Good god we are DROWNING IN DONUTS. It’s like a ball pit, except oddly enough, not as disgusting (point being – ball pits are filthy). There have been four different versions of these chocolate donuts, along with a honey lemon chia variety thrown in (when I ran out of cocoa powder) that went into the bin after I realized that the new buckwheat honey I bought kind of smells like a foot. But now I am here, a couple days before Valentine’s Day, sitting in front of a batch of the most glorious, chocolately, deep, dark, donuts with a sweet and tart raspberry glaze that will just about melt your heart.
Valentines Day – Desserts are KING
So I’ve spoken about our Valentine’s Day traditions here before, but let’s go back a little further and talk about those days before love, marriage, and SVU marathons on the couch. Valentine’s Day can be a mixed bag. And I’ve definitely spent a number of them in various states of denial, joy, depression, rebellion, ennui (a LOT OF ENNUI), and maybe even occasionally something resembling rage. But regardless of how I felt about the manufactured romance, twitterpated couples, and various shades of pink from year to year, I was always pretty jazzed about the treats. Big surprise – she came for the food. Damn straight I did! Because at the end of the day you should be in love with YOU and treat yourself accordingly.
Dark chocolate donuts with tart raspberry glaze
So today dear friends, I’m putting up a decadent treat that I have literally spent weeks researching, testing, re-testing, re-testing AGAIN, and then finally slathering in a hot pink glaze that would make Lisa Frank blush. Why all this time devoted to donuts? Well simply because I love you, and I wanted to show you the best way I know how. Plus, chocolate and raspberry is one of my all time favorite flavor combinations, as seen here. I mean it’s a deep, dark, fudgy chocolate donut draped in a punchy, fruity glaze? Excuse me while I take a moment.
But really, the juxtaposition of sweet and tart gets me every time. If you’re not a fruit with chocolate person I totally hear you, and you should check out these peanut butter babies, or cream cheese maple delights, but if you’re like me then these will make your heart skip a beat, fill you with butterflies, and make you just about fall in love. And who doesn’t like falling in love?
How to make the best baked chocolate donuts
You don’t make these as many times as I did and not have some knowledge to show for it. Here are some helpful tips I learned along the way so you don’t have to make four dozen donuts (I mean unless you’re into that sort of thing).
- Butter is king here. I tried it with coconut oil, vegetable oil, grapeseed oil – all no dice. Butter has better flavor and a higher water content which keeps things from drying out.
- Don’t overbake these – seriously, the difference between a dense, rich, chocolately donut and one that you might choke on is really a matter of a couple of minutes. Just a little over ten was the sweet spot for me, but your oven might be a little different that mine, so I’d go for the touch test instead. If they just barely spring back when you press them lightly they’re done – they’ll still feel very tender though.
- You’ll notice that the glaze in the pictures looks a little different on some donuts. This is because the first batch I made with half and half rather than lemon juice (which is what ultimately ended up the in the recipe). The half and half was fine, but it really just read as “sweet”. The lemon juice really gives this glaze a tart punch which I think you need to balance out the rich chocolate flavor. If you’re more of a sweet on sweet person though, feel free to substitute the same amount of milk, heavy cream, or half and half in place of the lemon juice.
- Glazing a donut is a little uncouth – it’s ok. The best way to glaze them is to just drop the donut face down into a shallow bowl of glaze, then pick it up carefully and let it set, glaze side up, on a cooling rack. You will make a mess, but I think that’s part of the fun.
So there is my Valentine to you. It’s sweet, a little punchy, and demands to be seen (perhaps like me on certain days). I hope you love them just as you do the best people in your lives – openly and without abandon. Show them you care in whatever way speaks to you, and remember to show yourself a little love too! Happy (early) Valentine’s Day!
PrintBaked Chocolate Donuts with Tart Raspberry Glaze
Deep dark chocolately baked donuts meet a tart and punchy raspberry glaze for a super fun take on a Valentine’s Day treat.
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 11 Minutes
- Total Time: 31 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the donuts:
1 stick unsalted butter
2/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C cocoa powder (sifted – sorry)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 C dark brown sugar, packed
1/3 C granulated sugar
1/3 C plain yogurt (I used whole milk)
1/3 C strong brewed coffee
1 tsp vanilla
For the glaze:
1/2 C freeze dried raspberries
1 C powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3 T lemon juice
Instructions
For the donuts:
Preheat your oven to 350° F and grease a donut pan with non-stick spray.
Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave (or over a double boiler). This takes me about 1 minute, stopping to stir at the 30 second mark. Stir to combine completely and set aside to cool for five minutes.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Into the chocolate mixture, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, yogurt, coffee, and vanilla until smooth.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and fold together just until no dry flour remains.
Either spoon the batter into the donut pan or transfer it to a piping or gallon zip top bag. Snip the corner off and pipe into your prepared pan – filling each about 3/4’s full.
Bake for 10 – 11 minutes, or until the donuts just barely spring back when gently pressed. Let cool in pan for two minutes before flipping donuts out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. *My donut pan only makes 6 at a time, so I piped the batter and baked twice.
For the glaze:
Grind the freeze dried raspberries in a coffee grinder, mortar and pestle, or food processor until they turn into a fine powder. You can then strain them through a fine mesh sieve if you want to get rid of the seeds, but it’s not necessary.
Combine 2 T of the raspberry dust with the powdered sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth.
Drop a donut, top side down into the glaze, pick up and let the excess glaze drip off. Set back on the wire rack to let the glaze set. Repeat with all donuts.
Notes
Sifting the cocoa powder unfortunately is not optional as the stuff gets really clumpy and can effect the overall texture of the finished product.
Using a piping bag or at ziptop bag with the corner cut off to pipe the donuts into the pan is really the best way to go here as the batter is quite thick.
I found freeze dried raspberries at Wegmans, Trader Joe’s and online at Thrive Market and Amazon – where you can also find them in powdered form. But if you can’t find them, or just don’t want to use them, feel free to substitute 1 heaping tablespoon of raspberry jam for 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice.
Keywords: valentines day dessert, baked donuts, baked chocolate donuts, chocolate raspberry dessert, chocolate raspberry donuts