Classic Dark Chocolate Filled Doughnuts
Today we’re sharing these delicious Classic Dark Chocolate Filled Doughnuts! A simple and homemade doughnut, filled with a luscious bittersweet chocolate pastry cream. They’re so easy and truly better than anything you could buy. Every bite is creamy, sweet, and oh so delicious! The doughnut itself is soft, fluffy, hinted throughout with vanilla notes, and perfectly sweet. Oh, and that pastry cream… It’s extra chocolate-y, creamy, and so much easier to make than you might think! When put together, the two make for an unforgettable treat that everyone will be asking for more of. When you’re in need of a delicious chocolate filled doughnut, this is definitely the recipe you need! Perfect for a truly special breakfast or a sweet dessert.
→ This post is also available as a Web Story: Chocolate Filled Doughnuts
About The Recipe
Friday’s need chocolate. Especially since it’s the Friday before Valentine’s Day! So, whether or not you celebrate, your month definitely needs these easy and delicious doughnuts. They’re super chocolate-y and perfect for every and any occasion. Every bite is like the best reminder of childhood. I mean, how can you not have a good day when you get to have extra chocolate-y doughnuts?
My mom used to take me for doughnuts everyday before school. It was kinda our tradition and, every time I have a doughnut, It’s like the best memories all over again! Especially with this recipe. I’m sure if you’ve read the blog before, you know that I have always just loved chocolate. Anything and everything chocolate! Doughnuts are definitely no exception.
Baked, fried, old fashioned, donut holes… doesn’t matter.
I would almost always actively seek out the chocolate ones. Still, to this day, I do! These doughnuts now take the best of both worlds and marry vanilla and chocolate in the best treat ever!
They are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or even dessert. Just…whenever you want a seriously delicious and chocolate-y doughnut!
Equipment Needed
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Medium Sized Pot
- Thermometer/Ruber Spatula
- Fine Mesh Sieve
- Mixer with Dough Hook
- Dough Rising Bucket
- Flour Sack Towel
- Sheet Pans
- Digital Scale
- Large Pot
- Piping Bags
- Piping Tips
Ingredients
For The Pastry Cream:
- Milk
- Egg Yolks
- Cornstarch
- Sugar
- Butter
- Chocolate
For The Dough:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Yeast
- Sugar
- Salt
- Milk
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Butter
For The Glaze:
- Powdered Sugar
- Cocoa Powder
- Whole Milk
Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar.
Gently mix in the egg yolks with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Don’t beat! You don’t want to incorporate any air into the mixture.
Pour milk in a pot and bring to a boil. Let cook for 2 minutes. Pour milk slowly into egg mixture and stir to keep from cooking the yolks.
Transfer the mixture back into the pot and place over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and then continue to cook for another cook for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened significantly.
Mix in butter until it’s melted and smooth.
Stir in chocolate.
Strain through a sieve into a glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Whisk together flour and yeast together in a glass bowl. Set aside.
Combine eggs, butter, sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mix until butter is in small clumps.
Slowly add flour. Knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. About 8-10 minutes.
Place in a large container and cover for 30 minutes. Take out and place on the counter.
Fold the dough over in half downwards, then fold in half upwards, fold to the left, and then fold to the right. Place back in the container and cover for 30 minutes.
Using a scale, measure the dough out into 2 ounce balls. Tightly form them into balls and set on a lined and greased sheet pan. Press down gently, cover with a towel, and let rest for 45 minutes.
Heat vegetable oil to 325 degrees in a large pot and place two or three doughnuts in the oil. Let cook 3-4 minutes on each side, until both sides are golden brown. Let drain on paper towel.
Mix together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and milk.
Transfer the pastry cream into a piping bag with a medium sized piping tip.
Pipe the pastry cream into each doughnut and then dip the tops in the chocolate glaze.
What Kind of Chocolate To Use
High quality baking chocolate is always a must-use in recipes like this! You won’t get the right consistency or flavor from using chocolate chips. That being said, when it comes to what kind, we used dark chocolate. You can use a milk, but it may be too sweet.
What Type of Yeast To Use
In this recipe, we used SAF Gold Yeast. This is important. We cannot guarantee any outcomes if you change what kind of yeast is used.
Pastry Cream Troubleshooting
If it didn’t thicken properly: The temperature might’ve be wrong. We recommend checking your thermometer ahead of time to ensure they’re accurate. If night, we highly recommend the one linked in the recipe card!
If it’s lumpy: No worries! This is probably just some cooked egg. You need to strain it through a fine mesh zieve.
If it’s runny: This also comes down to temperature. It probably wasn’t cooked enough. Try again and check to make sure your thermometer is accurate!
Sweet Dough Troubleshooting
My butter won’t mix into the wet ingredients: The first thing you need to make sure of is that all your ingredients are room temperature. If anything is cold, it won’t work. The butter also isn’t meant to be completely mixed in. Just cut into tiny bits.
The dough isn’t smooth: Make sure you’re using a dough hook when mixing. Also, it could be that it wasn’t kneaded enough. Keep an eye on it and mix it some more.
The dough didn’t rise in the times stated: This could be a couple of things. It might be too cold, it could be the yeast…just give it time! Sweet dough take much longer to rise than regular dough because the sugar is absorbing the liquid that the yeast feeds on. Try placing the dough by a warm oven or check the date on your yeast!
Dough browned but didn’t cook in the middle: This is because your oil is too hot! Turn it down and try again.
What To Serve With These Chocolate Filled Doughnuts
These doughnuts are the quintessential breakfast…or even dessert! You can make a variety of things to go with these delicious doughnuts, but here is a small list of things we love to go alongside them!
How To Store
Once the doughnuts are made, filled, and the glaze is set, you can store in a container and keep in the fridge for about a week. Reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave to bring them back to almost fresh-made goodness!
Expert Tips
- This recipe isn’t difficult to make, but it takes time and requires a lot of moving parts. Be sure you have the time to make them!
- When making the pastry cream, do not beat the egg yolks and cornstarch! Any air in the mixture cause problems. Use a rubber spatula and gently fold in the yolks until no more cornstarch is visible.
- Gently whisk while you pour the milk into cornstarch mixture.
- If you have any bubbles, carefully spoon them out!
- When properly cooked mixture will be thick and very pudding-like.
- Remember to strain!
- Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the filling. This keeps a skin from forming over the top.
- Sweet doughs take a long time to rise. If it’s not doubled in bulk in the time we suggested, let it sit until it is.
- Don’t skip folding and resting the dough multiple times! This is very important.
- The dough is sticky, but don’t use any excess flour to keep it from sticking to your hands!
- If the doughnut is browning but not cooking in the middle, your oil is too hot. Turn it down and try again!
- When making the glaze, remember to sift the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder to ensure a smooth topping.
- Poke a hole into the doughnut before filling. This will make filling them much easier!
When you make these Classic Dark Chocolate Filled Doughnuts, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.
Classic Dark Chocolate Filled Doughnuts
Ingredients
Chocolate Pastry Cream
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 9 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 12 egg yolks, room temperature
- 4 cups whole milk
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate
Doughnuts
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp instant yeast
- 1⅛ cups whole milk
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- vegetable oil, for frying
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ⅛ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup whole milk
Instructions
Pastry Cream
- In a large glass bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch.
- Gently mix in egg yolks, being careful not to incorporate any air. Set aside.
- Bring milk to a boil over medium heat.
- Add milk slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly.
- Return to pot.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and continue to cook for 2 minutes.
- Turn off heat.
- Add butter and chocolate.
- Stir until melted and smooth.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl.
- Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic touches the entire surface of the cream.
- Refrigerate.
Doughnuts
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and yeast. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine milk, butter, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, salt, and vanilla.
- Beat to mix.
- Add flour mixture.
- Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.
- Place in a covered container and proof for 30 minutes.
- Turn dough.
- Allow to proof for another 30 minutes.
- Divide dough into 2 ounce portions.
- Roll each portion of dough into a tight ball.
- Place seam side down on prepared parchment.
- Flatten slightly.
- Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes.
- Add 2-3 inches oil to a wide, shallow pot.
- Heat oil to 325 degrees. (Let dough continue to proof while oil heats.)
- Fry doughnuts a couple at a time until golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes, flipping as necessary.
- Remove from oil and drain.
Glaze
- Sift together powdered sugar and cocoa.
- Add milk.
- Stir until smooth.
Putting It Together
- Allow doughnuts to cool.
- Fit a pastry bag with a Bismark tip or a tip large enough to inject pastry cream into doughnuts.
- Fill bag with pastry cream.
- Push tip into the center of the side of the doughnut.
- Press filling into the doughnut, pulling back as it fills.
- Dip top of doughnuts into glaze, allowing excess to drip back into bowl.
- Place on drying rack.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
How long to deep fry on each side ? I want the best donuts ever like Krispy kreme i hope, ugh. I dont want them to dark i want them light airy and fluffy and good !
Hi Dylan! If your oil is at 325 degrees F, you will need to fry the doughnuts 3-4 minutes per-side, just like it’s stated in the recipe card. Though, oil temperatures can vary depending on the type of heat (gas, electric, etc.), the type of pot, etc. Keep an eye on them while frying and you should have the gorgeous color you want to achieve! Hope this helps and let us know if you have any other questions 😊 x, Caylie
Add flour if it’s too sticky?
Hi Sue! You can add a little flour, but not much because it will throw the ratios off. The dough should not be sticky, especially after kneading. Are you sure you measured everything properly? Let me know if you have any other questions.
Just wondering if I can make these donuts another way besides frying? That’s the only part of the recipe I would not look forward to. Thanks!
Hi Susanne! These doughnuts do need to be fried. The dough will not work any other way. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Can we have the measurements in grams?
I recommend that you use one of the many conversion apps available online. We are currently in the process of adding this feature to our website.