No need to run out to the grocery store or local donut shop when you have this easy recipe on hand!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Cake donuts are easy to make and they taste even better than the store bought kind!
- Donuts are best when they're fresh and you can't get more fresh than homemade.
- These donuts are extra tender because of the buttermilk in the recipe.
When I think of guilty pleasures one of the top things on my list is always chocolate glazed donuts dipped in hot coffee.
The glaze gets warm and melty, the cake soaks up the coffee...and they are SO easy to make at home. This recipe is extra tender because of two important things - using buttermilk in the ingredients and letting the dough chill before cutting.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
Ingredients for cake donuts
Ingredients for glaze
Note: I use Hershey's Extra Dark unsweetened cocoa powder for a richer glaze.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Y'all, the dough is going to be sticky.
It's supposed to be because it keeps the donuts from being tough. Follow the instructions carefully and read the tips so yours will be perfect first try..
- Mix the wet ingredients and sugar.
- Blend the flour and other dry ingredients.
- Beat the flour mixture into the egg mixture.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- Roll out chilled dough.
- Cut with donut cutter.
- Fry. Place finished donuts on a cooling rack as you remove them from the deep fryer.
- Dip tops of the donuts in the chocolate glaze while hot. Add sprinkles or crumbled Oreos as desired.
🥫 Storage
Homemade donuts, especially cake donuts, get stale pretty quickly. They're best eaten within an hour or so of being made. You can usually get away with a holding them for a few hours but if you make them a day ahead of time they'll be stale.
📖 Variations
- Leave off the chocolate frosting and just roll the warm donuts in a cinnamon sugar mixture for cinnamon sugar donuts.
- Add sprinkles, Oreo cookie crumbs, chopped nuts, or whatever you like best to the top of the donut while the glaze is still wet.
- Make s'mores donuts by sprinkling mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and graham cracker crumbs to the top of the glaze while it's still wet.
💭 Things to know
Follow these expert tips for perfect chocolate frosted donuts!
Expert Tip: Cut the donuts straight down without twisting the cutter. Twisting seals the sides and the donuts won't rise well.
- Measure the flour carefully by lightly spooning it into the measuring cup and then leveling off.
- Keep the dough as sticky as possible. Adding too much flour will make them tough and they'll lose the cake-like texture.
- If you don't have a donut cutter you can use a biscuit cutter and use a cake decorating dip or other small round object to punch out the middle of the donut.
- Use clean oil. Change the oil in your fryer frequently depending on how often you fry.
- I like peanut oil the best.
- Never overload the fryer. You can do four or five at a time depending on the size of the fryer.
- Flip the donuts as they float to the top.
- Cake donuts are best eaten within a few hours of being made.
- Freeze, unglazed and unfrosted, for longest storage (about 6 months)
- I like the rich chocolate glaze made with hot coffee but try Earl Grey tea or plain hot water.
- You can also let them cool some and shake in a bag of sugar, cinnamon sugar, or powdered sugar if you prefer to leave them unglazed.
- If you are a chocolate lover dip the donuts in the glaze twice to make it thicker.
- Save the donut holes that are left from cutting the donuts and fry them. You can dip them in glaze or roll them in cinnamon sugar.
👩🍳 FAQs
Cake donuts have a dense, "cakey" texture while regular donuts are lighter and fluffier. This is because the cake donut uses a leavening like baking soda or baking powder and the regular donuts use yeast.
Cake donuts are easier and take less time, as well.
Cake donuts are usually friend but more and more people are baking them in special donut molds.
You've used too much flour, fried it too long, or in too hot of oil.
📚 Related recipes
- If you prefer to try traditional yeast donuts these are my favorites.
- In the fall these gingerbread donuts are absolutely amazing!
- Baked banana donuts are light and sweet.
- When you need quick and easy these air fryer donuts are done in minutes with no mess.
🍽️ Serve with...
- I think donuts of any kind go best with coffee like this Copycat Starbucks Latte.
- Adding a little protein to the meal is never a bad idea! I love these cheesy egg bites - especially because you can make them ahead of time.
- A healthy fruit salad is colorful and delicious.
- Yogurt parfait adds a cool, creamy component to the meal.
🥄 Restless Chipotle recommends
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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- An electric fryer helps keep the oil at a constant temperature.
- A good donut cutter is nice to have.
📞 The last word
There's nothing like sitting down with a cup of coffee and a donut with this decadent chocolate glaze.
It's just right for a Saturday morning or a weekday afternoon and cake donuts are so easy to make!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Chocolate Frosted Cake Donuts
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
- Deep Fryer
Ingredients
Donuts
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 5 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
- peanut oil, or your favorite light vegetable oil for frying - you'll need enough to fill your fryer according to manufacturer's instructions or a deep pan with about 6 inches of oil.
Glaze
- 3 cups Confectioner's sugar
- ½ cup dark cocoa powder, I use Hershey's Special Dark
- ⅓ cup water, or strong coffee - hot
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
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Instructions
Donuts
- Combine the eggs, sugar, buttermilk, vanilla, and butter in a bowl.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Mix the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, stirring until a soft dough forms.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours or up to 4 days.
- Turn chilled dough out onto a well-floured surface.
- Preheat oil to 365F.
- Gently roll the dough to ½ inch thickness.
- Cut with a floured donut cutter.
- Fry about four at a time in the hot oil until they are golden brown - don't crowd the fryer or the temperature of the oil will drop and the donuts will be oily.
- Drain on absorbent paper towels or brown paper sacks.
- Dip in the chocolate glaze while they are still hot.
- If you like a thick chocolate glaze dip them again when they've cooled a bit.
Glaze
- Mix the Confectioners' and cocoa powder.
- Add the hot coffee (or water) and vanilla and stir until smooth.
- Add more coffee as needed to get the right consistency.
Notes
- Cut the donuts straight down without twisting the cutter. Twisting seals the sides and the donuts won't rise well.
- Measure the flour carefully by lightly spooning it into the measuring cup and then leveling off.
- Keep the dough as sticky as possible. Adding too much flour will make them tough and they'll lose the cake-like texture.
- If you don't have a donut cutter you can use a biscuit cutter and use a cake decorating dip or other small round object to punch out the middle of the donut.
- Use clean oil. Change the oil in your fryer frequently depending on how often you fry.
- I like peanut oil the best.
- Never overload the fryer. You can do four or five at a time depending on the size of the fryer.
- Flip the donuts as they float to the top.
- Cake donuts are best eaten within a few hours of being made.
- I like the rich chocolate glaze made with hot coffee but try Earl Grey tea or plain hot water.
- You can also let them cool some and shake in a bag of sugar, cinnamon sugar, or powdered sugar if you prefer to leave them unglazed.
- If you are a chocolate lover dip the donuts in the glaze twice to make it thicker.
- Save the donut holes that are left from cutting the donuts and fry them. You can dip them in glaze or roll them in cinnamon sugar.
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.✍🏻 A note from Marye...
I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.
There's something about one of these chocolate frosted donuts and a cup of hot coffee that's addictive.
I think, for me anyway, it has as much to do with memory associations as it does with flavor.
I grew up in the 1960s - a time when life was so much easier in so many ways. One of my favorite things about Saturdays was that it was my day to run errands with my dad.
We'd eat cereal for breakfast (me Cap'n Crunch - him Cornflakes with bananas) and then head out to the hardware store, the plant store, and even sometimes his downtown office that was so high up he teased me that he could see our house from his window.
Once in awhile we'd forgo the cereal and stop at a diner.
It was all chrome, twirly stools with red tops, and tired looking waitresses that cracked gum and flirted with my dad. Best of all, there were stacks of fresh donuts sheltered under glass domes on the counter.
We'd get some (always frosted with chocolate and sprinkles) and I had the privilege of dipping mine into his coffee. Back then kids didn't drink coffee - it was in the realm of adults-only stuff.
Getting to ingest a few coffee molecules with my chocolate donut was nothing short of an adrenalin rush from the pure edginess of it.
Make some memories with your kids this weekend - chocolate donuts and coffee. It's not just about the food. 🙂
First published April 4, 2014. Last updated March 15, 2023 for better images, editorial updates, and more helpful information.
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