Chocolate Cake Donuts

Side view of a glazed chocolate cake donut on a white and green plate.

4 from 1 vote

Light and fluffy but still rich, chocolatey, and cakey, these chocolate cake donuts, or chocolate sour cream donuts, are yummy and so easy!

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Chilling2

Total Time2 30

Course: Afternoon Kaffee, Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake donut, Chocolate, chocolate donut, donut

Servings:

Calories: 553kcal

Equipment

Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Candy/Oil thermometer

Ingredients

Dough

210 grams all purpose flour
40 grams corn starch
50 grams cocoa powder natural or dutch processed
2 teaspoons baking powder
40 grams unsalted butter room temperature
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
100 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon espresso powder
2 egg yolks standard large
240 grams sour cream room temperature
1 liter vegetable oil or any neutral oil

Glaze

250 grams powdered sugar
55 grams milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the Dough

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and baking powder
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and espresso powder. It won't get light and fluffy so just beat for about a minute on medium speed.
Add both egg yolks in with the butter mixture and beat until smooth.
Alternate adding in 1/3 of the sour cream and then 1/3 of the dry ingredients sifted into the butter and egg yolk mixture. Be sure to mix until combined and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl in between each addition. Repeat until all the sour cream and dry ingredients have been used up.
Scoop the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it into a square or circle that is between one and two inches thick.
Place the dough in the fridge to chill for at least an hour or up to overnight.

Make the Glaze

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and powdered sugar until a glaze forms. It should be about honey consistency. If it's too thin add more powdered sugar, too thin, add more milk.
Then whisk in the vanilla extract and set aside.

Shape the Donuts

While the dough is chilling or about 20 minutes before you plan to cut out the donuts, pour the oil into a large dutch oven and place a candy thermometer on the side of the pot.
Place a wire rack into a baking sheet and set it next to the stove for the fried donuts to sit on.
Place the pot over low heat if using a gas stove and medium low if electric.
Keep an eye on the oil temp but let it heat up to 350 F.
Once the dough has chilled, roll it out on a well floured surface with a piece of parchment paper on top. Be sure to scoot the dough around on the counter between rolls to keep it from sticking.
Roll the dough out so that it is 1/2" thick.
Use a biscuit cutter or a glass that is 4" inches in diameter and cut out 4-5 donuts. Use a smaller circle that's about 1" in diameter to cut out the donut holes.
Place the donuts and donut holes on a parchment lined sheet and place in the fridge until the oil is hot. Scraps can be cut into additional donut holes but I don't recommend re-rolling the dough.
Once the oil has reached 350 F. Carefully place two of the donuts in the oil, dropping them away from you. Set a timer for 2 minutes and keep an eye on the oil temperature. It should stay between 340 and 350.
At first the donuts will sink, and then they'll float, and then they will start to puff and get that classic crack around the top.
Once the two minutes are up and the tops have cracked, use a metal slotted spoon or spider to carefully flip them over, away from you so the oil doesn't splash on to you.
Fry for another two minutes.
Use the same metal tool to scoop the donuts out one at a time and place them on the wire rack to allow excess oil to drip off.
Let the oil come back to 350 before adding in the second round of donuts. Then repeat the frying steps above. Lastly fry the donut holes and scraps for about 1 minute on each side.

Glaze

While the donuts are still warm, I usually do this between batches, dunk the donuts into the glaze. Start with the top cracked side face down into the bowl.
Then use your fingers or a fork to flip the donut over so that both sides get glazed.
Carefully lift the glazed donut up and let any excess glaze drip off.
Place the glazed donuts on a second wire rack and leave them to cool for at least ten minutes.
Any leftovers should be left to cool completely and then stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

Tips for making Cake Donuts

Make sure all dough ingredients are at room temperature. This will help the batter come together more easily and give you a lighter fluffier donut. You don't want the ingredients warm, just a cool room temperature.
Sift the dry ingredients! Cocoa powder and cornstarch have a tendency to clump and you don't want to have to over mix the dough to get rid of them.
Don't be tempted to add more flour to the dough. It should be very sticky but thick, think like chocolate chip cookie dough but even a little stickier.
I use a heavy cast iron dutch oven for frying because the dense material helps the oil heat evenly and the tall sides keep oil from splattering. A thermometer is also key when frying to make sure the oil is at the right temperature.
I like to use a combination of a well floured work surface and parchment paper to roll out the dough and prevent it from sticking.
It is important to fry the donuts between 340 F and 350 F. I find that 340 F is the best temperature that allows the center to be fully cooked without the outside burning. To keep the oil at the temperature be sure to keep a thermometer in the oil and I recommend heating it to 350 F. Then add in the donuts and the temperature will drop to around 340F.
Dunk the donuts in the glaze while still warm to get that thin crackly glaze texture.

Nutrition