The Best Chocolate Donuts are moist, sweet, and very chocolatey. This recipe delivers the best texture and flavor for donuts that are addictive and delicious.

If you can’t get enough of these donuts, you have to try our old fashioned sour cream donuts and jelly-filled brioche donuts.

Chocolate Glazed Donuts

These Chocolate Donuts are the best because they are moist and dense, with a flavor that is sweet, but also a little tangy. That’s because these glazed donuts are made with sour cream to give a delicious contrast to the sweetness of the chocolate and the smooth glaze on top (it’s almost like a rich chocolate ganache). You’ll love the crisp, fried outside that covers the moist and chewy insides. This donut is perfect for the chocoholic in all of us! If you’re an extreme chocolate lover, you NEED to try our double chocolate cookies (VIDEO). They’re insanely delicious!

What you’ll use for this recipe

There are 2 parts to this recipe: the dough for the donuts and the chocolate glaze. For the donuts, you will need Unsalted butter, Granulated sugar, Golden brown sugar, an Egg, Vanilla extract, Sour cream, All-purpose flour, Cocoa powder, Baking powder, Baking soda, Cornstarch, and Salt. And for the glaze, you will use Semisweet chocolate chips, Heavy cream, and Unsalted butter. You will also need Corn oil for frying.

How to Make these Chocolate Donuts

(This is a quick rundown of the recipe. For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card.)

Beat butter and sugars. With an electric hand mixer, beat together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
Add the egg and vanilla. Now add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
Sift the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Add 1/3 of the sifted flour mixture to the wet ingredients, working it in with a spatula.
Mix in the sour cream. Add 1/3 of the sour cream and mix. Then add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix. Continue doing this in an alternating pattern until everything is combined.

Chill and cut the dough

Cover and chill. Place the donut dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and cover it tightly. Refrigerate it for 1 hour, or until firm.
Roll the donut dough. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll out the dough until it’s about 1/2-inch thick.
Cut out the chocolate donuts. Using a donut cutter or 2 different-sized biscuit cutters, cut out as many donuts as possible. Dust the cutters in flour to prevent sticking.
Reshape the dough and cut more donuts. Roll the scraps out again and cut out the donuts, repeating this step until you use it all up. This should come out to be about 12 donuts.

Frying the donuts

Heat the fry oil. Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with about 2 inches of corn oil and bring it to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fry the chocolate donuts. Carefully fry them in batches, about 2 minutes on each side. Be careful not to overcook them or let the oil get too hot. Place the cooked donuts on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any extra oil.

How to Make the Chocolate Glaze

Make the chocolate glaze. Heat up the heavy cream to a light boil and then add the chocolate chips. Submerge them and whisk to mix them together. You may need to reheat this mixture for 10 seconds at a time in the microwave to keep it warm.
Whisk in the butter. Once the glaze is smooth, whisk in the melted unsalted butter.
Dip the chocolate donuts into the glaze. Dip the slightly cooled donuts into the glaze and then lay them on a cooling rack to set. Serve and enjoy.

Tips for Making the Best Chocolate Donuts

Alternate the sour cream and flour mixture. When combining the sour cream and the flour with the other ingredients, alternating allows them to combine fully without excess mixing that will overwork the dough.
Dust the donut cutters with flour. The donut dough can get a little sticky, so use a little bit of flour to keep them from sticking and stretching the dough out of shape while cutting.
Fry the donuts carefully at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep a close eye on the frying donuts to make sure they don’t burn. Check the temperature of the oil with a thermometer periodically as you fry them in batches because the temp can creep up as you go.

How to Store them

To store these Chocolate Donuts, place them in an airtight container. They can be kept at room temperature if the air is cool (avoid direct sunlight) or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can also freeze them for 3 months in a ziplock freezer bag.

More Delicious Donuts to try!

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Dina

Hi, I’m Dina, so glad you stopped by! I believe life is too short for bad coffee and boring meals. With my easy to follow step-by-step recipes, you’ll be surprised at how quickly a wholesome and delicious meal can come together. I hope you find something you enjoy!