If you are a fan of coffee and treats for breakfast, you’re going to love my Glazed Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean Donuts. These delightfully caffeinated baked donuts are a sophisticatedly sweet way to greet the day!
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About This Recipe
When I need a little extra pep in my step, I’ve been known to reach for a handful of chocolate-covered espresso beans. Even though they are technically candy, they’re sweet and bitter, with a complex flavor profile that makes me feel totally adult.
So when my Fiancé gave me a donut pan as a gift, it was clear that I had to make a breakfast pastry that was both sweet and caffeinated like my beloved candy. That said, I might’ve flipped the notion on its head - these are really more espresso-covered chocolate donuts!
Whether you spell them “donuts” or “doughnuts,” one thing remains the same - they’re delicious! These simple and delightfully moist chocolate cake donuts are enrobed in a beautiful mocha-inspired glaze for a breakfast goodie that is 100% worth getting out of bed for.
Best of all, these baked donuts are SO EASY to make! With just 20 minutes of prep time, you can get these tasty treats on the table in under an hour. I don’t know about you, but that’s faster than I could drive to my favorite donut shop. Good morning, indeed!
Ingredients
Most of the ingredients for these baked espresso chocolate donuts are pretty self-explanatory. However, there are a few notes I’d like to share:
- Black Cocoa Powder - This heavily Dutched cocoa powder lends rich color and deep chocolatey flavor to these baked donuts. If you are unable to procure it, regular Dutch-process cocoa powder is an acceptable substitute.
- Unsalted Butter - When possible, reach for cultured, grass-fed, and organic butter. If you are dairy-free, you can swap in cultured vegan butter instead.
- Whole Milk - Whole milk has a higher milk fat than other types of dairy milk, and fat yields a more tender crumb. If you are dairy-free, opt for a rich plant-based alternative like full-fat coconut milk.
- Sour Cream - You can also use full-fat Greek yogurt if that’s all you have in the fridge. You can also sub in your favorite plant-based alternatives if you prefer.
- Corn Syrup - Corn syrup prevents sugar from crystallizing. You can also use honey in its place.
- Coffee Butter - Compound coffee butter is one of the most delectable spreads you’ll ever come across. While this is an optional ingredient, I suggest you give it a try - you’ll want to slather it on everything from pancakes to toast.
- Hot Coffee - Feel free to use some of your morning brew, or dissolve instant espresso or coffee powder in hot water instead.
- Dark Chocolate - When it comes to chocolate, quality varies widely. Be sure to choose the best possible chocolate that fits within your budget - I like Callebaut, Guittard, Ghiradelli, Scharffen Berger, and Valhrona.
Equipment
Aside from a donut pan, you really don’t need much in terms of equipment. These are the items you’ll need to assemble:
- Doughnut Baking Pan - You can’t make baked donuts without a doughnut baking tray. If you aren’t convinced that you need yet another gadget to store, I can honestly say I'm a believer. They’re totally worth it! I've loved playing with all the different doughnuts, flavors, and glazes you can make using this tray as a mold.
- Pastry Bag or Ziplock Bag - The most difficult part about making baked donuts is getting the batter into the pan. A piping bag comes in handy here, but you can easily use a ziplock bag with the corner cut off in its place.
- Toothpicks - Checking cake donuts for doneness is the same as checking cakes; you’ll need a toothpick or skewer to poke them!
How to Make
First off, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and black cocoa powder then set aside.
Then in a larger bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and sour cream, mixing together until fully combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
Next, it’s time to pipe the doughnut batter into your doughnut baking pan. Spray the donut pan with a light layer of non-stick cooking spray.
Pipe the doughnut batter into your doughnut pan filling just over halfway, then place the tray in the oven to bake for 11-12 minutes. After the doughnuts pass the toothpick test, remove them from the oven and let cool on a baking tray.
Do not glaze doughnuts until they have completely cooled. You can remove them to a wire cooling rack to speed up the process if you so desire.
Chocolate Icing Assembly
Whisk together powdered sugar, corn syrup, salt, coffee butter, melted chocolate, and hot coffee in a medium bowl to make your glaze. Dip the tops of the doughnuts into the glaze, allowing the excess to drip off.
NOTE: If your glaze starts to harden, pop it in the microwave for a few moments and you'll be good to go.
Espresso Chocolate Garnish
Sprinkling espresso powder and chopped coffee peans on top of the slightly dry glaze is a fun way to add a pop of color, texture, and aroma. It also adds to the appearance of the doughnut, though let's be real... there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with a purely chocolate doughnut!
Tips & Tricks
- Eat soon after baking for the best results. Technically, you can store these chocolate cake doughnuts in an air-tight container in a dry, cool space for up to three days. This being said, I would highly recommend baking and enjoying these doughnuts rather promptly! Doughnuts are best straight from the oven or fryer as their cake-like consistency can dry out quite quickly.
- Remember that cake donuts are just tiny cakes! Before you go psyching yourself out over making homemade donuts, remember - baked donuts are basically mini versions of cake! If you have made a cake from scratch - from batter to bake - then you already know what you’re doing!
- Want these cake donuts to taste even more like coffee? Swap out half of the vanilla extract for coffee extract instead!
Frequently Asked Questions
To a point, yes! Feel free to use decaf coffee in the glaze. However, you should note that both decaf coffee and chocolate have some caffeine, so no matter what you do, they will not be entirely caffeine-free.
While I haven’t tried it, my baking experience leads me to believe that you should be able to. Simply opt for all plant-based dairy substitutes and trade out the egg for a flax egg (1 tablespoon of flaxseed + 3 tablespoons of water) or ¼ cup of applesauce. Do let me know in the comments if you gave this a try!
Sounds like you might’ve made the mistake of not preheating the oven. When baking powder comes into contact with liquid, it immediately begins to react. If you waited to preheat the oven until after the batter was made, you lost out on the initial chemical reaction. If that wasn’t the case, you may want to check that your baking powder hasn’t expired.
While I myself haven’t attempted it with this recipe, you should be able to make a cup-for-cup swap of an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix.
Other baked doughnut recipes to try
- Coconut Cream Baked Doughnuts
- Apple Bourbon Spice Doughnuts
- Dark Chocolate Pecan Doughnuts
- Vanilla Bean & Rose Baked Doughnuts
As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try making these Chocolate & Espresso Doughnuts, please leave a review or share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
Glazed Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean Donuts
Equipment
- Doughnut Baking Pan
Ingredients
Chocolate Doughnuts
- 2 Cups (250 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3 tablespoon Black Cocoa Powder
- 2 tablespoon (30 g) Unsalted Butter, Melted and Cooled
- 1 Large Egg
- ⅓ Cup (66 g) Granulated Sugar
- ½ Cup (120 g) Whole Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ Cup (115 g) Sour Cream
Espresso Icing & Garnish
- 4 ½ Cups (450 g) Powdered Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Corn Syrup, or Honey
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 teaspoon Coffee Butter, Optional
- ¼ Cup (75 g) Hot Coffee
- ⅔ Cup (115 g) Dark Chocolate, Melted
- Chopped Coffee Beans, For Garnish
Instructions
Chocolate & Espresso Doughnuts
- First off, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F before making your doughnut batter.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and black cocoa powder then set aside.2 Cups All-Purpose Flour, 2 teaspoon Baking powder, ½ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda, 3 tablespoon Black Cocoa Powder
- Then in a larger bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, sugar, milk, vanilla extract and sour cream mixing together until everything has fully combined.2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter, 1 Large Egg, ⅓ Cup Granulated Sugar, ½ Cup Whole Milk, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, ½ Cup Sour Cream
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until combined.
- Next, it’s time to pipe the doughnut batter into your doughnut baking pan. Spray the donut pan with a light layer of non-stick cooking spray.
- Pipe the doughnut batter into your doughnut pan filling just over halfway, then place the tray in the oven to bake for 11-12 minutes. After the doughnuts pass the toothpick test, remove them from the oven and let cool on a baking tray. Do not glaze doughnuts until they have completely cooled.
Chocolate Icing Assembly & Garnish
- Whisk together powdered sugar, corn syrup/honey, salt, coffee butter, melted chocolate and hot coffee in a medium bowl to make your glaze. Dip the tops of the doughnuts into the glaze, allowing the excess to drip off. If your glaze starts to harden, pop it in the microwave for a few moments and you'll be good to go! As the glaze starts to set on your doughnuts, sprinkle some chopped coffee beans, espresso powder on top for garnish!4 ½ Cups Powdered Sugar, 2 teaspoon Corn Syrup, Pinch of Salt, 1 teaspoon Coffee Butter, ¼ Cup Hot Coffee, ⅔ Cup Dark Chocolate, Chopped Coffee Beans
Notes
- Eat soon after baking for the best results. Technically, you can store these chocolate cake doughnuts in an air-tight container in a dry, cool space for up to three days. This being said, I would highly recommend baking and enjoying these doughnuts rather promptly! Doughnuts are best straight from the oven or fryer as their cake-like consistency can dry out quite quickly.
- Remember that cake donuts are just tiny cakes! Before you go psyching yourself out over making homemade donuts, remember - baked donuts are basically mini versions of cake! If you have made a cake from scratch - from batter to bake - then you already know what you’re doing!
- Want these cake donuts to taste even more like coffee? Swap out half of the vanilla extract for coffee extract instead!
- Can I make decaf espresso chocolate donuts? To a point, yes! Feel free to use decaf coffee in the glaze. However, you should note that both decaf coffee and chocolate have some caffeine, so no matter what you do, they will not be entirely caffeine-free.
- Is it possible to make vegan chocolate cake donuts with this recipe? While I haven’t tried it, my baking experience leads me to believe that you should be able to. Simply opt for all plant-based dairy substitutes and trade out the egg for a flax egg (1 tablespoon of flaxseed + 3 tablespoons of water) or ¼ cup of applesauce.
- Why didn’t my cake doughnuts rise? Ooops! Sounds like you might’ve made the mistake of not preheating the oven. When baking powder comes into contact with liquid, it immediately begins to react. If you waited to preheat the oven until after the batter was made, you lost out on the initial chemical reaction.If that wasn’t the case, you may want to check that your baking powder hasn’t expired.
- Can I make these gluten-free? While I myself haven’t attempted it with this recipe, you should be able to make a cup-for-cup swap of an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix.
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