These rich chocolate frosted chocolate donuts are an easy and crazy delicious Paleo dessert! Kids love them and they’re fun to make. No one would guess they’re gluten free, dairy free, paleo and even nut free.
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I know I’m not alone in my cravings for frosted chocolate donuts, or at least I hope I’m not!? Either way, I have a feeling you’re going to like what you see today – and taste, of course. Healthier baked chocolate donuts with a frosting/glaze that actually spoke to my soul. Well, I mean the part of my soul reserved for happy dessert memories. We all have that right? I hope? Anyway, these chocolate donuts – which are Paleo and also happen to be nut free – are pure-happy-making, I assure you.
I made these 3 times, mainly because I wasn’t happy with my donut pan the first two times. You see, the problem I have with baking donuts sometimes, is that whole “stick factor”. Since you’re not using parchment liners, the risk of sticking to the pan is anxiety inducing at the very least – the reality of it can actually be crazy making.
My solution? I finally decided to go with a silicone donut pan. I typically reserve silicone molds for things like chocolates and gummies, since the material can increase baking times and change the way baked goods rise in the oven. However, for easy removal (and piece of mind!) plus a perfectly circular, donut-y sort of donut, the silicone donut pan is the way to go. A lifesaver, actually!
Another fun, new, and crazy delicious discovery with these donuts was the GLAZE! On a whim, I decided to purchase Nutiva organic shortening at my local grocery store, since it happened to be right next to everything else I needed for the recipe.
It contains a blend of organic unrefined palm fruit oil, unrefined red palm oil, and unrefined virgin coconut oil, and stays solid at a higher temperature than the regular coconut oil I typically use. Perfect for a glaze! And heck YES – it was!
The glaze/frosting couldn’t be easier – you simply melt the shortening along with raw cacao and maple syrup until shiny, remove from heat and add a bit of vanilla extract. My kids legitimately thought it tasted like “milk chocolate”, whatever that tastes like – I’m not even sure I remember.
But anyway, they LOVED it, along with the donuts – all 3 batches, in fact. I wound up freezing the last batch, since by that point we were on donut overload, and they defrosted really nicely too even with the glaze.
For the final picture-perfect batch, I couldn’t resist adding sprinkles – and if I’m honest, my kids were begging for me to add sprinkles to these to make them legit. If you choose to add them, you can either make your own using shredded coconut, as I did for my chocolate cupcakes, or for the healthiest “most Paleo” store bought organic sprinkles, you can purchase the Let’s Do Organic ones which contain just a few simple ingredients.
I hope you’re craving chocolate now, because it’s time to bake! And make frosting you’ll want to eat with a spoon. Make a double batch, I won’t tell! Are you ready? Let’s go!
Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Donuts {GF, Paleo & Nut Free}
Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Donuts {GF, Paleo, Nut Free}
Ingredients
For the Donuts:
- 4 eggs room temp
- 2/3 cup organic coconut oil melted and cooled to almost room temp*
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 1/2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- Coconut sprinkles or store bought organic sprinkles optional
For the Glaze:
- 1/4 cup palm oil shortening or unsalted grassfed butter, or refined coconut oil***
- 2 tbsp raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your donut pan by lightly greasing with coconut oil. (I highly recommend using a silicone donut pan or a proven non-stick pan for easy removal!)
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In a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer or whisk to cream together the eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla. In a smaller bowl, combine the coconut flour, tapioca flour, cacao, baking soda and salt.
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Whisk or blend the dry mixture into the wet until fully combined and a thick batter forms. Use a plastic bag with a 1/2-1" cut made in the corner to pipe the batter into the donut molds** - it will make 6-7 full size donuts.
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Bake at 350 15-18 mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 mins in the pan, then release each donut carefully to wire racks to fully cool.
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While the donuts cool, make the glaze. Melt shortening over very low heat until almost melted, then whisk in cacao and maple until a shiny glaze forms. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
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Glaze donuts immediately by drizzling or spreading with a spoon/spatula, allow glaze to cool before serving, it will remain soft but solid at room temp. If using sprinkles, add them when the glaze has cooled about halfway.
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Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to one week or freeze in a sealed container for longer. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*To minimize coconut flavor, you can use organic refined coconut oil
**You can also spoon the mixture into the molds, or use a piping bag. I found the plastic bag to be the easiest option!
***Coconut oil is my least favorite option for the frosting, since it tends to separate, however, it's still good as a last option.
Nutrition
Products I Recommend to Make My Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Donuts:
Want More Paleo Chocolate Dessert Recipes? Try one of these!
Chocolate Chip Donuts with Rich Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Brownies
Tell Me!
Do you have a donut pan?
Have you used organic shortening or palm shortening in recipes?
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Just stumbled upon ur blog. Love the recipe, will have to try in and share it! Maybe we can blogger-connect sometime
Saludos!
Hi! Can you please let me know if Gelatin eggs can be used in place of eggs? I am currently on the AIP diet. -Thank you!
A while back, I purchased a silicone donut pan and have not used it. I will use it now with this recipe. My little man loves chocolate donuts!
I think my eyes just popped when I saw how beautiful these were; chocolate donuts are so good, and I love that you perfected this paleo version of them; they look like the cake ones in the case at the store, except they aren’t… YUM!
One word : wow! They are so pretty!!
Thank you!
LOVED this recipe. My kids enjoyed them so much they beg me to make them practically every day!
So happy you guys liked them! This is a favorite for us too 🙂
I do not have any tapioca flour- would I be able to substitute with almond or coconut flour? If so, what ratio? Thanks! These look so good!
I would use 5tbsp total of coconut flour and you should be good! So you’re really just adding 1/2 tbsp since a little goes a long way. Let me know how it goes!
Do you know if this works with electric donut maker?
I tried it and it worked! I did 8 mins in the donut maker. These are amazing!
So glad they turned out well!!
Maybe I did something wrong. While my batch looks delicious – they don’t taste delicious. They don’t have any desert taste to them.
Can you describe what they are supposed to taste like so I can know if I did something wrong. Thanks!
Dessert thank you AutoCorrect
They’re supposed to taste good so I’m not sure what went wrong! Have you done a lot of paleo baking and are you familiar with the ingredients? While these aren’t overly sweet, they definitely have a great dark chocolate flavor to them. Was it both the frosting and donut part that didn’t taste good?
I’m new to the no sugar thing. That could be part of the problem lol
When I bite into it – it almost has a coconut oil taste.
Hummm. But they look delicious!
But maybe it will keep me from eating the whole batch ha!
I also made your pumpkin bread. I didn’t care too much for it either right after I made it. I let that sit over night and it was good today! Real good. That I will make again.
Thanks for replying & sharing
If you’re not into coconut oil flavor, definitely use organic refined, since refined coconut oil is totally flavorless. In a recipe like this one with a lot of coconut oil, it makes a difference for sure. Here’s the one I use: http://amzn.to/2w2qr12
I am going to try it again with your oil. My husband ateabout half of them (I made mini muffin shape) and my co worker today loved them. So it’s me lol ! Giving 5 star lol
I would do a 21 day sugar detox that you find online. Your sweet taste buds need a reset.
Do you have a video for this recipe? Would love to see a video!
Michelle – these are AWESOME, thank you! I doubled the recipe to make 12 donuts in a standard nonstick donut pan and it worked perfectly. Our house is a no refined sugar mainly paleo group but my eldest (22) has a nut allergy so most paleo recipes are a no-go when he’s home. To be able to make “safe: donuts for all my kiddos that I also can feel good about is priceless. The chocolate frosting (I cooled mine in the refrig to thicken it) was lovely and rich. Huge hit and much appreciated ❤️
Ugh, sorry, Michele – hate it when I spell people’s names wrong, especially since no one ever gets mine right! Anyway, thanks again for the nut-free baking option. When oldest isn’t home, we love the almond flour/butter recipes, but having some super tasty “safe” is great. That being said, Husband just told me to let you know that these were his favorite donuts, paleo or non-paleo, EVER. Well done!
Haha no worries about my name, I swear I don’t notice lol! So happy you guys liked these – amazing review from your husband!!