These soft Chocolate Cake Donuts are topped with a simple chocolate glaze. They are made without yeast and are baked, not fried. They only take minutes to come together!
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These chocolate cake donuts taste just like chocolate cake. They are also fun and easy to make! Best part? You can enjoy them for both breakfast and dessert.
If you are looking for a chocolate cake recipe, try my Mini Chocolate Cake. For more donut recipes, try my Lemon Blueberry Cake Donuts and Birthday Donuts!
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Chocolate chips and cocoa powder make these baked chocolate cake donuts extra chocolatey.
- The easy 2-ingredient chocolate ganache makes the most decadent topping!
- They only take ten minutes to bake!
- They are baked, not fried. This makes the donuts a bit healthier.
Ingredients
Here are some useful notes on some of the ingredients.
- Cocoa powder: Use unsweetened natural or Dutch processed cocoa powder.
- Brown sugar: Use light or dark brown sugar.
- Butter: Use melted unsalted butter. Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- 1 egg: Use 1 large, room temperature egg.
- Yogurt: I recommend full fat, room temperature yogurt.
- Milk: Use full fat, room temperature milk.
Please see recipe card for a full list of ingredients and their measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- In place of melted butter, use vegetable oil.
- Instead of chocolate ganache, dust donuts with powdered sugar.
Instructions
Below are instructions for the best chocolate cake donut recipe! Please see recipe card at the bottom of this post for full list of ingredients and their measurements.
Step 1: Preheat oven. Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease donut pans with butter.
Step 2: Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Step 3: Combine the wet ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, yogurt, milk and melted butter.
Step 4: Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir the egg-yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients.
Next, Fold in the chocolate chips.
Step 5: Fill the donut pan evenly. Pipe the batter into the donut molds between 3/4 full and full.
Step 6: Bake. Bake 8-10 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.
Step 7: Make the ganache. Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan on low heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil then pour over the chocolate chips. Do not stir.
Allow to sit for 3 minutes then stir till smooth. Allow to cool slightly before using.
Step 8: Decorate the donuts. Dip each chocolate frosted cake donut in the glaze or drizzle the glaze over top. Sprinkle with sprinkles or sea salt.
Expert Baking Tips
Tip #1: Spoon flour into your measuring cup. Then, level the cup off with the back of a knife. Avoid dredging your measuring cup in the flour. This could cause you to use more flour than you need.
Tip #2: Add the butter/yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients right away. If you let the butter/yogurt mixture sit, it will clump up.
Tip #3: The easiest way to fill the donut pan is to use a piping bag or zip lock bag. Spoon the batter into the bag and snip off a corner.
Equipment
You need a donut pan for this baked chocolate cake donut recipe. Donut pans give your batter a donut shape.
I use these nonstick Wilton pans for baking donuts.
I have two donut pans. Each pan makes 6 donuts. It’s easier to bake the donuts all at once using two pans!
If you only have one donut pan, allow it to cool for a few minutes before making the second batch.
Recipe FAQs
I have heard you can bake donuts in muffin tins, but I haven’t tried it. If you try it, I would recommend adjust the baking time as needed.
Fried donuts are fried in a pan filled with hot oil. The oil fries the donuts. Baked donuts are baked in a donut tin in the oven.
Donuts are freshest and most flavorful the day they’re made. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Chocolate Cake Donuts
Ingredients
Chocolate Donuts
- 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (21.5 g) cocoa powder unsweetened natural or Dutch processed
- 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) salt
- 1/4 cup (55 g) brown sugar light or dark
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (45 g) semisweet mini chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter melted or vegetable oil
- 1 (1) large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (81.67 g) yogurt room temperature
- 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) whole milk room temperature
Chocolate Ganache
- 1/2 cup (90 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) heavy cream
FOR DECORATION
- sea salt flakes
- sprinkles
Instructions
Chocolate Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease donut pans well with butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, yogurt, milk and melted butter.
- Stir the egg-yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Use a piping bag or zip lock bag or spoon to fill the dough into the donut molds between 3/4 full and full.
- Bake 8-10 minutes. Place donut pans on a wire rack to cool for five minutes. Turn donuts out onto rack and allow to cool.*
Chocolate Ganache
- Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan on low heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil then pour over the chocolate chips. Do not stir.
- Allow to sit for 3 minutes then stir till smooth. Allow to cool slightly before using.
- Dip the donuts in the glaze or drizzle the glaze over top. Sprinkle with sprinkles or sea salt. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
*This site contains affiliate links which means that I may receive commissions for purchases made through these links. Please know I only link to products that I use and can recommend based on my experience!
Barbara Briggs Ward
I’ll take a dozen please! Yummy!