Old Fashioned Chocolate Donuts

These old fashioned chocolate donuts are light and tender, packed with chocolate flavour and covered in a sweet, shiny vanilla glaze. They are like a cross between donut and a brownie and since there is no yeast or cake flour in this recipe, they are quick and easy to make!

What is an old fashioned chocolate donut?

Old fashioned donuts are slightly crisp, moist donuts, with a crackly top and jagged edges. These donuts do not contain any yeast and the main leaveners are baking powder or baking soda. It is believed they originated from the US around the 1830s and that it was based off of the classic cake donut. They are similar to cake donuts, only they are fried which makes them crisper and they have more leavening agents which makes them lighter.

The primary ingredients in the old-fashioned donuts are:

Flour
Sugar
Egg Yolks
Sour cream or Buttermilk
Butter
Leavener

A Personal note about making donuts…

I want to note that I know that making donuts from scratch seems complicated and daunting, but I promise that it’s not! This recipe has been triple tested and broken down into simple steps, with process shots included. So, take a deep breath and dive into this recipe because when you take a bite of a warm, soft, tender doughnut, packed with chocolate flavour and covered in sweet vanilla glaze that you made, with your own hands, it’s just THE BEST FEELING EVER!

Ingredient Notes

The ingredients that go into these delicious old fashioned chocolate donuts

Plain Flour & Cornflour – double sifted to provide the perfect base for these light & crisp old fashioned donuts

Cocoa Powder – dutch processed is best! But, any rich cocoa powder will, create a rich chocolate flavour

Baking Powder – adds so much lightness and height to the donuts

Egg Yolks – binds the donuts together and adds more lightness

Butter – provides moisture and fat, while also softening the donuts

Caster Sugar – of course! To sweeten the donuts

Sour Cream – makes the donuts to moist, soft and tender

Melted Chocolate – (optional) makes these donuts richer and more brownie like

Ground Cinnamon & Nutmeg – is traditionally used for old fashioned donuts & they add so much flavour and warmth

Espresso Powder – (optional) adds so much more chocolate flavour

Salt – balances everything out and enhances all of the flavours

Vanilla Paste or Vanilla Extract – adds so much flavour, depth and that classic vanilla smell – I prefer paste as it adds little flecks of vanilla seeds to the donuts, which are just gorgeous

Vanilla Glaze Ingredients

Icing Sugar – is the base for this glaze and provides so much sweetness

Vanilla Paste or Vanilla Extract – duh! Vanilla Glaze needs vanilla and lots of it!

Golden syrup or Corn Syrup – makes the glaze stick better to the donuts and provides another element of sweetness

Milk – will help thin out the glaze and make it slightly creamier

How to make Old Fashioned Chocolate Donuts – step by step

Cream together the butter and sugar.
Then, add in the egg yolks a whip for about 5 minutes, till it’s light yellow and fluffy.
Next, add in the sour cream and whip for a further 5 minutes, this time, the mixture should be even paler and almost doubled in size.
Now, fold in the spices, coffee, vanilla, chocolate and salt. Being careful not to over mix and put this mixture to the side.
For the dry ingredients, sift together the plain flour, cornflour, cocoa powder and baking powder twice (It’s really important to double sift these together.)
Now, add in a cup of your flour mixture at a time, into the wet mixture, fold well each time, until all of the flour is gone and you are left with a sticky dough. (Make sure not to over mix at this stage, just fold the dry mixture enough so that it is combined.)
The dough is now ready and should be slightly sticky, bring the dough together so that it is one big ball (You don’t need to knead it) and place into a bowl, covered in cling film / saran wrap and allow it to rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
Once the dough has fully chilled, roll out the dough, on a floured surface, ½ to a ¼ of an inch in thickness, cut out the donuts and refrigerate for 30 minutes. You can also roll up the scraps, refrigerate them for around 15 minutes and re-roll and cut out more donuts (make sure to not roll out the dough too thin!)
Make the vanilla glaze by combining, icing sugar, vanilla, golden syrup / corn syrup and milk until you have a thin glaze that is solid in colour. It should be a light beige, almost white colour and be able to coat the back of a spoon and set this to the side.
Fill a heavy bottomed pan with 2L of oil and heat to 325°F.
In the meantime, set up a cooling rack with either parchment paper or paper towels underneath, to take the donuts out onto. Next to that, place a plate with a couple of chopsticks or skewers and a slotted spoon, now you’re ready to fry. (more details here)
Carefully slide in the donuts one at a time, careful not to overcrowd the pan, or they won’t fry properly. Frying only 3 – 4 at a time.
Fry for 2 minutes on either side, they should be very lightly coloured on the outside and crackly on the top. Once fried, place them onto a cooling rack.
Once the donuts are cool enough to handle, immerse them into the glaze and place on a cooling rack, (with some parchment paper underneath to catch any extra glaze) and the donuts are ready!

The dos and don’ts of frying donuts

What is the best oil for frying donuts?

The best oil for frying donuts is rapeseed or canola oil, they will crisp up the donuts, fry really well and they have a very light taste. Plus because of the high smoking point they won’t burn as easily and won’t overcook the donuts. But, any neutral oil that has a high smoking point, will work really well.

Here are some of the best ones:

Canola oil
Rapeseed oil
Vegetable oil
Sunflower oil

What temperature do you fry donuts?

The best temperature for frying donuts is 325°F, but the temperature varies as you fry. Heat the oil to 325°F, it will go up and down as you fry, but just make sure to not let the oil go above 350°F. It’s really important when frying donuts to use a food thermometer (I like clipping a candy thermometer to the side of the pan), this will allow you to be in control of the temperature and take out all of the guesswork.

Remember: the heat will vary slightly so don’t worry if it goes over 325°F, just make sure the temperature of the oil doesn’t go over 350°F.

How do you know when donuts are done frying?

The donuts are done when they float to the top, they are crackly on top and are lightly colored on both sides. The donuts require around 2 minutes of frying time on each side.

How to set yourself up for donut frying success:

Before you fry the donuts you will need to set up a frying station, this will allow this process to be as easy and enjoyable as possible. Now, depending on how your kitchen is set up, the formation of this will be different, but as long as you have a clean, clear surface near your pan you should be fine.

Start by rolling out and cutting your donuts before, placing onto a tray and popping them into the fridge, for 30 minutes, to firm up slightly, which will make them easier to fry
Pour 2L of oil into a heavy bottomed pan and attach a candy or food thermometer (here is the one I use) and allow it to heat to 325°F

If you have a thermometer that doesn’t attach to your pan, then just keep it close by and frequently check on the oil, again, making sure to stay under 350°F.

In the meanwhile, prepare a cooling rack by placing a piece of parchment paper or some paper towels underneath it to soak up the excess oil, as you remove the cooked donuts.
Place the cooling rack on a surface close to the pan, close enough to the pan that you can easily remove the fried donuts and place them onto the cooling rack, but not close enough that the parchment paper / paper towel will catch on fire. Next to that, place a plate with two chopsticks or long skewers to turn the donuts and a slotted spoon to remove them.
Place the tray of cooled and cut donuts on a nearby surface.
Prepare the glaze before frying and leave it to the side, you don’t need to glaze the donuts when they are piping hot but, these donuts are best glazed slightly warm and they taste incredible warm too!
You are now ready to fry the old fashioned chocolate donuts with ease!

Do I need cake flour or plain flour to make old fashioned chocolate donuts?

Normally cake flour is used to make old-fashioned donuts, but this recipe uses plain flour and corn flour sifted together twice which creates the same tender, crisp and moist donuts, without the need for cake flour. Because honestly, I hardly have cake flour in my house and cake flour is far more expensive and I wanted to develop a donut recipe that is more accessible.

Tips and Tricks – Old Fashioned Chocolate Donuts

Use two chopsticks or long skewers to turn the donuts over as you fry them
Store the donuts in a airtight container or tin, once the glaze has fully set and store at room temperature at they should last for about 3 days
If you don’t have a rolling pin use can use a closed bottle of olive oil or wine instead
If you don’t like cinnamon or nutmeg, simply leave it out, your donuts will be lighter and have a stronger vanilla flavour
To cut the donuts, use a doughnut cutter if you have one or, a cookie cutter or mug, with a small piping tip to cut out the centres
Optional but important, using but melted chocolate and espresso powder, will 10x these donuts, but they are totally optional
This dough is, slightly temperamental depending on what the weather is so, feel free to add in a little more flour if it gets too sticky

The recipe video is on my Tik Tok or IG – please tag @aceofspoons_ if you make this recipe