These baked chocolate doughnuts with chocolate ganache are an easy, dairy-free sweet treat that everyone will enjoy. Rich, cakey and full of chocolate flavour, these doughnuts are so quick and easy to make and are the perfect cure to any chocolate craving!
Hi it’s me again preaching about how good homemade doughnuts are! I’ve been making baked doughnuts for years as I love how simple they are to make. And for ages I’ve been dreaming of rich, chocolate doughnuts. That’s exactly what we have here today.
Made in a single bowl, with a few pantry staples, these doughnuts can be ready in less than 30 minutes, ready to satisfy that chocolate craving.
Plus this recipe only makes 9 doughnuts meaning it’s perfect if you don’t have a small army on hand ready to consume your baked goods.
Now whether you call them doughnuts or donuts (and if you want to hear more about the spelling debate, definitely read my baked cinnamon sugar doughnuts post as I get deep into it), I think we can all agree that these are one of the most delicious sweet treats around – it’s no wonder there are so many bakeries dedicated to doughnuts alone!
This version doesn’t hold back when it comes to that chocolate flavour with cocoa powder making a rich, cakey doughnut and real 70% dark chocolate in the ganache that’s used for the glaze.
And finally, I topped these with chocolate jimmies (sprinkles) to give them that little bit extra chocolate crunch in each bite.
Key Ingredients
These doughnuts themselves are made with 8 ingredients, all of which are pantry staples. They are then finished off with a simple dairy-free chocolate ganache that’s been flavoured with maple syrup and vanilla for a little bit extra.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Plain flour – just regular plain flour or all purpose flour in the US is used.
- Cocoa powder – for the rich chocolate flavour in the doughnuts you want to use a good quality cocoa powder for the best flavour. I’ve used Cadbury Bournville cocoa powder my entire life because it’s made from the same beans Cadbury uses to make their chocolate so you know it’s going to taste good. For my US friends, this is a Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
- Baking powder – to help our doughnuts rise in the oven.
- Egg – to bind everything together and also help create lift, creating a light, cakey texture.
- Caster sugar – also known as superfine sugar in the US, if you don’t have this you can simply swap with regular white sugar instead.
- Vanilla extract – to enhance the chocolate flavour.
- Canola oil – to add extra moisture.
- Dairy-free milk – I use oat milk, but almond milk or soy milk will also work fine. Use your preference here.
Step-By-Step Instructions
I love just how simple these baked chocolate doughnuts are to make, you just need a doughnut pan, a couple of bowls and a whisk. No electric mixer needed!
Start by sifting and mixing together the dry ingredients in one bowl to combine. You want to make sure the baking powder and cocoa powder is evenly distributed throughout the flour.
Next, whisk together the egg, caster sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Add in the oil and whisk until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet along with the dairy-free milk and whisk it until just combined and smooth, being careful not to overmix.
Now the next step is to get the batter into the doughnut pan that’s been lightly sprayed with cooking oil. I find the easiest way to do this with the least amount of mess is to place the batter into a large ziplock bag or piping bag, cut off the tip and pipe it into the pan.
You can of course use a spoon and simply just spoon the batter into the pan but I find the piping bag just makes it so much easier.
Make sure each hole is about halfway full and then bake in a preheated oven for 8 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.
Once cooked, let cool for a couple of minutes in the pan before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool.
Finish off the doughnuts by making an easy ganache (full instructions in the recipe card below) using a good quality dark chocolate and coconut milk flavoured with a little bit of maple syrup and vanilla.
Dunk the tops of each doughnut in the ganache for a nice thick coating. Finish off with sprinkles because are they really finished without sprinkles?
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with @eightforestlane as I would love to see.
More baked doughnut recipes:
Vegan Red Velvet Doughnuts
Crumb Cake Doughnuts
Vegan Maple Glazed Doughnuts
Biscoff Baked Doughnuts
Baked Chocolate Doughnuts
Ingredients
- ¾ cup plain flour/all purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg room temperature
- ½ cup caster sugar/superfine sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- ½ cup dairy-free milk
For the ganache:
- 50 grams dark chocolate chopped
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup or to taste
- Chocolate sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and lightly spray a doughnut pan with cooking oil.
- In a medium size bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and mix gently with a whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg, sugar and vanilla. Add in oil and whisk until combined. Add in dry ingredients and whisk, slowly add in the dairy-free milk until the batter is smooth.
- Pour batter into a large piping bag or ziplock bag and cut off the tip. Pipe batter into the doughnut pan ensuring each hole is only half full. You can also just spoon in the batter but I find using a piping bag makes it much cleaner and easier.
- Place in the oven and bake for 8 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in the pan for 2 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
- Make the ganache. In a small bowl, place the chopped chocolate. In another small bowl, heat the coconut milk in the microwave until steaming. Pour the heated coconut milk over the chopped chocolate and let sit for a few minutes.
- Stir the chocolate and coconut milk together until silky smooth and completely combined. Add the vanilla and maple syrup for flavour and mix through.
- Dunk each doughnut into the ganache and let sit on a wire rack for any excess to drip off. Finish with a few chocolate sprinkles if desired. These doughnuts are best enjoyed straight away but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
Made this recipe? Leave a review!