Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Everything is better with chocolate.
Texture: Cakey yet slightly fluffy but much more dense than any yeast-raised doughnut. Those craggy edges just soak up that luscious thick glaze.
Ease: Easier than yeast doughnuts, these can be in your mouth in under 2 hours start to finish.
Pros: Nothing like a homemade doughnut, especially an old-fashioned sour cream doughnut. There’s just something about that texture!
Cons: Sorry about your diet 😉
Would I make this again? Oh definitely.
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I can’t stop dreaming about these Chocolate Old Fashioned Doughnuts.
The crisp exterior, the soft, cakey interior, and the rich chocolate flavor are heavenly – but then coat it all in a lucious, thick glaze? Who could possibly say no to that!?
These donuts are essentially the chocolate version of my crazy-popular Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts, which are (unsurprisingly) one of the most popular recipes on the site!
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These delicious homemade treats are the perfect weekend or holiday breakfast, and any kiddos will go crazy for them.
Be sure to check out my tips below for making the best breakfast treats ever.
If you make these Chocolate Old-Fashioned Doughnuts, be sure to take a picture and tag it #handletheheat on Instagram. I love seeing your photos!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chocolate Old-Fashioned Doughnuts
Use a Scale to Weigh Your Ingredients
I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale to weigh out the ingredients for these Chocolate Old-Fashioned Doughnuts. Mis-measuring is super easy to do when measuring by volume (cups) and can create doughnuts that are dry and tough instead of fluffy and light. Learn more about how to measure flour correctly here.
Use REAL Bleached Cake Flour in Chocolate Old-Fashioned Doughnuts
- This is a must for these Chocolate Old-Fashioned Doughnuts.
- Store-bought cake flour will yield light and delicate doughnuts, just like the ones from a good bakery.
- DIY substitutions simply won’t work as well.
- All-purpose flour will not create doughnuts with that same soft texture.
- Bleached cake flour will work best. Unbleached (like King Arthur Flour) won’t absorb as much moisture and you may end up with doughnuts that crumble while frying.
- Learn more about cake flour (and DIY substitutions) here.
What Type of Cocoa Powder Should I Use for Doughnuts?
You can use either natural/unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder for this Chocolate Old-Fashioned Doughnut recipe. Learn more about the differences between Natural & Dutch-processed cocoa powder here.
This Recipe is FRIED
- This recipe was specifically designed to be fried and not baked.
- Be sure to use FRESH OIL.
- Oil goes rancid quickly, often before the date on the bottle.
- If it has *any* unpleasant smell, don’t use it, as that flavor will transfer to your doughnuts.
- Alternatively, check out all my doughnut recipes here for recipes designed to be baked.
Can I Air Fry These Chocolate Old-Fashioned Doughnuts?
We haven’t tried that, but based on our testing with other doughnut recipes, air frying doesn’t work the same way as frying doughnuts with oil. If you wish to experiment, let us know how it goes in the comments below!
How to Store Chocolate Old-Fashioned Doughnuts
Chocolate Old-Fashioned Doughnuts are best enjoyed the day they’re made, but they will keep for a few days stored in an airtight container.
My Favorite Doughnut Tools:
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Chocolate Old Fashioned Doughnuts
Chocolate Old Fashioned Doughnuts are made with sour cream, for a fantastic cakey texture! Fried to perfection for that crisp exterior, then coated in a thick luscious glaze, these yeast-free doughnuts are easier to make than you might think!
Instructions
Make the donuts:
In a bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until sandy. Add the egg yolks and mix until light and thick. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream, and ending with the flour. The dough will be sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour, or until slightly firmed.
- On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2-inch thickness. Use a doughnut cutter (or a larger + a small biscuit cutter) to cut out as many doughnuts as possible, dipping the cutters into flour as necessary to prevent sticking. You should get about 14 doughnuts and holes. Don't worry if they stick a little to the cutter, they'll puff up while frying and imperfections won't matter.
- Pour 2 inches of canola oil into a heavy-bottomed pot with a deep-fry thermometer attached. Heat to 325°F. Fry the doughnuts a few at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pot. Fry on each side about 2 minutes, being careful not to let them burn. Let drain on a paper bag to soak up the excess grease.
Make the glaze:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a whisk until smooth. Immerse each doughnut into the glaze. Place on a wire rack above a sheet pan to catch any excess glaze. Let sit for 20 minutes or until glaze is set.
Doughnuts are best served the day they are made but may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days.
Recipe Notes
This post was originally published in 2017 and has been updated with additional baking tips and Science of Baking information.
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