These baked chocolate donuts are so much easier to make than fried! With only 10 minutes baking time, they’re a great little weekend project. Top with melted ruby chocolate for a sweet and simple glaze, or use another type of chocolate or icing you like. These are delicious with cream cheese frosting, too.
Try some more easy chocolate desserts, like depression cake (no eggs or butter needed), icebox cake, or fruity chocolate raspberry brownies!
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Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Flour: use up to half whole wheat flour if preferred but note that they will be more dense that way.
- Milk: buttermilk is a terrific substitute for milk.
- Vanilla: use any extract you like. Almond, brandy, or peppermint extract would be nice.
- Chocolate: for a super simple and smooth chocolate glaze make sure to look for melting chocolate (sometimes called melting wafers). You can use ruby as pictured, or any other type of chocolate you like.
Method
With just ten minutes needed in the oven, baked donuts are as easy as making muffins. No deep fryer needed!
Step 1: whisk the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Step 2: sift in the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Step 3: pipe the batter into a prepared donut tin and smooth out the tops.
Step 4: bake until fluffy. Note that you won't see any browning, so a timer is a good idea.
Step 5: melt the chocolate glaze in the microwave or over a double boiler.
Step 6: spoon the glaze onto the donuts, top with sprinkles, and serve.
Top Tips
- Don't flip them: the top of each donut in the tin will be the actual top of the donut for serving. Once baked you can flip the donuts over for a more smooth look but I think they look more like typical donuts when you don’t flip them over.
- Use the right tin: you need a donut tin to make this recipe. Find them easily on Amazon, or in many stores with well-stocked baking sections. All you really need is a single six-cavity tin.
- Don't dip them: spooning melted chocolate over the donuts makes a more even layer compared to dipping. After the tops are covered and smooth, top with sprinkles, and let the chocolate set before serving.
Recipe Notes
You can spoon donut batter into the tin if you want, but it makes a mess. To get a more true donut look, you want to use a piping bag fitted with a large round tip like the Wilton 1A decorating tip. If you don't own piping bags, you can cut the corner off of a large zipper-top plastic storage bag.
Keep in mind, this is a recipe for baked chocolate donuts, not fried. They have completely different textures and these are more like baked chocolate cake donuts. They're quick, easy, and much safer to make, especially with children!
How To Store
Storage: oven-baked chocolate donuts are best eaten fresh, the day they're made. They will keep for a couple days in a sealed container, but go stale quickly.
Freezing: transfer cooled donuts to an airtight container and freeze for up to a month. Note that thawed chocolate donuts will be rather dry. Don't add any glaze if freezing.
FAQ
Do baked donuts taste the same as fried?
Baked donuts aren't as light and fluffy as fried donuts, and will taste like old-fashioned cake donuts. If you've ever had an old-fashioned or sour cream glaze donut, those have a similar texture.
Is it better to bake or fry doughnuts?
Baked donuts are certainly easier to make, and you don't need to worry about your frying oil being the right temperature or anything like that. The taste and texture are different but baked donuts are just as good as fried.
Can I bake donuts instead of frying?
If you want to bake donuts, you should use a recipe specifically for baked donuts. Fried are usually made with yeast (though not always) and will use a different method.
If you make this Baked Donut recipe or any other dessert recipes on the Baked Collective, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more baking, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Homemade Oven-Baked Chocolate Donuts
Equipment
- pastry brush
- Donut tin
- Piping bag
- Large round piping tip
- Mixing bowl
- Microwave safe bowl
- Whisk
- Wire rack
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
Ingredients
For The Donuts
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons melted butter plus extra for greasing the tin
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For The Chocolate Glaze
- ¾ cup chocolate melting wafers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Lightly brush a 6-cavity donut tin with melted butter and set aside. Fit a large piping bag with a large round tip (I use the Wilton 1A round decorating tip). Set aside.
- Add the milk, melted butter, vanilla, egg, and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth and well combined.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl. Add the baking powder and salt. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to fold the batter together until the flour is just mixed in.
- Fill the piping bag with all of the chocolate batter. Twist the top of the bag to prevent batter from leaking out. Gently but firmly pipe one smooth thick circle of donut batter into each donut cavity in the tin. The batter is very thick! Six thick piped donuts should use all of the batter. If you have batter leftover in the piping bag, add a bit extra to each donut until the batter is all gone.
- Lightly wet a fingertip and smooth any areas where the batter starts and ends so the top of each donut looks smooth.
- Place the tin in the oven and bake the donuts for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops spring back when gently pressed with a fingertip. Transfer the tin to a wire cooling rack. Cool the donuts in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer them to the rack to cool completely before decorating.
To Glaze
- Place the melting wafers in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat the chocolate on full power for 30 seconds. Stir the chocolate. Repeat until the chocolate is completely smooth when stirred. Use a small spoon to “pour” chocolate over the top of each donut. Decorate the with sprinkles or anything else you like, then let the donut sit until the chocolate sets, at least 30 minutes, before serving.