Chocolate Donuts with Creamy Chocolate Frosting (Dairy Free Option)
This Chocolate Donuts with Creamy Chocolate Frosting recipe is the best! Also included is a dairy free option!
If you were to ask me right now what is one of my most proud baking moments it would be these Chocolate Donuts with Creamy Chocolate Frosting. These are good. I’m talking real good. I’m talking magical. I’m talking swoon worthy, take a seat and enjoy the next minute of your life (it will be eaten quickly, you won’t be able to stop yourself).
And get this, they’re dairy free.
I know.
Are you amazed as I am? I hope so.
If I knew I could be making dairy free donuts that taste this rich and chocolaty I would have tried dairy free baking a while ago. I really can’t get over how good these are. They lasted about 2 days in my house because I could not control myself. The donuts themselves are so rich, soft and cake like. And the frosting? Goodness gracious. How good is the frosting? Let’s just say I doubled the batch, one for the donuts and one to just eat which Matthew and I both did. We grabbed 2 spoons, and ate the frosting out of a plastic baggie over the next few days (ok, it lasted one day). Did you know you can put frosting in a freezer bag to freeze it? Life changing. The frosting is incredible. Just writing about it has me all worked up and wanting to rush back into the kitchen and make another batch (I probably will).
So what I’m saying is if you love donuts, if you love chocolate, if you are dairy free or aren’t dairy free, you need to try these donuts. If there’s one thing I have posted on this blog that I really want you to try, these are high up there. I’m begging here, please try them. I want you to feel the chocolate sensation!
The frosting, oh god, pure ecstasy.
The donuts, soft and cake like.
Look at how soft these donuts are inside. I just want to cry from happiness.
For the recipe, I’m giving you dairy free and regular ingredients. Use whichever floats your donut loving heart.
Pin for later:
Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Frosting (Dairy Free)
The BEST Chocolate dairy free DONUTS!
Ingredients
For the donuts
- 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk or unsweetened almond milk
For the frosting
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter or dairy free butter - melted
- 2 tablespoons milk or unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
For the donuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your donut pan with nonstick spray.
- Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add oil, vanilla and milk and continue to stir until smooth.
- Pour into donut pan and bake for 12 minutes. Insert toothpick and if it comes out clean, donuts are done. If toothpick is not clean, bake for 2-3 more minutes or until clean.
- Let donuts cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.
For the frosting
- In a bowl using a hand mixer, mix together powdered sugar and butter until creamed well.
- Add milk, cocoa powder and vanilla and continue to mix until creamy and well combined.
- Once donuts are cool, dip them into the frosting to cover the tops.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Makes 6 donuts.
Oh, Pamela, that icing looks so thick and dreamy! I wish I had one for breakfast!
These doughnuts look GLORIOUS. Pretty sure I need to make and eat all 6, pronto. 🙂
The drippy, creamy chocolate frosting looks fab! I could eat it by the spoonful!
Oh my…. would you look at those decadent donuts…… proudest baking moment… yeah, for sure!! I’m proud of your proudest baking moment!! Yum, yum, yum!!! <3
My mother-in-law got me a donut baking pan for Christmas, and I still haven’t broken it in. Can’t wait to try these chocolate donuts!
You have got to try it Natalie, so much fun!
Oh wow – Love these baked donuts and that icing… I could just drown in it!
Glorious DONUTS! I had a massive craving for donuts yesterday and I wish I’d had this recipe! Once I polish off my funfetti version (give it a few hours) these are up next!
Like frosting isn’t addicting enough…. you need to tell me its better when frozen… and to make extra. 🙂
Hahaha, I know I know.. fantastic influence. 😉
These donuts look perfect. And full of chocolate. And there are only six. Which is good, even if I wanted 7!
My donut pan is on its way! I have been craving donuts like none other and these are killing me! 🙂 Chocolate donuts sound so good right now. And dairy free no less! Thumbs up Pamela!
I cannot wait to see what you create with that donut pan girl, your life is going to change!
omg, that IS magical!!
As somebody who recently went dairy free, I am loving these donuts!
High 5 to you girl!
These would disappear quickly in my house! They look amazing.
I would have never guessed you use artificial lights! Your picture are always amazing, I though they were shot under a fantastic natural light. These are really the most beautiful donuts I’ve ever seen. If there was a beauty contest for donuts (!) you would win! I saved the recipe.
Thanks Daniela! I stopped using natural light for the most part a few months ago as I got sick of making dinner in the afternoon for a 9PM dinner time. These lights help me make dinner whenever I want, and let me bake donuts at 3AM if I want to (not saying I would do that.. hehehehe). 😉
I think I am going to try to use this as a basis for a GF/Dairy-Free version. These look outrageously good!
Ha! That is exactly what my dog does whenever I am shooting … I actually have a few shots where she sneaks into the frame (and then I have to quickly get her away from the food lol). These donuts look delicious – and that glaze…
Hahaha, I know what you mean. I’m like ok FiFi Bofinkles you can look at them… ok you can get closer.. FiFi Bofinkles give me back that donut! There’s been a few times she’s stolen a noodle or two. She’s quick! 😉
These donuts look amazing! I’m always up for some chocolate!
Ps. Love your lighting – where did you get it/what brand is it??
Thanks Laura! I use Lowel EGO lights, I really like them! You can buy them from Amazon, B&H and many other photo stores.
Oh man! You have worked it out, Pamela! I want to cry looking at that moist cake, too! Wait til I show my little guy. : ) Glad to see you are managing the need to be dairy free. Good luck with it!
I’m impressed and the dairy-free-ness of these doughnuts! Also, you got some great lighting from that ego light… I haven;t used mine in a while because the photos often come out very dull looking. Maybe I need brighter bulbs!
Thanks Aimee, I really appreciate that! I use the bulbs it came with, plus the fill card.
The sight of these donuts is making me salivate! I love baked donuts!
Stunning!! They look like the absolute perfect texture…and dairy free to boot. Can’t beat that!!
Wow, these look incredible Pamela! Love baked donuts especially soft, moist, cake like chocolate ones like these:) Hehe, I don’t blame FiFi Bofinkles for hanging around these donuts, that glaze definitely looks so magical and totally captivating! Wish I could have all 6 of these beauties:)
Okay these are officially the first donuts I want to bake in my spankin new donut pan!
Oh dear God do I need a donut pan now more than ever!
Oh Girl! You had me and donuts and chocolate. AmAzing!
Would could be better than chocolate on chocolate? Absolutely nothing!
Wow, I have to get one of those doughnut pans. Those chocolate donuts look incredible.
Girrrrrl. These are EPIC!
Double the chocolate double te goodness. That’s my kind of donut:)
Oooooo. I love love love swoon-worthy recipes. Pinned!
I am becoming a lover of almond milk so I can imagine this frosting!
These look so delish! Gosh I love chocolate!!
Mmmm, chocolatey moist donuts! That frosting looks perfect!
Shhuuuud up!!! These look so amazing I maybe am crying just a little because they’re not here with me now. Yep… definitely tears happening.
I can’t believe these are dairy free- they look so rich and incredible! Using oil must make them unbelievably moist!
We have never made donuts. These are really good! Thanks for the recipe!
I have a mini donut maker and for some reason, I never use it. These donuts are a wonderful reason to dig it out of my pantry. They look so fudgy and ohmygoodness that creamy chocolate glaze! 🙂
Oh well.
Oh well.
Oh well.
These lovely little donuts look way to delicious to be true. That frosting?? I want to cover my whole life in it. Darn, it looks delicious!
Wicked! Pamela, you ROCK. Love that these donuts are dairy free. Cannot wait to try. Thanks for sharing, m’lady! xo
oh really?
almond milk?
OK, I’m willing to try it. I mean almond milk is pretty darn good.
I have the same ego lights!
(and the same curious kitty)
I read your blog regularly but don’t comment very often, however, these drove me to say something! Over the top goodness! Where have I been? I have never seen a donut pan. It looks like a muffin pan. All the better to be able to bake the donuts rather than fry them. Gorgeously photographed too!
Looks delicious the donuts, especially with the creamy frosting…yum!
Hope you are having a wonderful week Pamela 😀
Wow Pamela, these are gorgeous and extremely drool provoking. I tried baked donuts for the first time a few months ago and I was shocked at how wonderful they were.
Baked donuts can be so good. These look outrageously so! Super recipe – thanks.
Holy crap, I can totally tell why these were your proudest baking moment. These look amazeballs.
My daughter LOVES donuts. These look so yummy! I have to give them a try 🙂 Pinned 🙂
Okay, I think it’s about time I get a set of these donut pans so I can get in on this chocolately action. These looks so moist and delicious!
Wow. Just wow. My donut pan is definitely getting a workout this weekend!
Nice, very nice…I mean…major yum! I like your photo studio there, and the cat…they are always curious…:) ela
Oh my! These look ridiculously delicious! I can’t believe these are dairy free. Kudos, my friend. 🙂
PS love FiFi Bofinkles. 🙂
I am determined to make these GIGI approved because they look SOOOO GOOD! 🙂
I need a donut pan in my life!!!!!! These look incredibleeeeeeee Pamela!!!! And every word that you’ve used to describe these have managed to make me drool, add in these drool worthy photos and its just indescribable! Yum!!!!!!!!!! Tryingggggg these! 🙂
These look mouth-watering – I’d love to lick that bowl of frosting clean! Need to get a donut pan ASAP
omg… I’m drooling over these right now. They look SO GOOD. And I can guarantee you that extra frosting would not last more than 5 minutes in my house haha ;p
Love that these are vegan =D
Looks like you are getting the hang of the dairy-free thing!
Delicious looking donuts! I love chocolate…who doesn’t 🙂
Pamela, these donuts look gorgeous! Love that chocolate frosting on top! And they are dairy free on top of it all? YUM!
Yummmm these look awesome!
If I were able to make these, it would be my proudest moment also. I’m just not much of a baker. Love that photo with the cat. And that white background board. Is that a photography supply or did you buy it at an art store? I need one.
Whoa, dairy free and they look like that? You’re working some magic here! I’m going to give my doughnut pan another whirl with this; these look amazing!
Holy Doughnuts! These definitely look like a baking moment to be proud of, Pamela! I wish I had one right now. Who am I kidding? I wish I had five right now.
My goodness, these look truly divine! I’ve never attempted to make donuts before but they seem like they’d be pretty easy. I’ve always thought of donuts as being quite unhealthy but these aren’t at all!
Wow, these look delicious! 🙂
Need doughnut pan now! These look so good Pamela! And I never thought about freezing frosting.
Your cat has great & good taste! 🙂 Ha! Your lovely frosted chocolate doughnuts look freaking delicious & I made your veggie casserole with wite wine sauce & it was superb, Pamela! x
Yay for finding a delicious dairy-free recipe! These look SO moist and delicious. I’m so excited that I got a donut pan for xmas…I know what I’m makin first 😉
Wow!! These donuts look delicious! I love the chocolate glaze. I could drink that up all by itself. I wouldn’t, but I could 😀 Haha Beautiful photographs!
Want!
cake doughnuts are my favorite…but chocolate covered chocolate cake doughnuts? good lord! more, please and thank you.
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These look delicious, Pamela!
Just made these for breakfast. Followed the exact recipe and they are so YUMMY! Thank you for sharing. I also shared on Pinterest and Facebook.
Wish you would have invited me over for breakfast Francy! 😉 So happy you enjoyed!
I never had a big desire to try making donuts before, until seeing these pictures! Yum! They look incredible. I love chocolate donuts.
I just made these for my dairy/egg allergic son. They are delicious, but they really fell apart when I took them out of the pan (cooled for 10 minutes too) The frosting was on the thick side so I just spread them on the donuts. I think I’ll try flouring the pan after the spray next time to see if that helps keep them together and maybe add more milk for a thinner frosting?
Hey Trish, if you want a thinner frosting definitely add more milk and mix to a consistency that you like. My frosting was thin so I dipped the donuts in it which melts on the donuts beautifully. Enjoy!
These are great! I cooked them up in my mini donut cooker. Very easy to make. I think I’ll thin out the frosting next time with a little more almond milk. Thank you for sharing this recipe. 🙂
Glad to hear you enjoyed Jeanette!
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These are outstanding! I just recently went dairy free and I’m a huge chocolate lover! These are even better than regular chocolate doughnuts!
Thanks Pauline, so happy to hear you liked them!
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Thanks so much for this recipe! My son is allergic to milk, eggs and peanuts, and doesn’t get sweets too often. I just finished making them and gave him one and he asked for another! I think it’s safe to say, they are a hit!
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Is there any possible way to make these without donut tin? After seeing them i’m craving them so much as i have a dairy allergy!
Hey Nicole, you could use a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to cut out a shape. Only thing is they won’t have the donut shape/hole look to them or might not be as “pretty”. To solve this you could use a big biscuit cutter for the donut and then use a small biscuit cutter for the middle. Enjoy!
It’s morning. I’m sitting on my bed with the notebook, listening to soft jazz music, found your recipe and have been starring on the picture for way too long. I’m drooling and hungry!!
Love these and LOVE that they’re dairy-free/vegan friendly too! Bookmarking 🙂
So I made them—the donut is seriously soft soft soft. It had some trouble making it out of the donut pan alive. I may have over filled them though–next time I’d put in a smaller amount and make more than the recommended 6 donuts. Estimating based on how the donuts crumbled under pressure of being so large, I’d say you can prob get 9 donuts out of the batter. You could probably even make these into smallish cupcakes too. The flavor is a dark chocolately fluffy goodness. Very very delicious.
The icing is completely killer. Perfect for adding extra toppings like sprinkles and holds its own without any extra sugar. My kids totally loved them. Thanks for a great DF donut!
So glad you enjoyed these donuts and frosting! Love the addition of fun sprinkles! 🙂
I made these tonight (w/o fristing) and they were yummy! I’m not really a donut fan (we attempted these for my son), but I loved these. But… I could not get them out of the pan. I baked them for 12 minutes since they did not look done at 10. But should they have gone longer? I wasn’t sure how to tell if they were done. And then the instructions don’t say how to cool them. I let them cool for about 5 minutes then tried to turn them out onto a cooling rack. 4 came out, but they tore. I left the other two in the pan and let them cool another 15 minutes but they would not come out either. Any tips?
Hey Marie, I’m glad you enjoyed these donuts! I let mine cool in the donut pan for about 15-20 minutes. Usually I just stick a butter knife under one side and the donut just pops out. By letting them sit, they shouldn’t be too soft or fall apart. Have fun!
Hey. These donuts look absolutely amazing!!! Would it be possible to convert them GF?
I don’t see why not! Let me know how they come out!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I ended up substituting some cake flavored protein powder for the cocoa powder, and it was AMAZING! Still soft with a delicious white cake taste. and you are definitely right about the chocolate frosting! It is incredible!
Also, I did not have any vegetable oil. I made a chocolate batch and used almond oil – those ended up getting burnt and only 10 minutes, and everything stuck to the tray even with the cooking spray.
When I tried the protein powder batch, I used coconut oil. The donuts ended up so soft and so delicious. Nothing stuck to the tray. I probably could’ve left them in for another 30 seconds to a minute.
Thanks again for sharing your recipe!
Since I always need extra protein, what a great idea using that cake protein powder! So glad you enjoyed these donuts, they’re one of my favorite treats! Thanks for stopping by Leah!
does the icing set up on the donuts?
Hello – LOVE the donuts. Just wondering how long do you think they would last and is it best to store them in the fridge or ?? Im wanting to make a batch for a birthday thats al. Thanks again
Hey Ra, I find they usually last for about 5 days. You can keep them in a airtight container or throw them in the fridge, but I’d heat them up for a seconds to get them warm before diving in! You can also freeze leftover donuts, and then heat up accordingly! Happy early Birthday!
You don’t have to beg. I will gladly dive face-first into a huge plate of these! My donut pans have been feeling neglected lately and I know just how to fix that. YUM!
This recipe looks so delicious! Hi, I’m Anita visiting from Foodie Fridiy.
These were delicious! Very rich. The only issue I had with them was they fell apart really easily. Next time I make them I’ll freeze them before I glaze.
So happy you enjoyed them!
Hi! Pamela,
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I have been desperately looking for an eggless version that could be baked in a donut pan. Am strongly allergic to eggs and so happy to have found this recipe. However, if I wished to change it to plain Vanilla and remove cocoa powder what should be the ratio of all purpose flour and other ingredients… It would be very kind if you could reply asap. thanks in advance. 🙂
Hey Ambi, thanks for stopping by! Since I haven’t made a vanilla version of these donuts I don’t want to give you a wrong guess. Subscribe to the newsletter and I’ll try to keep a vanilla recipe in mind for the future!
Thanks Pamela 🙂 Hope u try out the Vanilla version soooooooonnnnn… Will be waiting eagerly!!! 🙂
These look like Heaven in a pastry! Yum–can’t wait to try them. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi! Pamela,
I tried the donut recipe in individual tiny donut molds. Though the donuts fell apart while demolding yet the taste was awesome almost like chocolate muffins. I baked them initially for 10-12 mins but they looked undone but were fluffy. After that I baked them for another 3 mins and the top became flat and crusty. Finally after cooling them for 20mins when I demolded they crumbled. Could you please tell me where did i go wrong…. Yours look soooooo tempting and perfect. Would like to try once more with your guidance. Hope to see your reply soon. 🙂
Thanks.
Ambi
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Hi..I tried this recipe..exactly. my donuts were too delicate.. it just broke when I took out the pan…do we have to cool it before removing from the pan ?it’s generally advised to quickly remove the donuts. Pls help.
Hey Abi, per recipe instructions you need to let these cool before removing. I’ve never heard of quickly removing hot donuts from the pan. In general I always find it best to let baked goods cool before removing from their pan. Hope you give it another shot.
Glad I found this comment. Usually with baked goods they say to cool only for a few minutes then remove. Most baked goods will stick if you let them cool completely in pan. MIne are simply coming out as crumbs but I will let the rest of them cool completely and see if they will come out in one piece.
Hey Lisa – did you make sure to spray the donut pan with nonstick spray? I’ve made these donuts dozens of times and mine always come out clean. They’re a favorite of many readers of the blog so I hope you can figure out what went wrong – they’re worth it!
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I made these today for a Easter luncheon and they turned out great! I even put pastel Easter sprinkles on top!
I love that idea! Thanks for sharing Beth!
I’ve made these doughnuts a couple of times and they are delish! I do have a comment/question. The crumb is so delicate (not a bad thing) but it makes them very difficult to release even from a well sprayed pan. I’ve tried to reduce the amount of sugar so the crumb isn’t so delicate and it was slightly easier to release but they never just fall out of the pan and at least one usually breaks. Any suggestions? BTW, I do test with a toothpick and don’t remove from the oven until it comes out clean.
I’ve also added cacao nibs on top!
Oh my goodness, I’m a chocolate fanatic I can’t wait to try this,
This is my favourite donut recipe!
But why it seems that the list of ingredients seems to have gone missing? I can’t find any instructions either? Why is it so?
Hey Lida, the blog was down for maintenance for a few hours, the recipe card is back up and running! Enjoy!
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This is a wonderful recipe! Our little one is allergic to dairy and these donuts are a delightful treat. Thank you so much for this recipe, it’s a keeper!!
Hey Mike, this comment made my day! Glad to hear your little one liked these donuts! 🙂 Thanks for commenting.