Frosted Chocolate Cake Doughnuts

It’s a tradition every year for me to cook a special dinner for my husband on his birthday, August 28th. This year he mentioned he’d like some homemade chocolate donuts, reminiscent of the irresistible ‘donut shop style’ doughnuts he enjoyed as a kid. This was my first attempt at making *real* doughnuts and I wanted them to be as authentic as possible, so I decided to deep fry them to get that deliciously rich, crispy crust. I found a great recipe on SeriousEats.com from Stephen Collucci, the pastry chef at NYC’s Colicchio & Sons, and it came out brilliantly. Inside, the doughnut was moist, dense and chocolately and the outside was crispy and generously covered in gooey, sweet glaze. Pure cake doughnut perfection. These chocolate cake doughnuts would be perfect for a casual party or as an impressive breakfast for a group of family or friends. They also made one heck of a birthday dessert. Check out all of the steps below!

Frosted Chocolate Cake Doughnuts

Recipe courtesy of “Glazed, Filled, Sugared & Dipped” by Stephen Collucci via SeriousEats.com

Ingredients

Doughnuts
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Vegetable oil, for frying

Glaze
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
4 tablespoons whole milk

Directions

First, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 1 cup of the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Next, add the egg and yolks and mix well. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, and oil, and mix until combined.

Slowly add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix until just combined (do not over mix!). The final dough will be very thick and look something like this…

Scrape dough from bowl and place onto a large piece of parchment paper. Place an equal size piece of parchment paper over the dough and roll it out using a rolling pin until it is about 1/2″ thick.

Chill the dough (still covered in parchment paper) in the refrigerator for 30 minutes – 1 hour or until the paper can be pulled off without sticking to the dough.

Dust some flour over your work surface.

Remove the top sheet of paper and flip the dough onto your work surface. Remove the second piece of paper and dust the top of the dough with flour. To create the tubular shapes, I used a nifty 2 1/2″ doughnut cutter (you can buy one here), but you can also use a biscuit or other round cutter if you do not have a doughnut cutter.

Prepare a baking sheet dusted with flour. Cut out your doughnuts like so – and don’t forget to save the doughnut holes as well!! Place the cut doughnuts onto the baking sheet.

Now, it’s time to start frying. Heat at least 2″ of oil in a heavy bottomed pot until a deep fry thermometer reaches 350°F. Using a thermometer is crucial for getting the oil to the optimal temperature for frying the doughnuts.

Prepare a second baking sheet lined with a couple layers of paper towels.

Fry the doughnuts in batches. If it’s your first time frying doughnuts, start with 1 at a time until you get the hang of it. Fry for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until they are slightly red-brown all over. If you decide to fry the doughnut holes as well (why not!), fry them for about 30 seconds on each side.

Drain on paper towel lined baking sheet.

Prepare glaze by mixing together confectioners’ sugar and milk in a medium sized bowl.

While doughnuts are still slightly warm (and drained), dip both sides in glaze.

Place on cooling rack to set.

Enjoy!

Frosted Chocolate Cake Doughnuts

 

Author:

Janelle, Recipe by Stephen Collucci

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour 30 mins

Print

 

Moist and chocolately chocolate cake doughnuts with sweet, gooey glaze

Ingredients

Doughnuts

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 3 large egg yolks
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 
  

Glaze

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 4 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

1. First, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 1 cup of the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Next, add the egg and yolks and mix well. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, and oil, and mix until combined.
2. Slowly add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix until just combined (do not over mix!).
3. Scrape dough from bowl and place onto a large piece of parchment paper. Place an equal size piece of parchment paper over the dough and roll it out using a rolling pin until it is about ½″ thick.
4. Chill the dough (still covered in parchment paper) in the refrigerator for 30 minutes – 1 hour or until the paper can be pulled off without sticking to the dough.
5. Dust some flour over your work surface.
6. Remove the top sheet of paper and flip the dough onto your work surface. Remove the second piece of paper and dust the top of the dough with flour. To create the tubular shapes, I used a nifty 2½″ doughnut cutter, but you can also use a biscuit or other round cutter if you do not have a doughnut cutter.
7. Prepare a baking sheet dusted with flour. Cut out your doughnuts – and don’t forget to save the doughnut holes as well!! Place the cut doughnuts onto the baking sheet.
8. Now, it’s time to start frying. Heat at least 2″ of oil in a heavy bottomed pot until a deep fry thermometer reaches 350°F. Using a thermometer is crucial for getting the oil to the optimal temperature for frying the doughnuts.
9. Prepare a second baking sheet lined with a couple layers of paper towels.
10. Fry the doughnuts in batches. If it’s your first time frying doughnuts, start with 1 at a time until you get the hang of it. Fry for 1 to 1½ minutes on each side, or until they are slightly red-brown all over. If you decide to fry the doughnut holes as well (why not!), fry them for about 30 seconds on each side.
11. Drain on paper towel lined baking sheet.
12. Prepare glaze by mixing together confectioners’ sugar and milk in a medium sized bowl.
13. While doughnuts are still slightly warm (and drained), dip both sides in glaze.
14. Place on cooling rack to set.

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