Decadent Homemade Chocolate Glazed Donuts: Your New Favorite Family Breakfast Recipe

There’s nothing quite like starting your day with the irresistible aroma of freshly made donuts, especially when they’re rich, chocolatey, and topped with a luscious chocolate glaze. These homemade chocolate donuts are a truly special treat, perfect for transforming an ordinary morning into a celebration or for delighting a crowd at your next family gathering. This recipe yields a generous batch, ensuring there’s plenty to go around, or even some extra for a delightful indulgence later!

The Inspiration Behind Our Favorite Chocolate Donuts

Just the other day, I was catching up with my good friend, Jimmy, and our conversation unexpectedly turned to the topic of donuts. He couldn’t stop raving about some incredible chocolate donuts he had recently made. With an almost reverent tone, he described them as “Tim Horton Donuts.” Now, for those unfamiliar, Tim Hortons is practically a Canadian institution, renowned for its coffee and, of course, its delightful donuts. Jimmy, who was in Florida while I was in Georgia, made these donuts sound so utterly delicious that his enthusiasm was infectious, spanning hundreds of miles.

He mentioned he had found the recipe online, which immediately piqued my interest. As we continued our chat, I couldn’t resist. I quickly opened a new tab, navigated to Google, and typed in “Tim Horton Chocolate Donuts Recipe.” To my delight, it was right there, the third hit in the search results! A quick click confirmed my friend’s recommendation – it was indeed the highly-rated recipe from Food.com. My mission was clear: I had to make these donuts.

A Delightful Morning Project: Making Chocolate Donuts from Scratch

The next morning, with the kids behaving wonderfully – we even had an extra little guest with Grace’s friend sleeping over – it felt like the perfect opportunity to bring these legendary chocolate donuts to life. There’s a special kind of joy that comes from making something delicious from scratch, especially when it’s a treat like donuts that usually comes from a bakery.

One of the best things about this particular recipe is that you don’t need any fancy equipment. Forget about searching for a specialized donut cutter! You can easily make these delicious cake donuts with tools you likely already have in your kitchen. Simply roll out the dough to the desired thickness, use a standard biscuit cutter to create the round donut shapes, and then, for the crucial donut hole, use your floured fingers to gently widen the center. It’s an easy, hands-on method that makes the process even more fun and accessible for home bakers.

Why Homemade Chocolate Donuts Are a Must-Try

Beyond the fun of the baking process, the taste of these homemade chocolate cake donuts is truly unparalleled. They boast a tender, moist crumb characteristic of a perfect cake donut, infused with a deep, rich chocolate flavor. And the glaze? Oh, the glaze! It’s a luscious, decadent mocha glaze that takes these donuts from simply delicious to absolutely irresistible. It’s the kind of glaze you could honestly just eat with a spoon (and I might have been tempted!).

While this recipe is perfect for feeding a hungry crowd – and trust me, even with four enthusiastic kids devouring them, we barely made a dent in the generous batch – it’s also easy to scale down if you’re baking for a smaller group. Next time, I plan to halve the recipe for a more manageable amount, though having extra donuts around is never really a problem, is it?

Making donuts at home means you control the ingredients, ensuring freshness and quality. It’s also a fantastic activity to do with family, especially with kids who love getting their hands a little messy while helping to create these sweet treats. The effort is minimal compared to the incredible reward of biting into a warm, fluffy, chocolate-glazed masterpiece straight from your kitchen.

Tips for Donut Perfection

Dough Consistency is Key: Ensure your dough is properly chilled. This makes it much easier to handle, roll, and cut, preventing it from becoming too sticky.
Don’t Skimp on Flour: When working with the dough, make sure your surface and hands are generously floured. This prevents sticking and helps maintain the shape of your donuts.
The Right Hole Size: When making the center hole with your fingers, make sure it’s generously sized. As the donuts fry, the dough will expand, and a small hole might close up completely.
Maintain Oil Temperature: This is crucial for perfectly fried donuts. Use a thermometer to keep your oil at a consistent 375°F (190°C). Oil that’s too cool will result in greasy donuts, while oil that’s too hot will burn the outside before the inside is cooked through.
Don’t Overcrowd the Fryer: Fry only a few donuts at a time, allowing them enough space to cook evenly and preventing the oil temperature from dropping too drastically.
Glaze While Warm: Dipping the donuts in the warm mocha glaze when they are still slightly warm (but cool enough to handle) allows the glaze to set beautifully and adhere perfectly.

Now, let’s get to the star of the show – the detailed recipe for these incredible homemade chocolate glazed donuts!

Chocolate Donuts

Ingredients

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
vegetable oil (for frying, 6-8 cups)

Mocha Glaze

6 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate (I used ¾ cup semi-sweet chips)
½ cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons corn syrup

Instructions

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, buttermilk, and melted butter to blend.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well blended and a dough forms.
Chill the dough until cold, for at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours. This makes the dough easier to handle.
About ten minutes before you are ready to start cooking the donuts, begin preparing the Mocha glaze.
Scrape the chilled dough onto a generously floured surface. With floured hands, gently pat the dough out to about ½ inch thick.
Using a 3-inch donut cutter, cut out your donut shapes. If you don’t have one, a standard biscuit cutter works perfectly for the outer shape.
Pat together any scraps of dough and cut again to maximize your donut yield. Place the cut donuts on a well-floured baking sheet.
To create the center hole, use well-floured fingers to gently widen the middle of each donut. Ensure the hole is sufficiently large, as it will tend to close up slightly during frying.
Heat oil in an electric deep-fryer or pour about 4 inches of oil (I typically use about 2 inches for shallower frying) into a heavy-bottomed pan (a 2-quart pan works well for a smaller batch). Heat the oil to 375°F (190°C) – use a thermometer for accuracy. Carefully place one donut at a time onto a wide spatula and gently slide it into the hot oil, frying up to three donuts at a time to avoid overcrowding. Cook, turning once, until the donuts are puffy, golden brown, and cooked through, approximately 3 to 4 minutes total. (To test for doneness, you can cut the first donut in half.) With a slotted spoon, transfer the fried donuts to paper towels to drain excess oil. Repeat this process for the remaining donuts, being careful not to overcook them.
Once the donuts are cool enough to handle, dip the top half of each donut in the warm mocha glaze and place it on a wire rack or plate.
Let the glazed donuts stand until the glaze is set, which usually takes about 5 minutes.

Mocha Glaze Instructions

In a heatproof bowl, combine the chopped semisweet chocolate, ½ cup whipping cream, 1 tablespoon butter, and 2 teaspoons corn syrup.
Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a separate saucepan. Once boiling, remove the pan from the heat. Place the heatproof bowl containing the glaze ingredients over the hot water (creating a double boiler setup). Let it stand, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and glossy, which should take about 10 minutes. Keep the glaze warm for dipping.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

We hope you enjoy making and devouring these delightful chocolate glazed donuts as much as we do. They are truly a labor of love that pays off with every single delicious bite. Whether for a special occasion, a weekend treat, or just because, these homemade cake donuts are sure to become a cherished recipe in your family’s collection.

You might also like these related recipes for more sweet treats:

White Chocolate Blackberry Glazed Lemon Berliners

Classic Chocolate Cake Donuts

Easy Homemade Donuts