These chocolate cake donuts are baked in the oven, super easy to make, and happen to be vegan – meaning no dairy or eggs – and the ingredients are all affordable pantry staples.
I wanted a version of chocolate cake donuts, similar to ones we served at our wedding, that we could share with our whole family – vegans included. I started with my base Vanilla Wacky Donuts recipe, with their proper café-style density and chew, and adapted further to get the perfect chocolatey flavour.
The result is my Chocolate Wacky Donuts recipe. It can be easily adapted to other dietary needs, but it’s already dairy-free and vegan! Check out my notes at the bottom of the page for a list of potential ingredient swaps.
Recipe adapted from: my Vanilla Wacky Donuts recipe.
Chocolate Wacky Donuts
These chocolate cake donuts are baked in the oven, super easy to make, and happen to be vegan. They’re tall and rounded, have a soft bouncy chew, and the perfect lush cocoa flavour. Bring these to work, a casual dinner party, or anywhere you want to impress with little effort.
Servings: 8
Equipment
- Donut Pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (256 g)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (8g)
- 1½ tsp baking powder (7.5g)
- ½ tsp baking soda (2.5g)
- ½ tsp salt (3g)
- 5 tbsp cocoa powder (35g)
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder, optional (2g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- ½ cup brown sugar (100g)
- 6 tbsp vegan butter, melted (86g)
- 1 tbsp vinegar (15 mL)
- 1 tbsp applesauce, unsweetened (15 mL)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (8g)
- ¾ cup oat milk, room temperature (180 mL)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F, and grease your donut pans. I brush my pans with vegetable oil.
- Sift and lightly whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and sugars.
- Mix melted butter, vinegar, applesauce, and vanilla in a small bowl or measuring cup.
- Combine wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir, or mix on low for about 30 seconds, until just combined. Batter will resemble sandy crumbs.
- Add milk to the batter and stir until combined. Batter should be soft and spoonable, like a thick pancake batter.
- Fill donut molds ¾ full, no matter what type of donut molds you use. I usually spoon batter into molds with a cookie scoop and then spread the mounds out evenly.
- Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes (this makes a nice round top when they bake), then lower oven temperature to 350°F without opening the oven until the donuts are done (timing below). Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, or the tops are firm and spring back to the touch.
- For large 4″ donuts: bake at 350°F for an additional 12-15 minutes.
- For mini 1″ donuts: bake at 350°F for an additional 6-8 minutes.
- Cool in pans completely before trying to take out of the molds, at least 15 minutes. This allows them to firm up and release easier.
- Once cooled, drizzle or dunk the donuts in a simple icing sugar glaze or dip
Notes
Sugar: Swap out all or part of the sugar for white sugar, brown sugar, or your sugar of choice.
Instant Espresso Powder: I tend to swap for decaf espresso powder, or instant chicory uncoffee when I know these are being eaten by kids. Espresso can also be left out entirely if you prefer – it can’t be tasted in the final donuts and is just there to enhance the chocolate flavour.
Vegan Butter: Swap for coconut oil, or dairy butter if you don’t mind straying away from vegan. If you replace with vegetable or olive oil, the texture of the donuts will be fluffier and less dense once they cool.
Vinegar: Swap for apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. The acidity of vinegar or lemon juice is where the magic of this recipe happens. The acid reacts with the baking soda to create the lift that replaces eggs. The flavours of vinegar or lemon juice themselves can’t be tasted in the final donuts.
Vanilla: Swap for vanilla bean paste for more intense vanilla flavour, or any other extracts for a fun twist, like mint, orange, etc… You can also swap or add in 1-2 tsp of your favourite spice blends or zests for more natural flavours.
Oat Milk: Oat milk adds to the chew of the donut, and can be replaced by Soy Milk, Dairy Milk, or any other milk you prefer. Milk can also be replaced with water, but the donuts will be a little fluffier and soft without the protein from the milk.
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