Flourless Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Icing (Easy Baked Donuts)

When donuts are on your mind, you have to make a quick batch of these Baked Flourless Chocolate Donuts! They’re made with creamy almond butter and other everyday pantry staples. Plus, no flour is needed to make these donuts, which turn out soft, fluffy, and decadent every single time. Finish them off with a delicious layer of chocolate icing and some crushed almonds, and you’ll be dreaming about these chocolate donuts long after they’re gone.

Chocolate Glazed Donuts Are calling Your Name!

What’s not to love about these soft and fluffy baked chocolate donuts? They’re easy to make, lightly sweet and oh so chocolaty, and make for the perfect cute dessert or special occasion sweet treat. When you’ve got that chocolate craving, you can’t go wrong with these Homemade Chocolate Glazed Donuts (just scroll down for the easy recipe), or our so-good No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites and 3-Ingredient Dark Chocolate Mint Cups!

Ingredients to make Chocolate Donuts

With a few simple pantry-staple items, you’ll have these chocolate donuts baking in no time at all!

Chocolate Donut Ingredients:

• Eggs
• Sugar – use granulated sugar
• Butter – use unsalted butter; for non-dairy donuts, use a plant-based/vegan butter (in stick form, not tub form, because the stick form melts better) or use melted coconut oil
• Almond butter – choose an almond butter that is creamy and can easily pour from the measuring cup. If your almond butter is thicker or hard at room temperature, warm the almond butter in the microwave in 5- to 10-second increments to make a thinner consistency. May sub in any nut butter or sunflower seed butter of choice
• Vanilla – look for a vanilla extract with no added sugars
• Cocoa powder – we recommend that you sift the cocoa powder to eliminate any chunks or hard pieces, which will make for that perfectly tender donut texture. May use cacao powder
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt – use fine salt

For the Chocolate Icing you’ll need:

• Powdered sugar
• Cocoa powder
• Vanilla extract
• Milk – use dairy or unsweetened non-dairy milk of choice. For non-dairy milks, we recommend almond or coconut milk as great options
• Almonds – use crushed or slivered almonds for sprinkling on top of the chocolate icing. You can also get creative and fancy with your donut toppings and use sprinkles, sunflower seeds, unsweetened coconut shreds, or crushed freeze-dried strawberries

How to Make These Flourless Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Icing

Follow these quick steps to get those baked chocolate donuts in the oven:

1. Make the batter: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the eggs, sugar, melted butter, almond butter, and vanilla. Sift in the cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the salt and mix well.
2. Fill the donut pan: Mist a 6-count silicone donut pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the donut batter evenly into the 6 donut cavities in the pan, smoothing the tops with a spoon or your fingers.
3. Bake the donuts: Bake the donuts for 12-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into donut comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the donuts cool slightly or completely before removing them from donut pan, about 5 to 10 minutes. 
4. Make the chocolate glaze: In a small bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add the vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons milk; stir. Add more milk, just one teaspoon at a time, until the glaze reaches desired consistency.
5. Dip the donuts: Working one at a time, turn baked donut upside down and dip one side into the chocolate glaze, smoothing with a spoon if needed. Place glazed-side-up on a cooling rack. Before the glaze has dried, sprinkle crushed almonds over donuts. Set aside until the glaze has cooled and hardened.

Toping options for these chocolate Cake donuts

The topping options to these Flourless Chocolate Donuts are endless! Get creative and make them colorful and fun. A few of our favorite toppings are:

• Crushed almonds – you may use any nut or seed of your choice. We recommend choosing the nut or seed that is the same as the nut butter you use in the batter to amplify the flavor
• Unsweetened coconut shreds – the white coconut shreds against the backdrop of glossy chocolate icing makes for an elegant-looking treat
• Sprinkles – sprinkles are a fun way to turn these donuts into party donuts for birthday parties and special occasions. For naturally colored sprinkles, try these from Thrive Market
• Crushed freeze-dried strawberries – crushed up some dried strawberries for a stunning topping that turns these donuts into the perfect Valentine’s Day or special occasion sweet treat

A valentine’s day chocolate treat

Nothing says Valentine’s Day quite like chocolate. And we think a batch of these decadent chocolate donuts with strawberries on top is the perfect way to send a bit of gratitude to those you love most. Use crushed dried strawberries to give these baked chocolate donuts a beautiful look and that wonderful flavor combination of chocolate and strawberries.

Can these donuts be made allergy-friendly?

Yes, if you’re looking for a few allergy-friendly options for these glazed chocolate donuts, here are some easy swaps you can make:

• Dairy-free – for non-dairy donuts, use a plant-based butter in the donut batter, such as Earth Balance or Country Crock Olive Oil Stick Butter. Also, use unsweetened dairy-free milk, such as almond, coconut, or oat milk for the chocolate icing
• Nut-free – these donuts can easily be made nut-free. Simply swap out the almond butter in the batter for sunflower seed butter. And use a non-nut topping for the glaze, such as sunflower seeds, sprinkles, or crushed freeze-dried strawberries
• Gluten-free – these donuts don’t contain any flour or other typical gluten-containing ingredients, therefore they are naturally gluten free
• Egg-free – this recipe does not work well with an egg-free option, but if you need egg-free donuts, we suggest you use this recipe: Gluten-Free Donuts with Cinnamon and Sugar and swap in 2 flax eggs for the eggs listed in that recipe

How to store Chocolate Frosted Donuts

Once the unglazed donuts have cooled, place the donuts in a covered airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Frost with the chocolate icing shortly before serving.

Are Baked Chocolate Donuts freezer-friendly?

Yes! These chocolate donuts are freezer-friendly. Let the baked and unglazed donuts cool, then place them in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Frost with chocolate icing after being thawed and shortly before serving.

What Donut Pan Should I Use?

We highly recommend that you use a silicone donut pan, and our favorite one is this set of three silicone donut pans. We prefer silicone because it releases the donuts easily after baking because you can simply fold and pop the silicone to help release the donuts. Also, we like this set of two metal non-stick donut pans from Wilton. If you use a metal donut pan, we recommend using a spoon to carefully remove the baked donuts from the pan.

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Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Rachel of Half Acre House.

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