Chocolate breakfast donuts that are soft cake on the inside, with a chocolate glaze on top! These baked donuts are gluten free, dairy free, egg free and easy to bake within 30 minutes. The perfect dessert for breakfast!
Having chocolate breakfast donuts for breakfast is a great idea, especially this healthy version. My chocolate baked donuts are full of healthy ingredients that are organic and gluten-free. And while they are healthier, they are a traditional baked chocolate donut, so if you want a donut recipe that is even more healthy, try my Chocolate frosted donuts with sprinkles that uses pumpkin puree or sweet potato instead of eggs and oil, and less sugar.
Either recipe however will boost your mood, help you feel full and energize you through your busy day.
What Do They Taste Like?
Baked donuts are cake-like, not airy like fried donuts. And yet they are a lighter than pound cake. Depending on the cocoa powder brand you use, they can taste deeply chocolatey, close to devil's food cake.
And the glossy chocolate top is only 2 ingredients, milk and chocolate chips. Again, choose a quality dark chocolate to ensure the frosting has the benefits of chocolate, including fiber and magnesium , full of mood-boosting nutrients.
Ingredients
Flour. Use gluten free baking flour or all purpose flour.
Sugar. Organic cane sugar tastes better than ordinary cane sugar.
Cocoa. Unsweetened.
Milk. I used dairy free almond milk.
Oil. I used olive oil.
Coffee, Vanilla. For flavorings.
See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Steps to Make Breakfast Donuts
For more detail, visit the complete and printable recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Combine dry with wet, mix or blend, but don't over combine or the cakey donut will be chewy because of the release of gluten.
3. Pour the batter into a plastic sandwich bag with tip cut off or fill a piping bag without a frosting tip.
4. Pipe the batter into the donut pans, bake for 10 minutes at 400 F. Cool, glaze, eat.
You need a donut pan, although in a pinch you can just use the batter in mini-cupcake pans with paper liners to make donut holes. Just reduce cooking time.
Recipe Tips
1. Do they store?
Yes, feel free to store them unfrosted 3-4 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator, or freeze them covered for 3 months.
2. Can you swap flours?
You can certainly use an all purpose flour, but you might have to tweak the moisture depending on the brand. You want to achieve the batter texture you see in my prep shot above.
3. Can I Fry these donuts?
I don't think so. I have never made a fried donut so I am unfamiliar with the steps.
3. Does the donut rise well?
Yes, pretty well. You can see in my bite shot the fluffy cake-like texture. Here I used the gluten-free flour I spoke of, but the version I made with all purpose flour was even fluffier!
More Healthy Donuts
- Mini Chocolate Donuts
- Chocolate Frosted Donuts
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Chocolate Protein Donuts (chickpeas)
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a π star rating and let me know how it went in the π comments below. Thanks for visiting!
π Recipe
Chocolate Breakfast Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry ingredients - medium bowl
- 1 cup flour (I have used both - gluten-free baking and all purpose)
- β cup cane sugar
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Β½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
Wet ingredients - large bowl
- ΒΎ cup milk
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cold coffee
- Β½ teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate Glaze
- 1 cup chocolate chips I used Enjoylife mini semi sweet chips
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
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Instructions
Prep
- Rub oil faintly on inside of donut wells. Dust with cocoa powder so donuts release easily. Preheat oven to 375 F
Make donuts
- Mix dry ingredients together in the medium bowl. Mix wet ingredients together in a larger bowl.
- Pour the dry mixture into the wet, and either mix by hand or blend a few moments with a hand blender. Don't over mix or your donuts will be chewy.
- Use a piping bag to pipe the batter into each well. I fill the wells two-thirds.
- Bake for 14-15 minutes or until a tester comes clean. Check at 10 minutes. Let them cool 15 minutes before removing them from the pan and setting each on a cooling rack. To remove, run a knife around the edges and tap.
- Let the donuts cool on a rack while you make the glaze.
Make the glaze
- Melt the chips and oil in a shallow bowl in the microwave at 60 seconds. Stir until all chips are melted.*Dip one side of each donut into the chocolate glaze and set to dry on the cooling rack. If you intend to add toppings such as sprinkles or crushed nuts, do so now.
Gabi Lipka
Hi ! I stumbled across this recipe and the donuts you can make with either tinned sweet potato or tinned pumpkin. I donβt know which ones to make. How does the texture of the end product between the two differ please ? Thanks so much !
Dee Dine
Hi Gabi,
This Chocolate Baked Donuts Recipe makes a donut with a fluffy chocolate cupcake texture - the other donut recipe I offer (Chocolate Frosted Donuts) that uses pumpkin or sweet potato puree instead of oil and eggs tastes more chocolatey, is only slightly denser, but less sweet as I used less sugar. I personally prefer the ones I call "Chocolate Frosted Donuts" because I love the healthier aspects.
Thanks for trying either! Dee xx
Dawn
Fabulous recipe, Dee! I and my eight year old made these using Bob's Red Mill Paleo flour and flaxmilk. They turned out SO incredibly decadent. Much more like chocolate lava cake - so dessert it is! π I think we'll play with the ingredients to get a more "cakey" texture. But, seriously, these are so incredible! Thanks for so much excellent GF/DF yumminess.
Dee Dine
Thanks for sharing Dawn! The paleo flour sounds like it created a yummy texture! Glad you baked with your 8 year old. I love cooking with my daughters, too!
Bianca Zapatka
The texture is just perfect Dee! π they look so delicious - just perfect for any chocolate lovers! β€οΈ
Dee Dine
Thank you so much Bianca! So happy you like the texture! Dee xx
Ela
Wow, how fluffy they are! They look super delicious and I love that they are vegan and gluten-free. π
Dee Dine
Thank you so much Ela! So glad you like these donuts! Dee xx