Chocolate Frosted Cake Donuts.
Today we’re doing this.
Because today is my favorite day.
More specifically, Thursday is my favorite day. The anticipation of Friday and the weekend is so much fun. Personally, I find the anticipation of things more exciting than actual things. What does that say about me? Hmmm. Perhaps I need to enjoy the moment more?
Yes yes.
Well, I certainly enjoyed this moment.
I don’t think it’s any secret that I have developed a severe donut obsession over the last year. Which is just nuts, considering for nearly 30 years I didn’t have much of a desire to eat donuts. That’s practically blasphemy because of how sweet my teeth are.
I must be going through one of those whole palette changing phases. Is that really a thing? And if so, can we change my palette to want lots of green things? Excellent.
I’m still sort of snobby about my doughnuts, and yes I’m well aware that I keep writing “donut” and “doughnut.” I want to use both words! Life’s not fair.
But yeah… snobby donut eater I am. First off, they have to be fresh. If you’ve ever seen the Five Year Engagement (which I sort of think is one of the worst movies in the world even though I have a major crush on Jason Segel) they even do experiments with people who eat stale donuts. It’s sort of funny and sort of dumb and sort of… true?
I don’t know. I just know I wasted a good three hours of my life watching that movie alone one Saturday night and was unenthused. And I’m a terrible critic.
Anyhoo: my donuts must be fresh fresh fresh. I don’t like cream-filled donuts. Don’t give me any powdered sugar ones. Fruit filled? No way. My favorites are sugared and anything chocolate frosted. I did try that brownie batter donut that Dunkin was touting around Valentine’s Day and ummm… it made me want to die. Like complete sugar bomb went off in my mouth. Not in a good way. And this is ME we are talking about.
I love my sugar.
So I think the consensus is I’m a bit of a donut purist?
Oh, except for these mini maple bacon ones.
And these blueberry ones.
Darnit. I don’t know what I am. Will I ever know?
I do know one thing: I will stop at nothing to use my fair share of sprinkles.
These cake doughnuts are super easy (for doughnuts) and yes – fried. I actually like baked doughnuts, but if I am going to make a donut and eat a donut, I’m going to fry that sucker. These don’t taste EXACTLY like the cake ones you’d get from Dunkin, but they are pretty close and darn delicious. The chocolate glaze is so good too. If you don’t want to go to the extra hassle, you can use a simple ganache, but this glaze plus sprinkles plus this donut… I’m done.
Chocolate Frosted Cake Donuts
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- oil for frying
chocolate glaze
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Make a well in the center.
- In a large measuring glass, whisk together milk, egg, butter and vanilla extract. Pour into the center of the dry ingredients then mix with a large spoon. Stir until dough is combined but do not overmix. The dough will be sticky! Cover with plastic wrap and set the bowl in the fridge for 1 hour.
- After and hour, remove dough and place on a well floured surface. Roll dough out to be about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Using a doughnut cutter, biscuit cutter or… something round, cut circles into the dough. To cut out the center, I used the wide bottom of a frosting tip, but you can also use a bottle cap or something of the sort.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat so it’s about 2-3 inches deep. Once the oil hits 360-365 degrees, fry the doughtnuts 2-3 at a time, for about 2 minutes per side, or until puffed and golden brown. Make sure you use a candy thermometer as this is the only way to determine the temperature! I have burned many doughnuts in my life. It is not pretty. Remove doughnuts with a slotted spoon and let cool on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining.
- While doughnuts are cooling, heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add butter, vanilla, corn syrup and milk. Whisk to combine and once butter is melt, reduce heat to low and add chopped chocolate. Whisk ask to combine, then once smooth, remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar. Stir continuously until it is all dissolve and no lumps remain. Dunk each doughnut into the glaze, then cover with sprinkles. Let set for about 30 minutes.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
It’s like they are begging you to eat them.
123 Comments on “Chocolate Frosted Cake Donuts.”
Stop it. I have your blueberry donut post open to make today. Now this. Im sticking with blueberry only because theyre for a boy baby shower BUT these are next :)
What?! I’ve never been the #1 commenter on any blog ever. I should probably be this on top of things in my real life.
cake donuts are my FAVORITE. Mainly because other donuts just melt in your mouth and I feel like they go too fast. Cake donuts, however, can be enjoyed with a glass of milk and they take a while to eat. Delicious.
thursdays are my favorite days too Jessica!! Love the anticipation :) Sundays are NOT my favorite days. Ugh! I love cake donuts! I’ve never made donuts completely from scratch (in oil, just baked) and each new donut recipe of yours inspires me to try. PS: chocolate frosted + sprinkles is only the best kind there is!
We are on the same page with alla this stuff. Cake donut + chocolate + sprinkles? Check. Using both donut & doughnut? Check. Secret crush on Jason Segal? Check. Not so impressed (but wish I had been) with The 5-Year Engagement? Check. Oh!! And fry the cake donuts. Yesssssss.
These look amazing Jess! As a kid, I was allll about the sprinkle donuts. Then I went through a phase where I loved the powdered ones with the jam inside (but NOT custard). I was never too into the chocolate ones, but chocolate icing was just fine. I can’t really remember the last time I had one, but I remember over the Christmas holidays, Bed Bath and Beyond had TONS of mini donut makers and cake pop makers. Tis the season I suppose! Happy Thursday!
wow! it my thursday started off with these, it would be my favorite day of the week too!
Like Dunkins? Oh my gosh, why did you say that? ow I have to make these on Saturday morning or maybe tonight??? Great recipe, beautiful photos and I can’t wait to make these donuts! Yum!!
I’m reminded once again that I need a donut pan!
You need a pot and 2” of oil! We bake donuts too, but as the author of the recipe stated, sometimes you just gotta FRY!!!
I swear I gain 5 lbs every time I come to your blog. ;)
These look delicious! I tried making apple cider donuts this fall and failed with the frying. It seemed like it took forever and I could never get them to the right done-ness. I’ll have to give yours a try.
Woah, woah, woah. These are incredible. Breakfast, please!
This is my second favorite kind of donut (first is glazed) and these look PERFECT–this might actually persuade me to fry something.
I also watched Five Year Engagement alone on a Saturday night and I also felt like it was a complete waste of my time. The only thing I liked about it was the love that Michigan got but really they were kind of bashing MI too…
I would love to make these ,but I don’t have my kitchen done yet.The island is done ,but I have no sink! 2 more weeks! So I will have to go and buy a donut for the time being……………..
Soooo…these are gonna haunt me until I make them happen in my own kitchen.
Crap.
That was definitely one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Awful and so disappointing. But these donuts… yes please, with extra sprinkles :)
Chocolate frosted donuts with sprinkles are THE. BEST. This was a great post to read right before heading to the gym, haha.
aw, little donut… you don’t have to beg, just get on over here.
DANG these look SO GOOD – like, better than the store?
I love Thursdays. I love anticipation.
back to these donuts… talk about anticipation – I can almost taste them now!
Your comment about your palette changing. . . you can change your own palette by exposing it to things. For years I didn’t like bell peppers. I made a point of eating them regularly- I like them now. It’s worked with other things too. Sometimes it’s just a matter of adjusting it! Sometimes it isn’t, but it is a surprisingly adaptable thing.
Evil…Evil…Evil…
what i love most about this post……that at the bottom, the recipe is tagged “breakfast, dessert, recipe” breakfast & dessert. why ye, thank you!
I fear I’ve been living under a rock because I’ve seen doughnut pans and biscuit cutters but never knew there was such a thing as a doughnut cutter. I love that idea! My parents had a doughnut maker and I remember a few times when they would make them for us. There’s something about homemase doughnuts that are so light and fluffy and delicious.
I’m just gonna come out and say it — fried donuts are my favorite, I was just thinking actually of donut flavors the other day! This has confirmed that I should start experimenting already.
Never seen that movie, but now I definitely won’t!
Ohhhh, cake donuts. They are my favorite! And these look so beautiful.
And yeah, the Five-Year Engagement really didn’t do it for me, either! I just felt like you could have taken about half an hour of drama out of the movie and it would have been so much better! I just got bored with it after a while.
You didn’t like The 5 Year Engagement? I watched it begrudgingly and actually loved it! I’m dying to know why you didn’t. Oh, and the donuts look good too!
i don’t know… it’s crazy because i’m such a bad critic and usually love ALL rom coms no matter what. i just found that is really dragged on and was very depressing for the majority of the movie?
Thank goodness! I’m totally craving something big and chocolate today, so pictures of the awesomeness will do!
I’m not usually a doughnut (donut?) person, but I’m drooling over these pictures! I agree, if I’m going to eat a doughnut, it’s going to have a simple chocolate glaze. Fruit has no place here!
So delicious! And I agree about enjoying the anticipation more than the actual event itself… like, getting ready to go out is way more fun than actually going out. Not very zen, though!
I had to laugh when you first talked about stale donuts, my mind immediately jumped to that movie. I just watched it on tv last week for the first time..I agree, not impressed! These donuts look great, though!
These look like they have such a thick + crusty exterior. AHH! Yum. I am also not a fan of jelly or cream filled donuts. My all-time fav’s are with a thin glaze all the way around, piled with powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar topped.
9 times out of 10, I reach for a donut with sprinkles…I can’t help it! I just posted blueberry donuts, and I kind of wish they were these now, ha! Unless there’s a coconut raised donut around, then I’m all over that.
They’re begging big time – I may have just licked the computer screen!
agreed that Five Year Engagement was pretty disappointing, but I’ve gotta admit I am totally the kind of person to eat a stale donut – glazed, jelly, boston creme? yup, yup, and hell yeah!
I always get so sad when I see fried donuts instead of baked ones. Please please please, will you post some more baked donut recipes?
They are so very tempting. Having some intense chocolate donut craving. First time here, loved your space & pics.
Thank goodness you made these! Everytime I’m on Instagram people are posting pictures of sprinkled covered donuts from Dunkin Donuts and I want to die because we don’t have those where I live. Yeah how uncool of the state of Minnesota, right? Now if I could only figure out if it’s doughnut or donut? ….I will never know.
1. Thank you for making these, because donuts/doughnuts are the best ever.
2. Thank you for addressing the fact that the 5-year Engagements sucked real bad. I thought I was the only one who thought that!
Your donuts are perfection! These look seriously amazing.
Yeah it was depressing and it dragged…but I did laugh really hard at some parts? And I look back at it fondly, though I can’t quite remember why.
yes i def did laugh at some parts! and actually, since HBO has been playing it like multiple times per day, it’s slightly grown on me.
I am not a huge donut fan, but I could never turn down a fresh one! Especially a chocolate covered one like this. Thanks for sharing :)
These look so yummy. I love chocolate frosted donuts! And you’re – the more simple the donut, the butter! Could you bake these?
Hi Jess these look delicious! What brand sprinkles are these? They look great!
mine are just the cake mate brand that i get at my local grocery store!
I just love how cute sprinkles make donuts, they are perfect!
Ok so my boyfriend’s favorite donut at Dunkin is the “old-fashioned” (because he’s 80 apparently) and I’m wondering if this recipe is basically an old-fahioned with glaze, right? Maybe a pinch of nutmeg would do the trick? I think if I replicated an old-fashioned he might propose to me.
Hahah! I read your blog every day and love it — I just posted to say I also haaaated 5 Year Engagement, even though the leads were two of my favorite actors! What a letdown.
And Thursdays are awesome. My sister and I agree Tuesday is the absolute worst day of the week. Ugh.
Oh and obligatory “fried cake donuts! yum!” They look spectacular :D
of course these look divine, BUT if you’re short on time, you should try these donut holes i made last week: http://semiweeklyeats.blogspot.com/2013/02/donut-holes.html
Yup. Thursdays are winning. Just like these doughnuts. Dang – you had me at sprinkles. And doughnuts. And chocolate frosting.
I’ve been watching what I eat for weeks trying to drop some poundage and these are just killing me! I need fried, fat, chocolate…sprinkles…ugh!
I’m picky about donuts, too. Actually I’m picky about everything, but that’s beside the point. THESE donuts I could definitely get behind.
I went to Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon over the summer and yeahhh. That place basically ruined me for any and all future donuts. They were just SO good.
These make me want to CRY I want one so bad! I gave up deep fried/fast food, alcohol (I know… I KNOW) and potato/tortilla chips (I specify these because I still have pita chips because they are baked, not fried). SOOOOOOO yes, I’m going crazy between having salads or sandwiches for lunch. And I would murder the EFF out of these bad boys. :[
… for LENT. I gave that stuff up for lent. I don’t think I could do it for life… I”m an American, after all.
hahaha i totally know what you meant. thank god.
My sister would just DIE if I made these. (Now I’m feeling a girl night with doughnuts and terrible movies. Yusss.)