These are for your deepest darkest chocolate cravings! They satisfy the need for chocolate at breakfast time like nothing else, with a tender, moist, and fudgy cake doughnut, made double chocolate with a chocolate ganache frosting. I developed these for my husband who loves chocolate cake doughnuts so much that he’s converted me from my favorite Old-Fashioned Glazed.
I tried several different recipes to which I got this response – ehh… they’re ok…. not exactly the reaction I was going for. After several conversations about texture vs. flavor vs. glaze, this recipe came about, and these chocolate glazed beauties got some serious enthusiasm in the form of 3 doughnuts for breakfast!
I’ll tell you a secret about these chocolate doughnuts, they’re grain free – it turns out white flour isn’t everything! Only a short time ago, I wouldn’t have believed it was possible to make a cake doughnut without all-purpose flour. My grain free baking experience hasn’t always been very tasty, but after some practice I’m starting to get the hang of it. We taste tested this recipe next to a very popular recipe made from all-purpose flour, both Tyler and I loved my grain free recipe because of the deep chocolate flavor and moist cakey-ness.
These doughnuts are very simple to make. First whisk together the dry ingredients, breaking down any lumps of almond flour. Using a spatula, mix in the wet ingredients to form a batter. The toughest part of making baked doughnuts is trying to get the batter into the pan. I spooned mine in around each well and then used a spatula to smooth it out a bit (refer to the bottom right photo).
While the doughnuts are baking, melt the chocolate chips, coconut oil, and cream (or coconut milk) together in a pan over low heat. Stir the mixture often and remove it from the heat when some of the chocolate chips are still unmelted (residual heat will melt the rest). This is important so the chocolate frosting doesn’t overheat and become grainy. Frost the doughnuts while they’re hot from the oven and the glaze will soak in. You can frost them again later after they’re cooled for some extra chocolate flavor.
These are most definitely a cake doughnut (no health-food flavor here) with a tender crumb, yet they’re decidedly moist and not as dense as an old-fashioned would be. If you’re looking for the perfect Valentine’s breakfast – look no further, these are a celebration of chocolate!
Print
Double Chocolate Cake Doughnuts
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 7 mins
- Total Time: 27 mins
- Yield: 6 doughnuts & 6 doughnut holes 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup fine almond flour
- 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/8 Teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
- 1 Teaspoon espresso powder
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk or coconut milk from the can
- 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
- Ganache Frosting:
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, I used the Enjoy Life brand
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or coconut milk from the can
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, tapioca starch, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, sea salt, and baking powder.
- Melt the espresso powder and butter or coconut oil together.
- Mix the melted butter mixture, egg, milk of choice, and vanilla into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined.
- My doughnuts came out of the pan well, but if you’re pan is loosing it’s non-stick abilities lightly oil the pan before putting the batter in.
- Portion the batter into a doughnut pan (6) and spoon the leftover batter into a mini muffin pan to make 6 ‘doughnut holes’.
- Bake the doughnuts for about 7-8 minutes until puffy but still soft and moist when poked. The doughnut holes took between 5-6 minutes.
- While the doughnuts are baking, melt the chocolate chips, coconut oil, and cream or coconut milk together in a pan over low heat. Stir often until the chocolate chips are almost melted. Remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir until the chocolate chips are fully melted.
- To remove the doughnuts, turn the pan upside down onto a cooling rack or serving plate.
- Frost the doughnuts while they’re piping hot from the oven and enjoy!
Notes
For the dairy free version, be sure to use coconut milk and coconut oil!
Hi Kari,
I made these today with butter and extra dark chocolate chips, which have sugar. Man are the chocolates! Very good, very rich! Next time, I will try them in my mini muffin pan since they are so rich, and use coconut oil instead of butter. I oiled my donut pan with coconut oil and just like you said, they popped right out. Will definitely make again. Ps… your recipe steps leaves out adds in the baking powder, which I made sure to add to the first step.
Thanks!
*they chocolatey
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, and thanks so much for telling me about the recipe step, I just corrected it!
they look delicious!
These doughnuts look so fudgy and perfectly delicious! I’m definitely going to have to try making these. Do you think I could you arrowroot starch in place of the tapioca starch?
Pinning these!
I’m not sure if arrowroot works the same was as tapioca, but be sure to let me know if you give it a try! Just thinking about doughnuts is making me crave them – must make some more!
A little trial and error is always necessary when baking with almond flour in my opinion. But then, when you finally nail the perfect balance of ingredients there’s nothing quite like it.
These bakes doughnuts look perfect Kari, I would definitely eat (at least) 3 for breakfast!
They’re hard to stop eating for sure, we ate all 6 doughnuts and all 6 doughnut holes without a problem!