Baked Chocolate Donuts

These fluffy and soft Baked Chocolate Donuts are topped with a thick and rich chocolate glaze that sets up just like the kind at the donut shop. They are a chocoholics’ dream come true and perfect as a treat any time of the day!

Chocolate donuts on a white plate with a glass of milk

Table of Contents

Why this Recipe Works
Ingredient Notes
How to Make this Recipe
Recipe FAQ’s
Recipe Tips
More Chocolate Recipes
Baked Chocolate Donuts Recipe

Pour yourself a cup of cold milk and enjoy this chocolate version of the classic cake donut as a delicious breakfast treat. This is also fabulous as an afternoon snack, dessert, or whenever you need to curb the chocolate craving.

Are you drooling yet? Then let’s get to baking!

Whether you are more of a donuts-for-breakfast person or think they should be reserved for an afternoon treat, be sure to try our delicious Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts, Baked Strawberry Donuts, Carrot Cake Baked Donuts or these amazing Classic Apple Cider Donuts next!

Why this Recipe Works

These donuts are baked rather than fried, which gives it that cake-like texture and makes it a little healthier than the classic version of a donut.
The donut itself is moist and fluffy, just like a slice of chocolate cake and it is dipped covered in a creamy, rich, chocolate glaze.
As if the chocolate glaze isn’t enough to top it off, you can also add your favorite sprinkles for an extra spark to this amazing treat.
No need to deal with the hassle and mess of deep frying donuts when you can just bake them in the oven!

Baked chocolate donuts on a white table with chocolate glaze

Ingredient Notes

Buttermilk: This ingredient adds richness and a slight tang that is perfect with chocolate desserts. If you don’t have any on hand, I’ll include a good substitution below!
Flour: All-purpose flour is great in this recipe for providing the bulk of the structure for the donuts.
Cocoa powder: I always get asked which brands I prefer and the answer is usually whichever one I have on hand! I’m not above using Hershey’s regular unsweetened cocoa powder that is readily available in any grocery store. But I also like Ghiradelli, Rodelle, and Guittard.
Semisweet chocolate chips: These are used in both the donut and the glaze for an even more impactful chocolate flavor. One of my pet peeves is when desserts look chocolatey but they don’t actually taste chocolatey. That won’t happen with a recipe on my site.

Flour, eggs, cocao powder, eggs, buttermilk, bake soda, salt, chocolate chips vanilla, sprinkles, brown sugar

How to Make this Recipe

Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.

Adding cocoa powder and using a measuring spoon to help sift it into a large bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients. In a small bowl, mix the milk, eggs, and vanilla. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave in intervals of 20 seconds, until smooth. Be careful not to burn it. Add the butter and chocolate mixture to the other wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Eggs are added to a clear glass bowl. A wire whisk is resting in the bowl, and other cups and bowls are visible in the background.

Mike is poured from a small glass pitcher into a clear glass mixing bowl containing eggs.

Add wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, little by little. Mix until combined.
Fill the donut pan. Spray a donut pan with baking spray. Using a piping bag, fill each pan cavity about ⅔ full, so they do not overflow.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the donuts bounce when you touch them. Let them cool for 5 minutes before removing from the mold. Let them cool completely before adding the glaze.

Pro Tip: Make sure your oven is fully preheated. Sometimes an oven indicator light will say the oven is ready when really it needs a solid 20 minutes to come to temperature. For even baking and best results, keep an inexpensive oven thermometer in your oven to get an accurate temperature reading always.

a piping bag filled with chocolate donut batter filling a donut pan

Melt the butter and chocolate in 20 second bursts in the microwave. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. The microwave heats from the outside in, so it is important to stir the chocolate between each heating to distribute the heat.

Melted butter and chocolate are stirred with a rubber spatula in a clear glass bowl.

A rubber spatula is resting in a smooth chocolate mixture, in a clear glass bowl.

Add remaining glaze ingredients. Whisk in the powdered sugar. Then add the milk little by little. You need the chocolate glaze to be runny, but not so much that it drips off the donuts. It should have a thick consistency.

Powdered sugar is stirred into a chocolate mixture.

Add your glaze to a piping bag. Pipe the glaze onto each donut. Add sprinkles to your donuts right away, before the chocolate glaze has a chance to set.

Chocolate glaze is piped onto donuts in a circular pattern.

A plate of glazed and unglazed donuts are displayed, with a bowl of chocolate glaze visible in the background.

Recipe FAQ’s

Can I use milk instead of buttermilk?

I don’t recommend replacing the buttermilk with regular milk as it will affect the acidity in the batter causing the donuts to come out much different. But not only is the buttermilk replacement I mentioned above a good substitute, you can also freeze buttermilk to always have on hand and to avoid food waste if you buy a container for this recipe and don’t use it all.

Can I make mini donuts instead?

Yes! You can make whatever size donuts you like. If you are using a mini donut mold, you may want to shorten the baking time.

Can these donuts be prepped ahead of time?

The donut batter can certainly be prepped the night before baking, placed in the piping bag, and stored in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before baking.

What if I don’t have a donut pan?

If you don’t have a donut pan, you could use a muffin pan with small balls of wadded up aluminum foil in the center of each cup to achieve a similar result.

baked chocolate donuts on white plates, a glass of milk, a bowl of chocolate chips, a silver spoon and silver forks

Recipe Tips

The consistency of the icing can be adjusted by adding in extra milk or powdered sugar depending on the consistency you are looking for.
You can make 12 donuts if you make them smaller. In this recipe I mentioned 11 because I prefer to have them a bit thicker.
These donuts are best eaten the same day or can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Not a fan of sprinkles? No big deal! Top off your donuts with crushed peanuts, walnuts, or even mini chocolate chips or m&m’s instead!

A glazed chocolate donut with a bite out of it is placed on a small plate. Two forks and various bowls are visible around the plate.

Three glazed chocolate donuts are propped on each other on a white plate with a glass of milk. Other donuts on plates are visible in the foreground and background.

Buttermilk substitute: If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can easily make a good buttermilk substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a 1 cup measuring cup, then fill it the rest of the way with milk (whole milk, preferably). Wait five minutes, then use in place of buttermilk in any recipe!