Mint choc chip ice cream always takes me right back to my childhood, so when I heard about mint chocolate donuts, I couldn’t not try them!
It’s a rich chocolate donut. With a simple mint and white chocolate icing. Elegant and delicious.
And did I mention they’re baked, not fried?
This means you don’t have to mess around with a massive pot of boiling hot oil, and you can indulge in two or three without feeling guilty.
But what I love most about these donuts is the heavenly aroma they fill the kitchen with!
Ingredients
Let’s take a quick look at the main ingredients that make these donuts so irresistible.
For the donuts
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder: the secret to deep, rich, chocolatey donuts. Dutch-processed cocoa powder has a smoother flavor than natural cocoa, but you can replace it with natural cocoa if you need.
- Plain flour: the foundation of our donuts. You can’t bake without flour!
- Light brown sugar: brown sugar adds a touch of sweetness and moisture to our donuts, and its caramel undertones complement the cocoa powder beautifully.
- Whole milk: this gives our donuts a creamy, rich texture. Let the milk come to room temperature for easier mixing.
- Unsalted butter: if you prefer, you can substitute this with a flavorless oil. You can also use salted butter, but skip the additional salt later.
- Espresso powder (optional): I like using this with chocolate because I think it adds a sophisticated feel, but you can definitely leave it out.
- Baking powder and baking soda: you need both of these, don’t double up on one!
- Vanilla extract: if you’ve been following my recipes, you’ll know I never bake without my trusty sidekick.
- Vinegar: use white or cider vinegar.
- Eggs: use room temperature eggs to get the lightest donuts. Cold eggs don’t aerate as well.
For the icing
- White chocolate: good quality white chocolate makes a big difference here. Avoid the fake stuff if you want a creamy, delicious icing.
- Peppermint extract: to add that refreshing minty flavor to the icing.
- Green food coloring gel: a few drops of this will give the icing a beautiful pastel mint green color. I prefer using gel because it doesn’t add any extra liquid.
- Dark chocolate: for drizzling over the donuts as a final decoration, you can skip this bit if you want!
Instructions
Let’s roll up our sleeves and bake these scrumptious donuts.
Step 1: Preparing the donut batter
Start by preheating your oven to 350F (180C) and greasing your donut baking pans.
You can use either mini-sized (yields 22 donuts) or regular-sized pans (yields 12 donuts).
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cocoa powder, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt.
Whisk until thoroughly combined.
In another bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and vinegar. Don’t worry if the milk appears to curdle a bit – it’s perfectly fine.
Step 2: Mixing wet and dry Ingredients
Combine your wet and dry ingredients by adding the wet mixture, along with the melted butter or oil, to the dry ingredients. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until no floury bits are visible.
Over-mixing could result in tough donuts, and nobody wants that!
Step 3: Piping the batter
Transfer your donut batter into a piping bag.
Piping the batter into the donut wells makes it easier to manage and gives you a neater finish.
Aim to fill them about 3/4 full.
Pro tip: if you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a freezer bag with the corner cut off.
Step 4: Baking the donuts
If you’re using two mini pans, you’ll need to bake in two batches.
Bake your mini donuts for 7-9 minutes and regular-sized donuts for 10-13 minutes.
You can do the toothpick test to see if the donuts are done.
Insert a toothpick into the donut, and pull it out again. It should be clean.
The top of the donut should also spring back when lightly pressed.
Once baked, let the donuts cool in the pans for about 30 seconds, then turn the pans over onto a cooling rack to release the donuts and leave them while they cook to room temperature.
Step 5: Preparing the mint icing
While the donuts are cooling, prepare the icing.
Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler, then stir in the peppermint extract and a few drops of green food coloring.
You’re looking for a pastel mint green color, so add the food coloring a drop at a time until you reach the desired shade.
Step 6: Icing the donuts
Dip the cooled donuts into the melted chocolate icing.
Let the first layer of icing set, then go back for a second dip. Let this layer fully set before moving on to the drizzle.
Melt the dark chocolate, then transfer it to a piping bag or Ziploc bag.
Cut a small hole in the bottom, and drizzle the dark chocolate over the iced donuts. You can also just use a spoon for this step.
Wait for the drizzle to set before tucking in!
Pro tip: for a rustic look, you can spread the icing over the donuts with a spoon. The finish will be more rugged and messy.
Tips for making your donuts
If you’re new to donut making, here and some quick tips to make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible.
- Easy clean-up – lay parchment paper under your cooling rack so any excess glaze doesn’t go onto the counter. Neat trick, right?
- Cool the donuts before icing – be patient and let your donuts cool completely before attempting to ice them. If the donuts are still warm, the chocolate icing will melt and slide off.
- No Donut Pan? No Problem! – don’t worry if you don’t have a donut pan – you can easily turn this recipe into mini muffins instead. The baking times should be similar to the regular-sized donuts.
Other decoration ideas
If a drizzle of dark chocolate doesn’t float your boat, here are some other cool decorations you can try.
- Colorful sprinkles: for a bit of fun, throw some sprinkles over the wet chocolate drizzle. This adds a bit of crunch, and it’s super easy!
- Crushed mint candies: for an extra minty kick, crush some candy canes and sprinkle them over the icing.
- Edible gold dust: if you’re going for a more elegant look, add a layer of edible gold dust over your donuts after they’ve been iced. It gives a beautiful, sophisticated finish that’s perfect for a special occasion.
- Chocolate chips: more chocolate can’t hurt, right?
Serving suggestions
These fudgy mint chocolate baked donuts are a delight on their own, but they also pair well with a dessert spread or a cozy afternoon tea.
Try pairing them with:
- Cappuccino: the frothy richness of a well-made cappuccino is YUM with donuts. I can taste it now. And the espresso kick will cut through the sweetness perfectly. Psst… in the summer, a sweet iced coffee would be great.
- Vanilla Ice Cream: a scoop of vanilla ice cream served with a warm donut is an absolute delight.
- Hot Chocolate: on a cold day, these mint chocolate donuts are a dream alongside a mug of hot chocolate. The double hit of cocoa is a chocoholic’s delight! And if you want to be extra decadent, make a thick hot chocolate.
- Other types of donuts: go all out and make a few different types of donuts to go with these minty ones.
Storage instructions
These mint chocolate donuts are best enjoyed fresh, but if you do have leftovers, here’s how to store them.
You can keep the donuts in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.
I would recommend the fridge to ensure the chocolate glaze doesn’t melt.
At room temperature, the donuts will last 2 days, while they’ll last around 3-4 days in the fridge (but may get stale).
You can also freeze the donuts for longer-term storage.
Lay the donuts out on a parchment-lined baking tray and flash-freeze them for 1-2 hours. Once they’re frozen solid, transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Flash-freezing the donuts means they won’t stick together.
To reheat the donut, zap it for a few seconds in the microwave.
Mint Chocolate Baked Donuts
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 3/4 cups plain flour
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup whole milk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons vinegar white or cider
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted, or 1/3 cup flavorless oil
- Mint icing:
- 200 g white chocolate chopped
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Green food coloring gel
- 75 g dark chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease the wells of two donut baking pans (you can use either mini-sized (yield 22 donuts) or regular-sized (yield 12 donuts) and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder and salt.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and vinegar. You may notice some curdling of the milk, which is fine.
- Add the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter or oil, to the dry ingredients. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until no floury bits remain; take care not to overmix or your donuts may end up a little tough.
- Transfer batter to a piping bag and pipe the batter into the wells of the prepared donut baking pans. Fill them about 3/4 full. If you’re using two mini donut pans, you’ll have to bake in two batches.
- Bake mini-sized donuts for 7-9 minutes; bake regular-sized donuts 10-13 minutes. You can do the toothpick test to check if the donuts are done, or simply lightly press on top of the donuts – if they spring back, they are done. Whatever you do, do not overbake!!
- Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and after 30 seconds or so, loosen their edges (if needed), turn the pan upside down over a rack, and gently let the doughnuts fall onto the rack.
- Let the donuts cool completely before dipping into the icing.
- For the mint icing: Melt the white chocolate using your preferred method. Add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, or a little more, to suit your tastes, and a couple drops of green food coloring – you’ll be after a pastel-like mint green color, so add a little bit at a time, and stir after each addition, until you reach your desired color.
- Carefully dip the cooled donuts into the melted chocolate (if you find the chocolate is a little runny and drips all over the sides of the donuts, set the chocolate aside for a little bit to thicken up). Let the chocolate icing set. You should have plenty of chocolate left to double dip the donuts, so go for a second layer and let it set before adding the dark chocolate drizzle.
- For the dark chocolate drizzle, melt the dark chocolate using your preferred method. Transfer the melted chocolate to a piping bag and cut a small opening in the bottom then drizzle the chocolate over the donuts in a zig-zag motion (you can also just use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate). Let the donuts set once more (if you can wait), then ENJOY IMMEDIATELY!!
- Can be stored in the refrigerator, or at room temperature; best eaten within two days.
