Chocolate-Glazed Chocolate Baked Donuts

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Coca-Cola Company. All opinions are 100% mine.

These delicious chocolate baked donuts are sure to be the star of any gathering! An easy baked donut recipe that uses a standard donut baking pan...

Baked Chocolate Donut Recipe

Don't look now, but the holiday season is already upon us! I don't know about you, but it always seems to sneak up on me... Like I KNOW it's coming, but suddenly we're smack in the midst of a frenzy of shopping and wrapping and parties, etc.

Hiding in my office until the New Year isn't an option, so I'm always looking for ways to control the chaos. You know, things like "make one freeze one meals" to stock up dinners for busier nights, utilizing Club Pickup and/or Scan & Go at my local Sam's Club, and intentionally choosing easy recipes that use ingredients I always have in my pantry... Like these yummy chocolate baked donuts, which are great for holiday brunches!

A lot of baked donut recipes for donut pans use buttermilk to give them a tender texture. But I pretty much never have buttermilk on hand. And I've tried all of the buttermilk substitutes with limited success. Yuck! But these baked donuts use Coca-Cola® in them — which I DO typically have in my fridge. Total win!!!

Combined with a couple of eggs and some brown sugar, they still have that moist and tender texture that you want in baked cake donuts without being so soft that they fall apart when glazing them. And trust me, you definitely DO NOT want to skip the chocolate ganache glaze! It's the perfect finishing touch on these oven baked donuts.

We will definitely be serving these delicious treats during holiday brunches!

Chocolate Baked Donut Recipe Ingredients

Let's hit pause and back up for just a moment... You might have noticed that I mentioned Sam's Club Scan & Go and Club Pickup earlier, and I just want to tell you that, if you have not tried these features yet, you are totally missing out! Using these options guarantees you'll be in and out in almost no time at all. I am seriously in love with the convenience! No more long checkout lines for me.

AND you can't choose a better store for stocking up on pantry staples. If you do a lot of holiday baking, you're going to save a bundle by purchasing things like flour, sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar at Sam's Club.

Incidentally, these are all ingredients you need for homemade baked donuts. Also, don't miss their organic spices — they're a total steal for a GIANT shaker jar.

Of course you can pick up all of your favorite Coca-Cola products for the holidays and beyond there, too. We love the Coke Mini cans, because they're the ideal size for my kids who never seem to finish a regular size can.

Oh, and it so happens that they're ALSO the perfect size for making this Coca-Cola baked cake donut recipe!

Baked Cake Donut Recipe + Donut Baking Pan

Okay, unpause and let's get to this baked glazed donut recipe! These baked donuts hit ALL of the important criteria: simple ingredients, easy to make, and totally delicious. Which makes them the perfect treat for family gatherings around the holidays, as well as a delicious dessert after dinner.

First things first, you're going to need a donut baking pan. Donut pans vary from brand to brand. This set of pans is what I own and used to develop this easy baked donut recipe. They're inexpensive, and they've served me well for many years now!

How To Make Baked Donuts

The batter for this baked chocolate donut recipe comes together very quickly. The dry ingredients are simply all-purpose flour, cocoa powder (choose a good quality brand), light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. A small amount of espresso powder can be added to intensify the chocolate flavor. I always add it, but it's totally optional.

To the dry ingredients, you simply add one Mini can (7.5-oz.) of Coca-Cola®, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, a couple eggs, and some melted butter. Use salted or unsalted butter — whatever you have on hand is fine. I know a lot of bakers recommend unsalted only, but I honestly can never tell the difference in my baked goods, so I rarely keep unsalted on hand.

tips for perfect baked cake donuts:

• Try to break up any lumps of brown sugar as much as possible to avoid having shiny holes in your baked donuts.
• Spray the donut baking pans well with baking spray before filling them. I use this avocado oil cooking spray for all my sweet and savory needs because the flavor is pretty neutral. (Be sure to check out this no mess cooking spray tip I shared many years ago!)
• Pour the batter into a gallon size plastic zip-top bag, snip off one corner, and use this to pipe the batter into the donut pan in a uniform circle to about ⅔ fill. I'm loving these plastic bag stands I ordered a few months ago for holding bags upright while filling them!.
• Finally, let the donut pans set for about 5 minutes after removing them from the oven. Then turn them upside down over a cooling rack to release. If they should stick (they shouldn't if you use an adequate amount of cooking spray), gently pry under the edges with a nylon spatula to loosen them up.

Chocolate Baked Donuts Glaze

This creamy and chocolatey ganache is simply the best way to finish off a dreamy chocolate baked donut! And it couldn't be any easier to make. You just melt a cup of chocolate chips with a quarter cup of milk and whisk away. Dip the tops of the cooled donuts in the glaze and enjoy.

I hope these chocolate baked donuts with Coca-Cola® are the star of your next holiday brunch!

Printable Recipe ↓

Chocolate Baked Donuts

4.80 from 10 votes

These delicious chocolate baked donuts are sure to be the star of any gathering! An easy baked donut recipe that uses a standard donut baking pan...

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time 8 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 240 kcal

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Ingredients

  

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For the donuts:

• ▢ 1 (7.5-ounce) can Coca-Cola
• ▢ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ cup high quality cocoa powder
• ▢ ¾ cup light brown sugar - loosely packed
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon instant espresso powder
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted

For the glaze:

• ▢ 1 cup chocolate chips
• ▢ ¼ cup milk

Instructions

For the donuts:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350℉. Grease two 6-ct. non-stick donut pans; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Whisk well, making sure there are no lumps left from the brown sugar.
3. Add egg, Coca-Cola, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and melted butter. Whisk until well combined.
4. Spoon batter into a gallon size freezer bag and snip a small piece off one corner. Use the bag to pipe the batter into the donuts pans, filling each approximately ¾ full.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Allow donuts to cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Then remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

For the glaze:

1. While the donuts are cooling, prepare the glaze by melting the chocolate chips and milk in a double boiler. Whisk until smooth. (See: DIY double boiler if you do not own one.)
2. Dip the tops of the cooled donuts in the glaze. Set on a wire cooling rack and allow the glaze to set up (if desired) or serve immediately.

Featured Products

Half Sheet Wire Cooling Rack

Gallon Size Freezer Storage Bag

Food Storage Bag Holder Stands

2 Non-Stick Donut Baking Pan

SHOW NUTRITION INFORMATION HIDE NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving: 1g | Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 257mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g

Nutrition information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

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Copyright © 2010–2025 Unsophisticook | Tara Kuczykowski

If you love these chocolate baked donuts, I think you'll also love these baked blueberry donuts that first ignited my baked donuts infatuation! And it just so happens that I spied some excellent prices on fresh blueberries on my last Sam's Club trip...

I'd love to see how your chocolate baked donuts turn out... Tag me @Unsophisticook on Instagram or use the hashtag #Unsophisticook so I can check it out. Enjoy!