Chocolate Frosted Donuts

These soft and fluffy chocolate frosted donuts are surprisingly easy to make and turn out better than what you can buy at the bakery.

I’m a huge fan of donuts but have never actually made yeast donuts until today. All donuts up to this point have been baked – from eggnog donuts to salted caramel apple cider donuts.

Part of the reason was cake donuts are just so dang easy and I was a little intimidated to make fried donuts. My worrying was completely misguided however. I finally took the leap when making these chocolate frosted donuts with sprinkles… or without. But frosted donuts should always have sprinkles in my mind.

The key with these homemade donuts is making an overnight dough. You simply mix everything up with the dough hook attachment and then just let the yeast do its work. From there you roll them out and fry them. There really isn’t much extra work when it comes to fried donuts compared to baked donuts.

And the flavor! Oh man. They just melt in your mouth, making it difficult to only have one of these yeast donuts. Trust me… I have experience with this.

Jump to:

• Recipe Ingredients
• How to Make Yeast Donuts
• Is It Doughnuts or Donuts?
• What is Best Temperature for Frying?
• How to Shape Donuts Without a Donut Cutter
• How to Know When Donuts are Done
• Chocolate Frosting for Donuts
• Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
• Other Donut Recipes
• Chocolate Frosted Donuts

Recipe Ingredients

• Milk – whole milk is best.
• Granulated and powdered sugar – adds sweetness to the donut and glaze.
• Dry active yeast – gives rise to the dough.
• Eggs – adds structure.
• Unsalted butter – thins out the batter and adds flavor.
• Vanilla extract and salt – enhances the flavor.
• All-purpose flour – the base for the dough.
• Cocoa powder – adds the chocolate flavor to the frosting.
• Canola oil – can also use vegetable oil for frying.

How to Make Yeast Donuts

1. Pour the warmed milk in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add the sugar and yeast and stir to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the egg, melted butter and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
3. With the mixer running slowly, add the flour and salt and mix for 5 minutes to work the dough. Turn off the mixer and let sit for 10 minutes.
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator overnight or for 8 hours.
5. Remove dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out until it is only 1/2 inch thick. Using a doughnut cutter, cut into 12 donuts. Save the holes to cook as well. Place the donuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with kitchen towels and allow to rest for 20-25 minutes as you prepare the oil.
6. Heat oil to 365°F. Add 2-3 donuts at a time and cook for about 1 minute per side. The donut holes take about 30 seconds per side. Use a slotted spoon to remove the donuts and place on a wired cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining donuts.
7. For the glaze, whisk the sugar and cocoa powder in a shallow bowl. Slowly stir in milk and vanilla extract to make smooth, pourable glaze.
8. Dip each fried donut in the glaze and place back on cooling rack. Top with sprinkles if desired. Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving.

Is It Doughnuts or Donuts?

So I guess the real way to spell it is doughnuts but Dunkin’ Donuts popularized the spelling of donuts back in the 1950’s. For me, I go with donut.

What is Best Temperature for Frying?

The best temp is 350°F to 375°F. I like to get somewhere in the middle. Oil can be tough to gauge without a thermometer so having a candy thermometer is important.

How to Shape Donuts Without a Donut Cutter

While a donut cutter makes things so much easier you can use a variety of tools throughout the house.

A canning ring, a round cookie cutter or even a ramekin will work to cut the donuts. You could then use a piping tip to cut the smaller holes.

How to Know When Donuts are Done

Donuts are done when they’re golden brown on both sides, which should take anywhere from 1 min to 1 min 15 seconds. The donut holes only take about 30 seconds per side.

Chocolate Frosting for Donuts

It is important to get the right consistency for your chocolate frosting so you can dip the donut in it but then it won’t run and will dry after 30 minutes.

By using a simple chocolate frosting recipe with powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla extract, you are able to accomplish this.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

• The milk needs to be warm but not scolding to help activate the yeast. It should be around 105-110°F.
• If you don’t want the dough to rise overnight, you can use instant yeast and cover the dough, letting it sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until the dough doubles in size.
• Use a donut cutter to get evenly sized donuts.
• Use a candy thermometer to get the temperature of the oil to 375°F, which is best for frying. Speaking of frying, do not overcrowd the pot or the temperature will drop. The amount of oil really depends on how wide or tall your pot is. You want it to be about 2 inches deep.
• Don’t pour out the used oil in the sink. Let it cool and the pour into an empty container or save and reuse it.

Other Donut Recipes

• Baked Chocolate Frosted Donuts
• Almond Butter Donuts
• Pumpkin Donuts
• Blueberry Donuts

If you’ve tried these chocolate frosted donuts or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I’m up to.