Soft, fluffy, and absolutely delicious, these Chocolate Dipped Donuts are a must-add to your baking repertoire. The cake inside is a moist vanilla cake studded with miniature chocolate chips and the chocolate glaze firms up so that you can grab a donut without having to worry about getting your fingers all messy. If you’ve ever had an Entemann’s chocolate donut, these are like that except they’re not processed and they’re 100x fresher.
I told myself that I’d avoid chocolate this week, especially after the rich and indulgent Kahlúa Brownies I posted last week, but here we are. I just couldn’t resist these Chocolate Dipped Donuts. They’re incredibly easy to make which is exactly what I was going for this week. Note: a donut pan isn’t 100% necessary, but highly recommended–it’s affordable and pretty small so storing isn’t too difficult.
Back to the donuts. These donuts are fully enrobed in chocolate glaze so that when you bite into it you get a thin layer of deep chocolate flavor that perfectly pairs with the soft vanilla cake inside. And, because I just can’t help it, there are mini chocolate chips in the donut. I just couldn’t help squeezing a little more chocolate in there.
There’s no mixer needed for these, just your arms, a whisk, and a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Honestly, recipes that don’t require a mixer are some of my favorite. As much as I love being able to turn the mixer on and walk away to grab another ingredient or get something prepped for later, recipes like this make the baking feel really hands-on. It’s one step down from kneading dough for me on the ‘baking as stress relief’ scale. Just be careful not to overmix these. As with any cake, overmixing can lead to an unpleasant texture. These can take a bit of a beating when you mix in the sour cream, but on the last addition of dry ingredients, carefully fold until there’s still a dusting of flour before you add in the mini chocolate chips. When you fold the chips in, you’ll also incorporate the rest of that flour.
Note: dipping the donuts can get a bit messy. Honestly though, that’s part of the fun of these. The glaze is super easy to mix together. When it firms up, it becomes a soft layer of chocolate that won’t smear but is smooth and easy to bite into. Honestly, I’m kind of obsessed with these. The cakes are soft and moist and the simplicity of the chocolate and vanilla combo is just something that can’t be beat.
| Prep Time | 15-20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 8-10 minutes |
| Servings |
donuts
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- 400 grams all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 56.5 grams unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 56.5 mL vegetable oil
- 175 grams light brown sugar
- 2 eggs large
- 2 tspp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 225 grams sour cream
- 50 grams mini chocolate chips*
- 375 grams powdered sugar
- 75 grams dutch-process cocoa powder
- 113 mL hot water
- 25 grams light corn syrup
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Ingredients
Vanilla Chocolate Chip Donuts
Chocolate Glaze
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- Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly grease a 6-cavity donut pan*. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled melted butter, vegetable oil, and light brown sugar until light and fluffy. This should only take about 30-60 seconds of whisking.
- Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, and mix until fully combined. Add in 2 tsp of vanilla and whisk until incorporated.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the large bowl, and using either a wooden spoon or a spatula, stir until combined. Add 1/2 of the sour cream and mix until fully incorporated. Repeat, ending with the dry ingredients, there is still a light dusting of flour. Add in the mini chocolate chips and fold to distribute. (Note: the batter will be thick)
- Using a piping bag with the tip cut off so that the batter comes out thick, or with a spoon, fill the cavities of the doughnut pan until about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the doughnuts spring back at the touch. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Wipe the doughnut pan and spray again before baking the second half of the batter.
- Once the donuts are cooled, it's time to dip! To make the chocolate glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and hot water (I let this just come to a simmer on the stove) in a large bowl. Once fully combined and you have a smooth, wet glaze, whisk in the corn syrup and vanilla.
- Place a sheet of parchment or wax paper under the wire cooling rack. Dunk the donuts, one at a time, into the chocolate glaze, using a fork or a spoon to turn and make sure both sides are fully coated. Remove the donut from the bowl and let cool on the wire rack. Any spots that are uncovered or that your finger touched while transferring to the cooling rack can be touched up by simply using a spoon to pour over a bit of the glaze. Repeat until all 13 are covered. Leave until the glaze sets completely and you can pick up the donut without chocolate rubbing off on your fingers (this will take a couple of hours).
*I usually use this donut pan, but if you don't have one or don't want to purchase one, the batter is thick enough that you should be able to pipe the dough into rounds, or chill and roll until it's about 1 inch thick before cutting into circles, and bake on a parchment covered baking sheet. The donut cavities in the pan are 3.25 inches (8.3 cm).
Store in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap and foil and freeze any extras.