Chocolate Mini Donuts

These chocolate mini donuts are baked, not fried, and dipped in a delicious chocolate glaze. All you need is one bowl and a few simple ingredients. They're so easy to make and come together in under 20 minutes - they can be made as regular sized donuts too!

I used to be intimidated by making donuts, until I realized that baked dairy free donuts were so incredibly easy to make! And honestly, isn't there just something so fun about mini desserts?

These chocolate cake donuts are such a fun treat and are perfect for birthday parties, baby showers, bridal showers, weddings, or just for every day snacking 🙂

Why These Chocolate Mini Donuts Work

• They are quick, easy, and come together in under 20 minutes!
• They are baked, not fried, which makes them much easier to whip up (plus, no special equipment needed)
• They are perfectly portioned bite-sized treats (although it's very hard to stop at just one 😉 )
• You can use this recipe to make regular sized donuts instead of mini donuts!
• Most chocolate donut recipes use butter (which can lead to donuts that dry up quickly), but these donuts are made using oil, which helps them stay moist and fluffy for up to 2 days.

Ingredient Notes

• Flour: all-purpose flour works best for this recipe.
• Oil: You can use sunflower oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or any other neutral oil. You can also use melted butter (although these donuts stay much more moist and fluffy when using oil versus butter).
• Milk: You can use regular milk or dairy free milk of your choice.
• Sugar: This recipe uses a mix of white sugar and brown sugar. The brown sugar really helps the donuts to stay soft longer so I don't recommend swapping it out.
• Cocoa powder: I recommend using unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder, but you can also use natural if that's all you have.
• Butter: To make the chocolate icing, you can use regular butter or dairy free butter.

Step By Step Instructions

STEP ONE: Lightly grease the donut pan with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine oil, brown sugar, and white sugar in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

STEP TWO: Mix in the egg and vanilla extract, then add in the milk.

STEP THREE: Add cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into the bowl then mix until fully combined, being careful not to over-mix.

STEP FOUR: Fill the donut pans halfway full with batter. The easiest way to do this is to fill a ziploc bag with batter, seal it, then cut the corner off of it and use it as a piping bag. Bake for 7-10 minutes.

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STEP FIVE: While the donuts cool, melt butter, chocolate chips, and milk over a small pan on the stove. Remove from heat then whisk in the powdered sugar.

STEP SIX: Transfer the icing to a small bowl. Dip the donuts upside down into the glaze, covering the top of each donut. Place the donuts onto a wire rack to let the glaze set.

Expert Tips

• Measure your flour using a kitchen scale (they cost $11 and make such a huge difference!) or using the proper fluff, scoop and level method.
• Don't over fill the donut cavities! Filling them only halfway may not seem like enough, but trust me, it is!
• Make sure to grease the whole donut cavity, or it will be really hard to remove the donuts from the pan! But you don't want to over grease the pan either - if there are any large puddles of oil, lightly blog them with a paper toil (but don't wipe the oil off completely)
• I recommend putting parchment paper or a baking sheet under the rack to catch the icing drips after you glaze the donuts.

Storage Instructions

If you've ever bought a box of donuts and tried to eat them the next day, you'll know they, by nature, don't last very long. So these donuts are best enjoyed the day they're baked, but they will last up to 2 days in an air tight container if needed. Note that the glaze may start to melt depending on the climate where you live.

You can freeze the unglazed donuts in an airtight freezer bag for up to 1-2 months.

MORE CHOCOLATE RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE

• The Best Fudgy Brownies
• Edible Brownie Batter
• Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes
• Wacky Chocolate Cake with Fudgy Buttercream

If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!

The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.