These baked chocolate coconut donuts are soft, moist and topped with silky chocolate ganache and shredded coconut! They're the perfect weekend breakfast treat or simple dessert for the coconut lover in your life!
Best of all, these chocolate coconut cake donuts are super easy to make and come together in less than 30 minutes! These donuts are baked instead of fried, giving them the perfect cake like texture!
You might also like these red velvet donuts or these chocolate fudge cupcakes!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few ingredients to make these chocolate coconut baked donuts!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my baked goods because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Cocoa Powder - My absolute favorite cocoa powder to use in my baking is the King Arthur Flour Triple Cocoa Blend! It's a blend of natural, Dutch, and black cocoa and is perfect for any baking. But you can easily substitute unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa instead!
Dark Chocolate - Use dark chocolate baking bars as opposed to chocolate chips!! Chips contain emulsifiers that help them keep their shape, which also means they won't melt as smoothly as chocolate bars. If desired, you can use milk chocolate instead.
Coconut Oil - The coconut oil helps keep the donuts super moist while adding extra coconut flavor!
Coconut Extract - To get more concentrated coconut flavor in the donuts, I highly recommend using coconut extract! You can usually find it in the baking aisle next to the vanilla!
Coconut - I prefer sweetened shredded coconut flakes, but unsweetened will work too if that's all you can find.
Milk - I use regular whole milk in these donuts because that's what I keep on hand. But for a completely dairy-free option (and more coconut flavor), you can use coconut milk!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Baked Donuts
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray donut pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil and sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs, coconut extract, and vanilla and whisk until fully incorporated.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
Mix half of the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then add in the milk. Once incorporated, add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Transfer the batter to a piping bag, then cut of the tip and pipe into the donut pan, filling about halfway. You can also just spoon the batter into the pan if desired.
Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Invert the donut pan on a cooling rack, and the donuts should slide right out!
While the donuts are cooling, make the chocolate glaze!
Add the chopped dark chocolate, coconut oil, and milk to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Repeat until the chocolate is fully melted and the glaze is thick and glossy.
Dip the donuts into the glaze and place back on the cooling rack so any excess can drip off.
Immediately sprinkle the chocolate donuts with shredded coconut so that it sticks to the glaze properly!
Recipe Notes
I use this Nordic Ware donut pan and a little bit of Bakers Joy pan spray and the chocolate coconut donuts slide out perfectly every time! You can also use a cute mini donut pan!
This recipe makes 12 regular sized donuts or 24 mini donuts!
I also find it’s easiest to fill the donut pan by using a piping bag with the tip cut off. However, you can just as easily spoon the batter into your donut pan.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Recipe FAQ's
These donuts are best eaten the same day, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Yes!! The only dairy in these donuts is milk and you can easily swap it out for coconut milk for a non-dairy option and extra coconut flavor!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Chocolate Coconut Donuts
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Donuts
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup milk, substitute coconut milk
Glaze
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons milk, substitute coconut milk
- ½ cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray donut pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil and sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs, coconut extract, and vanilla and whisk until fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix half of the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then add in the milk. Once incorporated, add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag, then cut of the tip and pipe into the donut pan, filling about halfway. You can also just spoon the batter into the pan if desired.
- Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Invert the donut pan on a cooling rack, and the donuts should slide right out!
- While the donuts are cooling, make the chocolate glaze!
- Add the chopped dark chocolate, coconut oil, and milk to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Repeat until the chocolate is fully melted and the glaze is thick and glossy.
- Dip the donuts into the glaze and place back on the cooling rack so any excess can drip off.
- Immediately sprinkle with shredded coconut so that it sticks to the glaze properly!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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