Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake Donuts

Name: Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake Donuts
Prep time: 1 h 17 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Cuisine: Dutch
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled; 1 cup sugar; 1 egg; 1 cup sour cream (or yogurt); 1 teaspoon vanilla; 2 cups flour (+ extra for rolling out dough); ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; Vegetable oil for frying (or nonstick spray for air fryer method); 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar; 2 teaspoons corn syrup; ½ teaspoon vanilla; Pinch of salt; 3 tablespoons warm water; 2 cups powdered sugar; 6 tablespoons cocoa powder; 4 teaspoons corn syrup; ½ teaspoons vanilla; Pinch of salt; 3 tablespoons warm water

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·★★★★★5 from 1 review

Aren’t donuts the best?! They might be my favorite sweet treat! I admit, I’m usually more of a yeast donut girl, but these scrumptious chocolate cake donuts might have just changed my mind!

3 chocolate frosted donuts with sprinkles and 2 glazed chocolate cake donuts on a blue background

I love donuts because they’re one of those desserts that are socially acceptable to eat for breakfast. Not that I care much about socially acceptable food schedules, but I do love grabbing a donut or sticky bun with my morning coffee.

These chocolate cake donuts have the best texture. Almost like a cross between a fudgy brownie and a fluffy cake donut. And to make the recipe easier and more adaptable, I’ve included two options for frying and two options for glazes.

Jump to:

Why You'll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
How to Make Chocolate Cake Donut Dough
How to Roll & Shape Donuts
Air Frying vs. Deep Frying Donuts
Deep Frying Safety Tips
Variations: Double Chocolate & Glazed
Equipment
Make-Ahead Instructions
FAQ
📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

These chocolate donuts have the best texture, like a moist chocolate cake!
You have 2 convenient options for how you want to cook them: 1) traditional deep fry or 2) air fry.
I've included 2 glaze options so you can make regular glazed chocolate cake donuts or double chocolate frosted donuts (or some of each, like I did!)

Ingredients

Here's what you need to make this recipe:

Butter - unsalted, melted and slightly cooled before adding to the donut batter.
Sugar
Egg
Sour cream - this is the secret ingredient, it's what makes the donuts so moist! You can also substitute plain or vanilla yogurt and they'll be just as delicious.
Vanilla extract
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Cocoa powder - I use regular (not Dutch process) unsweetened cocoa for this recipe. Cocoa powder is used to flavor both the donuts and the optional chocolate glaze.
Flour
Vegetable oil - you’ll need at least 1 quart for frying donuts or use nonstick spray for the air fryer method.
Powdered sugar - aka confectioner’s sugar. This is the base for both the chocolate glaze and the regular glaze option.
Corn syrup - this is what gives the glazes the ability to set but remain soft after drying. They’ll taste and look just like Dunkin Donuts' copycat chocolate donuts!

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Chocolate Cake Donut Dough

Making the dough for these chocolate cake donuts is pretty quick & easy, no stand mixer required! Here's how to make it:

yellowish creamy mixture in a mixing bowl with a whisk

Start by combining all of the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl: melted butter, sugar, egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

mixing bowl with cocoa powder, flour, and other dry ingredients whisked together

Then, add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl: flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Again, whisk to combine.

pouring creamy liquid mixture into a bowl with cocoa power and flour mixture

Now, pour the wet ingredient mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients.

stiff shaggy chocolate donut dough in a white mixing bowl

And finally, gently mix with a rubber spatula until well combined.

The donut dough is very stiff so it may get hard to mix at the end. If it's easier, you can knead it with your hands a few times until all the flour mixture is incorporated.

After you've finished the dough, cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour. This makes the dough easier to work with when rolling out and cutting the donuts.

How to Roll & Shape Donuts

Once the dough is well-chilled, liberally dust a clean surface with flour. I like to do this on a marble pastry slab or right on the countertop. It also helps to flour the rolling pin, the donut cutter, and your hands, since the dough is pretty sticky.

Then, using a rolling pin, roll the dough to about ½ inch even thickness.

chocolate dough rolled out on marble with 8 donuts and lots of donut holes stamped out

Now, stamp the dough into donut shapes. I used a 3-inch circular biscuit cutter with a 1-inch circle hole in the center to make standard-sized donuts.

Since the dough is so heavily floured, I don't recommend rerolling the scraps. Instead, I like to make extra donut holes with the smaller parts of the dough.

Depending on how the dough rolls out, you should get at least 6 full-sized donuts (or up to 8). If you want a dozen donuts, you can easily make a double batch following these same instructions.

Air Frying vs. Deep Frying Donuts

Now it's time to cook the donuts! While I prefer the taste of deep-fried donuts, the convenience of the air fryer can't be beaten. So both are great options!

4 chocolate cake donuts floating in a pot of oil on the stove for deep frying

Deep frying method: Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with at least 3-4 inches of vegetable oil and preheat the oil to 375 °F. Then, carefully place the donuts into the hot oil in batches of 3-4 at a time and fry for about 2 minutes on each side. Let them cool on a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.

5 chocolate cake donuts dusted with flour on an air fryer tray before cooking

Air frying method: Preheat your air fryer to 350 °F. Then, spray the air fryer tray liberally with nonstick spray, place the donuts on the tray, and spray them with nonstick spray. (Alternatively, you can brush oil on the surface of the donuts with a pastry brush.) Air fry the donuts for 7-8 minutes.

For either frying method, make sure to fry in batches and not overcrowd the pan.

Donut holes cook in less time-- fry them in batches of 6-8 for just 1 minute on each side. Or if air frying, about 4-5 minutes total. I wouldn't recommend frying the donut holes at the same time as the larger donuts, since they cook at different rates.

Note: air-fried donuts will not rise as much as fried cake donuts and may appear a little flat. They also have a denser texture. But I promise, they're still delicious!!

Deep Frying Safety Tips

Heat oil slowly. Instead of cranking the heat to speed up the process, you want the oil to heat evenly, which means relatively slowly. It takes 20-30 minutes over medium heat, so start heating the oil early.
Use a heavy-bottomed pot like a Dutch oven to distribute heat evenly. Dutch ovens are excellent at retaining heat which helps maintain the temperature. This is safer and also leads to better-quality fried food!
Use an easy-to-read thermometer. You want a thermometer that is constantly monitoring the temp, like a Chef Alarm or candy thermometer, rather than an instant-read thermometer.
Wear an apron. Also, oven mitts or long sleeves help to protect your skin from potential oil splatter.
Drop food items into the oil slowly and gently.
Let oil fully cool before discarding/ transporting. Hot oil can melt plastic containers or sauce glass to crack.

Variations: Double Chocolate & Glazed

Which do you prefer-- glazed chocolate donuts or double chocolate frosted donuts? I couldn't decide, so you get both! Lucky you ◡̈

Both of the glaze recipes are super simple and don't involve any cooking or heating. Simply mix the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.

hand holding a chocolate donut above bowl of white glaze after dipping with excess glaze dripping off

For glazed chocolate cake donuts, you'll want to completely submerge the donut in the glaze and let the excess drip off. The glaze should be relatively thin compared to the chocolate glaze. It looks white at first but will dry clear-ish like the cake donuts you normally find at bakeries (i.e. Dunkin Donuts!)

chocolate donuts drying on a wire rack after glazing

For double chocolate donuts with chocolate frosting, hold the donut parallel to the bowl of glaze. Then, dip the top half of the donut into the glaze, let the excess drip off, carefully flip over, and let the donuts dry on a wire rack. Top with sprinkles while the glaze is still wet if desired.

chocolate cake donut hole with chocolate glaze and rainbow sprinkles surrounded by more donuts

You can dip the donut holes in the glazes too! Again, I recommend completely covering the donuts with the clear glaze but only dipping the top half in the chocolate glaze, since it's a little thicker and messier.

You don't see chocolate frosted donut holes often enough-- aren't they so cute and fun?!

Equipment

You might think you need fancy kitchen equipment to make donuts, but you really don't! Here's everything you need:

Mixing bowls - you'll need at least 2. I recommend getting a set of bowls with matching lids-- great for any recipe where you need to chill the dough!
Whisk - or a fork works just as well for this recipe.
Rubber spatula
Rolling pin
Round cookie cutters - or biscuit cutters approx. 3 inches and 1 inch in diameter. Or, use a donut cutter instead.
Wire rack - to drain excess oil after frying and allow donuts to dry after glazing.
Air fryer (optional) - of course, only needed if you're air frying donuts. If you're planning on deep frying, keep reading the section below.

Extras for the deep frying method:

Dutch oven - or a wide heavy-bottomed pot at least 6 inches deep.
Thermometer - one that constantly monitors the oil temperature, like a candy thermometer with a pot clip.
Spider - this type of spider strainer works best because it's pretty flat. But you can use any perforated spoon that's heat-resistant to fish the donuts out of the hot oil.
Paper towels - place under the wire rack to absorb excess oil. Makes for easier clean-up!

white box with half dozen chocolate donuts (3 glazed, 3 chocolate frosted with sprinkles)

Make-Ahead Instructions

Pretty much everything tastes best right after you make it, but this is especially true for donuts. There’s nothing like a warm donut!

To make these chocolate donuts ahead of time, you can make them fully without the glaze the day before. Reheat them in the air fryer or oven to warm them, and then glaze them while warm.

The dough should be chilled for at least 1 hour but can be chilled overnight, as another option. In the morning, roll out the dough, then stamp, fry, and glaze the donuts. Making the dough ahead will save you some time!

hand picking up a glazed chocolate cake donut from a stack of 3 donuts

FAQ

Are cake donuts baked?

They can be, but not always. Traditional cake donuts are fried not baked, like these. What makes a cake donut different from a yeast donut is the dough, not the cooking method.

What is an old-fashioned donut?

Old-fashioned donuts are a type of cake donut that usually contain sour cream or buttermilk and are fried at a lower temperature. This gives the donuts a moist texture and a crackly appearance.

How do I dispose of frying oil?

I think the easiest way to dispose of frying oil (after cooling!!) is by pouring it into a container like a plastic jug or milk carton. Once it's full, place the sealed container in the trash. Note: having a funnel really helps with the transfer!

Can I reuse frying oil?

Yes! After cooling, strain the oil into a container. You can reuse the oil up to 3-4 times. After that, it begins to break down.

Doughnuts vs Donuts - which is correct?

Both! "Doughnuts" is the preferred spelling internationally, while "donuts" is also commonly used in the United States.

double chocolate cake donut with rainbow sprinkles, a few bites taken out to show inside texture

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