Healthy Chocolate Donuts With Chocolate Ganache

 Soft, moist cake donuts with a double-delight of chocolate. These donuts are baked, rather than fried, and are ready in only a few minutes!

Donuts.

‘Cause it’s Saturday, that’s why.

You may notice things look a bit different around these ‘har parts. — I recently hired Sara from Moonsteam Design to completely re-do my site design and I’m crossing my fingers you guys love it as much as I do! I’m still working out a few bugs and changing a few things, so don’t worry if you don’t see everything yet. It’ll all be finished soon, I promise! So far what do you guys think??

Until then, let’s talk donuts.

I’m about to lay a big secret on you guys. Are you ready?

I love donuts. Sorry, was that lame? I don’t really know anyone who DOESN’T love donuts. But hear me out, guys. I like really love donuts. I even have dreams about them. I know, pathetic right? But those dreams are not about those nasty, fried Dunkin’ Donuts. Eeek….Calorie-filled, heart-attack city. I’ll pass, thank you.

I dream of healthy, oven-baked donuts that take less than 30 minutes to make and also involve chocolate. Ohh yes..That’s a dream I could have every night and not get tired of. In those dreams, I’m skipping through a field of flowers with my arms full of donuts. The birds are singing. The sky is blue. And it’s just me. All alone with a bunch of donuts.

Best. Dream. Ever.

Okay, I can’t play it cool anymore. GUYS. THESE DONUTS. Are one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth. Their unbelievably soft texture reminds me of moist, chocolate cake. Mhmm… I’m pretty sure I can get on board with cake in the form of donuts for breakfast. 😀

And yep, there’s a double-delight of chocolate in these dynamite donuts. The chocolate donut, itself, and a perfectlyyy fudgy chocolate ganache. *swoon*

Donut dreams are the best, no? 😉

Let’s just talk about the science-y stuff behind these donut masterpieces for a quick sec: All the ingredients in these donuts are pretty basic, but you’re going to want to follow all of them to a T for best results.

Number 1 important ingredient: Buttermilk. It’s what gives these donuts their perfectly soft and moist texture, and I wouldn’t recommend subbing regular milk for the buttermilk. It won’t be the same.

When you’re folding the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients, try your best to use a light hand so you don’t over-stir the batter and risk tough, dry donuts. The batter will be very thick.

Now, if you don’t have a donut pan, you could definitely bake these donuts in a muffin tin. They just won’t look like donuts, and for me that kind of negates the purpose of making donuts. If you’re looking to buy a great donut pan I can’t recommend this one from Wilton enough! One of the best purchases I’ve ever made. 😉

TIP: For me, it’s always kind of a pain to have to spoon the batter into a donut pan, so I use this method: I spoon the batter into a Ziploc bag, seal it, and then cut off a corner and pipe it into my greased donut pan cavities. It’s soo much easier and mess-free doing it this way.

Be very careful not to overbake your donuts, because it is way too easy to do. My donuts took 11 minutes at 350F. The donuts should spring back when lightly touched.

The chocolate ganache I used for these donuts couldn’t be simpler. All you’ll need is heavy cream and semisweet chocolate chips. I explain in detail how to make chocolate ganache in this cupcake post, so hop on over there if you want the nitty-gritty details!

Once your donuts are slightly cooled, dip, dip, dip in your lovely ganache then devour, devour, devour!

My taste-testers gave these donuts 5 gold stars. Of, course, my family loves anything chocolate, but that’s besides the point. I loved how soft and moist the donuts turned out and how lovely they paired with the rich, fudgy ganache. A perfect match. ♥

These donuts are a perfect morning or afternoon treat with a cup of coffee. They’re so easy to whip up and even easier to eat. You won’t be able to have just one, though, believe me.

Moderation kind of goes out the window for me whenever I have homemade donuts in the house. *blush*

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Healthy Chocolate Donuts With Chocolate Ganache

Soft, moist cake donuts with a double-delight of chocolate. These donuts are baked, rather than fried, and are ready in only a few minutes!

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 1 -1/2 dozen donuts

Ingredients

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk no substitutes
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 6-cup donut pan. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, coconut sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth. Fold flour mixture into liquid mixture, gently stirring until just combined (batter will be very thick)
• Spoon batter into a ziplock bag and seal. Cut a corner off the bag and pipe batter 3/4 full into prepared pan (you will need to bake the donuts in 3 batchs)
• Bake donuts at 350F 11-12 minutes, or until donuts spring back when lightly touched (do not overbake) Cool donuts in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire cooling rack. Cool 10 minutes before dipping in ganache.
• Make the chocolate ganache: In a double-boiler, melt chocolate chips until they just start to lose their shape. Remove from heat. In another small saucepan, heat cream until simmering. Pour hot cream over partially-melted chocolate chips and whisk until ganache is smooth.
• Dip cooled donuts in chocolate ganache and place on wire cooling racks. Serve immediately.

Notes

Donuts are best if eaten the day they are made after dipping in ganache. Un-glazed donuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. Un-glazed donuts can also be frozen up to 3 weeks and glazed after de-frosting.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below. Feel free to share a picture on Instagram and tag @wholeandheavenlyoven or hashtag it #wholeandheavenlyoven

Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks.

Take a look at my other chocolate-y delights!

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Swirl Fudge Brownies

Best-Ever Chocolate Chunk Cookies