Baked Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Glaze (Double Chocolate Action)

Made healthier with greek yogurt and baked, not fried, these donuts are packed with cocoa and buttermilk, making for some incredibly moist double chocolate donuts.

I think we all deserve some chocolate after this crazy week. And with today being the second National Donut day of the year (albeit the lesser known one), today is as good time as any to introduce this baked chocolate donuts recipe with a chocolate glaze! More chocolate, anyone?

I got the major cravings for donuts last week, but not just any donuts, the moist, melt-in-your mouth, melted chocolate all over your hands messy-kind of donuts. The ones that break what little self-control you had to begin with, so you have them again for lunch because they are so, so good.

Who wants to indulge with me?

Ingredients You Need for Baked Chocolate Donuts

Made a smidgen healthier by using greek yogurt and being baked, not fried, these chocolate donuts are packed with cocoa, buttermilk and brown sugar. All ingredients that make one heck of a moist chocolate donut.

• Dutch-process Cocoa Powder: Gives you all that chocolate flavor and that deep dark color! 
• All-purpose flour 
• Light brown sugar: For added sweetness!
• Baking powder and baking soda: Help the donuts rise.
• Salt
• Eggs: Incorporate better in the batter at room temperature. Vegans, you can try flax eggs, but I have not tested it.
• Buttermilk: You can use whole milk and 1 tsp vinegar if you don’t have buttermilk on hand.
• Vanilla extract: For extra flavor!
• Greek yogurt: You can substitute with sour cream. Both add moisture.
• Coconut or vegetable oil

Two Parts: How to Make Chocolate Donuts

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1. To make the donuts: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Mix wet ingredients together in a medium bowl, and mix the dry ingredients together in a separate large bowl. Incorporate the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. The batter will be thick. Fill your donut pans two-thirds of the way and bake for 9-11 minutes or until they have set.

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2. To make the glaze: Microwave together the chocolate chips, corn syrup, butter, water and espresso powder if using in 20-second increments.The final glaze should be nice and smooth. You can add a bit of water until you have your desired consistency. 

Tips for Making the Best Donuts

• Use piping bags to fill the donut pans. It’s far easier to pipe the batter into the donut pans than to try to spoon it out. If you don’t have piping bags, you can cut out a corner of a freezer bag and use that instead.
• Do not overfill your donut pans. You will be left with large donuts without holes. Stop at the two-thirds mark. I had to bake mine in two batches because the batter I made exceeded the capacity of the pans I was using.
• What do I do if my donuts keep sticking to the pan? 4 possible reasons:
  • Your oven may be too hot. Check with a thermometer. You’d be surprised how varied oven temperatures can be depending on your model.
  • Your donut pan may need to be replaced – the non-stick coating may be starting to wear off.
  • You might be waiting too long to remove them from the pan. Try removing the donuts after they cool for only 1-2 minutes.
  • You didn’t grease the pan enough. You can try sprinkling flour over your pan after greasing it.
• To make mini donuts, follow the recipe as is, but decrease the baking time to 7-9 minutes. Check at the 7 minute mark.
• Go wild with toppings!  I love this with sprinkles, extra chocolate chips or shredded coconut. 

Common Questions

• Can I substitute Dutch-process for Natural Cocoa powder? Keep in mind that Dutch-process cocoa powder is neutralized with an alkaline solution, so it’s often used with baking powder. Natural cocoa powder is acidic, bitter and often used with baking soda. Because of this you can not simply substitute one for the other unless you are adding an acid (for Dutch-process) or a base (for Natural cocoa powder). This recipe calls for both baking powder and baking soda, so if you leave the ingredients as is but use natural cocoa, the donuts might just be a bit more acidic. I haven’t tested this out, so if you do, let me know how it goes in the comments section.
• Metal-pan or silicone pan? Silicone pans are not non-stick, so you will still have to grease the pan. Removing donuts can always be a challenge, so to make things more convenient and easier to clean up, I recommend sticking with a metal pan. I am using the Wilton Non-Stick 6 donut baking pans.

More Chocolate Recipes to Enjoy

Dark Chocolate S’mores Blossom Cookies

Raspberry Chocolate Bites

Pumpkin Bread with Honey and Chocolate

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