We have a serious problem here, and that problem is that these Classic Vegan Chocolate Glazed Donuts are a little too easy to make. You just whip up the simple donut batter, fill this fancy little donut pan and bake. Then take one of these fluffy donut perfections, and dip it into the quick chocolate glaze. TOO EASY I tell ya. Because wow wow wow! These things are magic.
Look at them. LOOK AT THEM! ☝️ Sorry, getting a little bossy around here, but seriously. I can’t even.
After doing a bunch of research (yes I spend a lot of time researching donuts… #weirdjob), I found there are a few keys that take donuts from fine to fabulous. And of course in true Sam fashion, I reveal them all to you so you can make perfect vegan donuts in your home too.
THE 4 SECRETS TO VEGAN DONUT PERFECTION:
- You know that classic donut taste that you can’t quite put your finger on? Well, I put my finger on it. I discovered that taste is nutmeg! Who knew right!? The donut batter is spiced with nutmeg that gives these donuts that classic bakery taste.
- The donuts are baked, not fried, which makes them easy and safe to make at home and a lot healthier to boot. So now you can eat two donuts! (You’re welcome). The key I needed to figure out is how to get baked vegan donuts that were fluffy perfection. So I tried my favourite trick of adding an acid (lemon juice or apple cider vinegar) and baking soda. You know those volcanos you made in science class as a kid, same thing happens here. The combo makes for lots of quick rising bubbles making these donuts FLUFFY while still maintaining moisture.
- One of these inexpensive donut pans is key. Without them the donuts won’t maintain shape. They will still taste delicious of course, but you won’t really get the donut feeling without that classic shape.
- The glaze! I didn’t realize I was so picky about donut glaze until I started testing these donuts. My first attempt was delicious, but the glaze stayed gooey, and didn’t have that classic donut glaze crackle when bitten. Don’t worry friends, I sorted it out. Now you can have your chocolate glaze and have it crackle too.
And there you have it, my secrets to Classic Vegan Chocolate Glazed Donuts. You may now start your ovens!
To make Classic Vegan Chocolate Glazed Donuts: In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
In a medium bowl mix together all the wet ingredients.
Now add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over mix, lumps are totally cool.
Scoop the batter into a large ziplock bag and cut the corner off of the bag. Alternatively, use a pastry bag. Pipe the batter into the donut pan, dividing it evenly among the 6 donuts wells.
Bake for 10 to 14 minutes until the donuts have fluffed up and bottoms are lightly browned. Take out of the oven and cool for 5 minutes then flip the donuts over so the bottoms can steam off a bit and don’t hold too much moisture.
Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
Dip the donuts into the glaze half way up and carefully lift the donut back out again, the frosting will set as it rests. If you have leftover glaze, use it to drizzle over vegan ice cream, or dip fruit into it.
Fluffy, baked, PERFECT, classic vegan chocolate glazed donuts! Just 25 minutes to make and are baked - aka you can have two!
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2/3 cup non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease a donut baking pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
In a medium bowl mix together all the wet ingredients. Now add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over mix, lumps are totally cool.
Scoop the batter into a large ziplock bag and cut the corner off of the bag. Alternatively, use a pastry bag. Pipe the batter into the donut pan, dividing it evenly among the 6 donuts wells.
Bake for 10 to 14 minutes until the donuts have fluffed up and bottoms are lightly browned. Take out of the oven and cool for 5 minutes then flip the donuts over so the bottoms can steam off a bit and don't hold too much moisture.
Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix well. If the glaze is a bit too thick at 1 teaspoon non-dairy milk at a time to reach desired consistency.
Dip the donuts into the glaze half way up and carefully lift the donut back out again. The frosting will set as it rests. If you have leftover glaze, use it to drizzle over vegan ice cream, or dip fruit into it.
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
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What is vegan butter; put particular half before the recipe & probably should of gone after!!!
You can buy many brands of vegan butter substitutes, my go-to is Earth Balance brand.
I made these today. I’m a pastry chef for a living and went vegan about 2 months ago. Wanted a special treat and these didn’t disappoint!
I used oat milk for the donuts and glaze. I didn’t have vegan butter so I used coconut oil. Delicious, very easy, thank you!
Yay! So happy you loved them, Emelia, and congrats on your new veganism! Let me know if you ever have any questions or need any support 🙂
Sam, I love the recipe and will be trying it out soon, but I was confused when I read the nutrition information and saw that this recipe has cholesterol! Surely this recipe is vegan, going through the ingredients, so is this just a typo? Thanks in advance 🙂
Oh thanks for pointing that out, Sean! I use a little nutrition tool that calculates all the info for me. Sometimes it will interpret things incorrectly. My guess here is that it calculated with cows milk instead of non-dairy milk! I re-entered the info into the program and it all seems to work now. 🙂
I followed your glaze to a T and they still have not set!! Very gooey….
Is it very humid where you are? That could be a problem. It should set fairly quickly as the wet ingredients just evaporate. It will always be a little tender. Hope that helps.
LOVE these donuts. They were amazing! How do you recommend storing them? Should they be refrigerated or left out? Thanks!
Yay! So happy you loved them, Alyssa 🙂 I found they stayed softest when left out and lightly covered with a clean dish towel, but they will keep longer in the fridge in an air-tight container. 🙂
I’ve made these twice so far in the last two weeks. The first batch was actually too moist for my preference. I made them a second time and let them bake until a smidge darker. The glaze was perfect on these. I think when I make them again I will do a cinnamon sugar combo. But these are definitely a keeper and I will make them many more times. Thank you for creating this!
Yay! So happy you like them, Christina 🙂
I’ve never made dairy free (/vegan) doughnuts before – I was always too scared to try! Thanks for the recipe; you’ve made it all look so easy. I only have a tin for mini doughnuts so mine will probably turn out hilariously tiny compared to yours though, haha! Can’t wait to try.
Haha, I hope you love your mini donuts, Andy!
These donuts look sooo good! Can’t wait to try them!
Yay!! Hope you love them 😀
Just pulled these out of the oven. They smell amazing! I thought we had powdered sugar, but we don’t. I’m going to have to frost with my emergency accidentally vegan Duncan Hines chocolate frosting. Emergency, because you never know when the need for cake comes up. LOL My kids are delighted and can’t wait. Neither can I. The batter was certainly delicious! 🙂
Haha, I love that you have emergency frosting on hand! I hope you and your kids loved them 🙂
Good morning
As I am writing this my four children are circling the oven expectantly awaiting yet another Sam Turnbull delight!!! May I substitute coconut milk for the soy or almond? Otherwise I would use “silk for coffee” instead of almond or soy milk–sound reasonable? Fingers crossed.
Many thanks
Shawn Mackenzie
Haha! Love it!! The coconut milk that is in the carton should work fine, but canned coconut milk or “silk for coffee” would be too heavy for this recipe. I hope you and the kids love them!
Your recipe came at a great time! Unfortunately, our little guy discovered donuts at Dunkin Donuts recently and loved them. Boohoo! I was hoping he would be spared that ‘treat’ but that would be hard to do when I am not with him all the time. Now we can make healthier donuts at home that also don’t have animal products in them. Thank you! I look forward to making them – I will be trying it with some gluten free flour. I love that the recipe is so simple and baked too!
I love your site keep up the good work. I am looking forward to seeing your book.
Delia
Oh that’s great! Thank you so much, Delia! I hope your son loves them so much he never wants to lay his eyes on another Dunkin Donut again! 😉
Ich hab schon viele Rezepte von verschiedenen Veganen Webseiten gemacht.Manche waren gut,manche nicht so gut.
Aber alles was ich bis jetzt von deiner Webseite gekocht oder gebacken habe war immer (!) Lecker!
Danke für die vielen tollen Rezepte!
I had to translate that one, haha. You’re most welcome! So happy you are loving all my recipes 🙂 Danke!!
Yes, nutmeg is definitely a key ingredient in donuts. I never make them without it. Yours look amazing. Can’t wait to give them a try! 🙂
Thank you so much, Aimee!! I hope you love them 🙂