It’s the donut emoji come alive! Old-school, fried, yeasted chocolate donuts that are pillowy on the inside and have a sticky cocoa sugar glaze on top. Plus sprinkles, mandatory! They’re a version of this great recipe and are super fun to make and much easier than you’d think. Let’s make some donuts!

These donuts start with a soft and slightly sticky chocolate dough which I made by swapping out some of the flour for cocoa, increasing the butter because cocoa can have a drying effect and adding more sugar to compensate for the bitterness of the cocoa as well.

The glaze is a basic icing sugar and milk combination, with some cocoa for extra chocolate flavour. I only had homemade powdered sugar lying around, but icing sugar has a more crackly and firmer effect on the glaze, which I prefer. However, don’t go running out just for that! The glaze soaks into the donuts a bit and softens the tops and the donuts are definitely incomplete without it.

The only thing that’s a bit tricky about these is that while frying, since the dough is already dark because to the cocoa, it’s easy to let the donuts get a bit too brown. If this happens, don’t worry because as I said the glaze soaks in and softens any overly crusty bits, I promise.

You can make the glaze without cocoa as well, if you want a more opaque, white-ish layer on top instead of a darker glaze. And of course the sprinkles are optional but if you can get your hands on some, these donuts really are more fun with them!

Ok, enough talking. Let’s make dooooonuts!

Glazed Chocolate Donuts

Fried, yeasted chocolate donuts with cocoa glaze

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 1

Makes: 10 to 12 donuts

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Ingredients

For the dough

3/4 cup whole milk (188 ml)
2 and 1/4 tsps active dry yeast
6 tbsps caster sugar
1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (210 gms), plus more for kneading/sprinkling
1/4 cup cocoa powder (20 gms)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt, if using unsalted butter
5 tbsps butter (70 gms), melted and slightly cooled
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

For the glaze

2 cups icing sugar
4 tsps cocoa powder (see notes)
5 to 6 tbsps milk

Instructions

Warm 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl (set aside the remaining 1/4 cup milk). The milk should be just hot enough that you can dip a finger in comfortably. Stir in the yeast and 1 tbsp of the caster sugar. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes until frothy.
In the meantime, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 5 tablespoons sugar in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
Now add the melted butter, vanilla and the yeast mixture.
Use the dough hook to bring the mixture together on low speed, then pour in the remaining 1/4 cup milk. Knead on medium to high speed for 3 to 4 minutes until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour as needed if the dough looks too sticky. Adding too much extra flour will make the donuts hard. When you poke a finger in the dough and it slowly bounces back, it's ready to rise. If doing this by hand, the kneading time won't really change much, it's quite an easy dough to work with.
Shape the dough into a ball and leave it in the bowl itself (normally I'd grease the bowl but it isn't necessary here). Cover the bowl tightly with clingfilm and let the dough rise for about an hour until it doubles.
Punch down the risen dough to release any air bubbles, then turn it out onto a lightly floured counter or a silicone baking mat (my preference).
Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness. The shape isn't important at this stage. Do your best to smoothen any creases in the dough.
Using a donut cutter if you have one, or a 3" bowl and a 1/2 inch bottle cap (or any other small tool like a piping tip!), cut out circles and then 'donut holes' in the center of each circle. Bring the dough scraps together and re-roll as needed till you've cut it all out. You should between 10 and 12 donuts. Space the donuts out at least an inch apart on the silicone mat, using a second mat as needed. Place the donut holes on the mat too.
Loosely cover the mats with clingfilm and let the donuts and donut holes rise again for 30 minutes, or until puffy and almost doubled. At this stage, if some of them look a bit lopsided or uneven, shape them gently with your fingertips.
In a sturdy, deep-bottomed pot or wok, pour in oil two-thirds of the way and let it heat on high.
Remove the clingfilm from the puffed donuts. Pinch off a small bit off one of the donut holes. Pop it into the oil and watch when it begins to darken and rise to the surface, as an indication of the oil being ready.
Gently lift each donut and transfer it carefully into the hot oil (the shape might get a bit distorted, use your fingers to neaten them again if needed). I prefer to fry a maximum of 2 to 3 at a time. Cook each one for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side, adjusting the heat between medium and high as needed. The donuts should puff up and darken further, but not burn. Since the dough is already dark in colour, this can be a bit hard to identify, but just in case you fry them more than needed, the glaze will soften them so don't worry.
Lift the cooked donuts out of the oil and place them on a plate lined with paper towels. Let them cool completely.
To make the glaze, sift the icing sugar and cocoa together in a small bowl, then add the milk one tablespoon at a time, stirring till you have a smooth and runny glaze. Dunk each donut in the glaze, turning it around to coat all sides, then place on a wire rack to let the glaze set and harden. Scoop up any glaze that's dripping off (place a tray underneath) and drizzle it over the donuts repeatedly for a nice coating.
Finally, fry the donut holes all at once till golden brown and set them aside on paper towels, then dunk in any remaining glaze.
These donuts are best made and eaten fresh. They will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days in an airtight tin but won't be quite as soft and you may find the sugar on top getting a bit moist though it doesn't affect flavour. You can reheat them before eating to restore the softness. They can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days as well. Happy donuting!

Notes

*Though this is a fast-rising dough, if you're working in a cold environment and want to speed things up, preheating the oven to 100C for just a minute and then switching it off creates a nice warm environment for your dough to rise in.

*You can skip the cocoa powder in the glaze and make a plain sugar glaze as well. If using homemade powdered sugar, keep in mind that the glaze will be a little more runny and won't set as firmly as with icing sugar.

*Prep time does not include rising time.

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