
- Place the semi-sweet chocolate chips into a medium size bowl. Hold to the side.
- Using a microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup, heat the heavy whipping cream for 45 seconds. Pour it over the chocolate chips, then cover loosely with aluminum foil for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the cover, then add in the vanilla extract, and stir until completely melted and smooth. Use a small spatula to smoosh any stubborn chocolate chips that may not want to melt fully. If the ganache seems too thin for your liking, you can add in a few more chocolate chips. Likewise, if you find the ganache to be too thick, you can add a small amount of heated heavy cream to the mixture to get your desired consistency.
- Once smooth, dip each cooled baked chocolate donut into the ganache, gently swirl it around, then carefully lift up and place onto a cooling rack. Try placing the cooling rack over a few paper towels to catch any chocolate ganache that may drip off.
- Donuts will keep at room temp in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Baker notes
Recipe is adapted from the Chocolate Cake and Oreo Buttercream Frosting recipe.
Donut pans are from Wilton.
