Author Notes
These deep chocolate cakes have a subtle coconut nuttiness from the coconut milk and oil (rather than from shredded coconut). This makes for both a tender, melting texture and a lovely flavor. You'll need a cake donut pan to make these, though you could make "donut muffins" instead. —Tanya
Test Kitchen Notes
Donuts are something I rarely treat myself to. So few places make ones worthy of the calories, yet the homemade variety often seems daunting. With these Chocolate Coconut Cake Donuts, one can wake up on a Sunday morning and, with no more effort than afforded waffles, have donuts in 45 minutes. I like that you only need two mixing bowls and a wooden spoon to make these up. You will likely need way more coconut milk for the frosting; I used about 1/4 cup. The coconut flavor is subtle—a little kiss of the tropics followed by a warm hug of the chocolate. —Jestei
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Ingredients
- For the donuts:
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Non-stick cooking spray, or coconut oil, or butter, for greasing donut pan
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1 cup
all-purpose flour
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1/4 cup
unsweetened cocoa powder
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1/2 teaspoon
baking soda
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1/4 teaspoon
salt
-
1/2 cup
coconut milk
-
1/2 cup
brown sugar, packed
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1
large egg
-
3 tablespoons
coconut oil, melted if solid
-
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
- For the icing:
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2 cups
confectioner's (powdered) sugar
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2 to 3 tablespoons
coconut milk
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Sprinkles or chopped nuts, as desired
Directions
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Heat oven to 325° F and grease the donut pan.
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Set a sieve over a large bowl and add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt (I always sift when using cocoa powder). Sift, then fold together for even distribution. In a smaller bowl, whisk the coconut milk, sugar, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix with a whisk or wooden spoon until everything is blended. The batter will be thick.
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Spoon batter into a piping bag (or into a large resealable plastic bag with the corner cut off) and pipe into the greased doughnut pan, making sure to not overfill. Alternatively, you can spoon the batter into the pan.
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Bake for 13 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.
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Cool the doughnuts in the pan for 3 minutes, and then carefully turn the doughnuts onto a rack to finish cooling.
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Once the donuts are completely cooled, make the glaze. In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons coconut milk. If you’d like a thinner glaze, add more milk, and if too thin, add more icing sugar.
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Place a rack over a baking sheet to catch any dripping (though there won’t be much). Once by one, dip the cooled donuts into the glaze and allow excess to drip back into the bowl. Place on the rack and top with sprinkles. Allow the donuts to sit for an hour or two to let the glaze dry before eating.
A sometimes bad-Indian in America, with an odd kimchi habit (eaten in front of the fridge, straight out of the jar) and a heavy hand with spices.
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