Fun & festive baked chocolate peppermint Christmas donuts are just what you need to get into the holiday spirit! Whip up the super simple chocolate peppermint cake batter, bake it off in the form of donuts, and decorate with various glazes and toppings.
This recipe is adapted from my Mini Double Chocolate Cake Donuts in my debut cookbook, Donut Love! If you love this recipe (and donuts in general!), be sure to snag a copy of the book!
For more donut recipes, try Boozy Bourbon Apple Fritters, Old Fashioned Apple Cider Donuts, Cinnamon Sugar Brioche Donuts, and Double Chocolate Glazed Donuts.
Jump to Recipe
Why you'll love these easy Christmas donuts
- Holiday Chocolate Peppermint Flavor: One taste of the chocolate and peppermint flavor combination immediately evokes the joy of the holiday season.
- Fudgy, Moist Texture: Unlike most chocolate cake donut recipes, this recipe bakes up incredibly fudgy & moist with a pronounced chocolate flavor, an even, tight crumb, and a melt-in-your-mouth texture that is utterly irresistible.
- Fun & easy to decorate: With various options for glazes and toppings, these homemade donuts are perfect for decorating with family and friends!
Ingredient Notes
- Cake Flour: Cake flour makes these cake donuts extra soft, but you can absolutely use regular all-purpose flour, or even GF 1:1 flour.
- Cocoa Powder: I used a combination of dutch process and black cocoa powders for an extra rich chocolate experience.
- Butter: Use high-quality butter, such as European-style butter for best flavor.
- Sugar: I know there is A LOT of sugar in these cake donuts, but do be tempted to reduce it. Sugar is used not only to sweeten the donuts, but also for the structure and texture of them. And keep in mind this recipe makes nearly 3 dozen donuts!
- Eggs: Be sure your eggs are at room temperature before adding them to the batter.
- Sour Cream: You can also use plain whole milk greek yogurt.
- Oil: I recommend using light-tasting extra virgin olive oil, but any neutral oil will work.
- Sprinkles: Decorate the baked donuts with red, white, and green nonpareil sprinkles, candy cane pieces, snowflake sprinkles, and holly sprinkles! My favorites might have to be the chocolate ganache sprinkle donuts and Christmas wreath donuts!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this easy Christmas donut recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
STEP 1: Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powders, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
STEP 2: Finish the donut batter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light & fluffy. Mixing on low speed, add the eggs one a time. Scrape down the bowl and mix in the vanilla and peppermint extract. Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the sour cream and oil, then the remaining dry ingredients until just combined. Scrape down the bowl to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.
STEP 3: Bake the donuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan, filling each about ⅔ full. Bake the donuts for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
STEP 4: Cool. Allow the donuts to cool completely in the pan before transferring to a wire rack.
STEP 5: Decorate. Make each of the glazes and decorate the donuts as desired!
Expert Baking Tips
- Black cocoa powder substitute: If you do not have black cocoa powder, you can use an equal amount of dutch process cocoa powder, making it a total of 126g or 1 ½ cups.
- Use an immersion blender to mix the ganache. It can be easy to over-mix ganache, resulting in a split, grainy texture. I recommend using an immersion blender, as it will mix it efficiently without aggravating it to the point that the milk solids separate.
- Sift the powdered sugar. I know it can be a pain, but trust me, sifting your powdered sugar before adding it to the glaze/frosting is so worth it! If you don't sift it, you'll need to mix the frosting on low speed for a long time to smooth it out. This also runs the risk of agitating the milk solids, creating a grainy frosting.
- Customize your donuts! Choose various food coloring gels and sprinkles; Multiply the ganache ingredients by 4 for all chocolate sprinkle coated donuts and nix the other glazes - the options are endless!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can swap an equal amount of regular all-purpose flour or even gluten free 1:1 flour for the cake flour.
Dutch process cocoa powder is THE best cocoa powder for baking. Because it's neutralized with an alkalizing agent, it has a smoother flavor and creates the most fudgy and chocolatey baked goods! Black cocoa powder is similar to dutch process, but richer in flavor and darker in color. It is typically used in small amounts alongside another cocoa powder to enhance the color and flavor of the baked good. It smells like actual chocolate cake and is just magical to bake with!
The key is to use COLD block-style cream cheese. The cold temperature and consistency of this type of cream cheese will ensure your frosting turns out thick & sturdy. I also recommend using full-fat cream cheese for best flavor.
Store these baked cake donuts in an airtight container at room temperate for up to 5 days. You can also store these donuts in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other Christmas recipes to try
If you tried this recipe, I'd love to know how it turned out for you! Leave a star rating & review below and post a picture (or video!) on Instagram and tag me so I can see your bakes! Not ready to make this recipe yet? Click the heart button on the right of your screen to save it for later 🙂
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Peppermint Christmas Donuts
Equipment
Ingredients
For the chocolate peppermint cake donuts:
- 240 g (2 cups) cake flour
- 84 g (1 cup) Dutch process cocoa powder
- 42 g (½ cup) black cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 396 g (28 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temp
- 500 g (2 ½ cups) granulated sugar
- 4 eggs, room temp
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 227 g (1 cup) sour cream, room temp
- 200 g (1 cup) neutral oil
For the chocolate ganache:
- 56 g (¼ cup) heavy cream
- 56 g (2 oz) semisweet chocolate
- Christmas sprinkles
For the thick vanilla glaze:
- 227 g (2 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
- 28 g (2 tablespoon) whole milk greek yogurt, or sour cream
- 84 g (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Red food coloring gel
- Green food coloring gel
- Candy cane pieces
- Snowflake sprinkles
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 56 g (4 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temp
- 3 oz black style cream cheese, cold
- 84 g (¾ cup) powdered sugar, sifted
- Green food coloring gel
- Holly sprinkles
Instructions
For the chocolate peppermint cake donuts:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease four to five 6 cup donut pans with softened butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powders, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light & fluffy.
- Mixing on low speed, add the eggs one a time. Scrape down the bowl and mix in the vanilla and peppermint extract.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the sour cream and oil, then the remaining dry ingredients until just combined. Scrape down the bowl to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan, filling each about ⅔ full. Bake the donuts for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the donuts to cool completely in the pan before removing.
For the chocolate ganache:
- In a small saucepan, place the heavy cream over low-medium heat. Stir frequently with a rubber spatula, and bring to simmer, or about 190 degrees F (85 degrees C).
- Remove the pan from heat and add the chocolate. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can use a rubber spatula to gently combine them. However, I highly recommend using an immersion blender, as it effectively combines the heavy cream and chocolate without over-mixing or aggravating them.
- Immediately dip 8 donuts in the ganache, then in Christmas sprinkles to coat.
For the thick vanilla glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth.
- Pour half of the glaze into a separate bowl. Set aside.
- Dip 8 donuts in the plain vanilla glaze and top them with candy cane pieces and/or snowflake sprinkles.
- To the second bowl of vanilla glaze, remove a couple tablespoons and place in a small bowl. Color the bigger bowl of glaze red, and the smaller one green. Transfer the green glaze to a piping bag and snip the end off.
- Dip 8 donuts in the red glaze, and drizzle the green glaze on top.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar and mix on low speed until fully combined. Once all of the powdered sugar is added, continue beating on low speed until no more lumps or pockets of air remain and the frosting is smooth.
- Add a few drops of green food coloring gel, and mix until fully combined.
- Transfer the cream cheese frosting to a piping bag with a small star tip.
- Pipe the frosting onto 8 donuts and add holly sprinkles, if desired .
Notes
- Black cocoa powder substitute: If you do not have black cocoa powder, you can use an equal amount of dutch process cocoa powder, making it a total of 126g or 1 ½ cups.
- Use an immersion blender to mix the ganache. It can be easy to over-mix ganache, resulting in a split, grainy texture. I recommend using an immersion blender, as it will mix it efficiently without aggravating it to the point that the milk solids separate.
- Sift the powdered sugar. I know it can be a pain, but trust me, sifting your powdered sugar before adding it to the glaze/frosting is so worth it! If you don't sift it, you'll need to mix the frosting on low speed for a long time to smooth it out. This also runs the risk of agitating the milk solids, creating a grainy frosting.
- Customize your donuts! Choose various food coloring gels and sprinkles; Multiply the ganache ingredients by 4 for all chocolate sprinkle coated donuts and nix the other glazes - the options are endless!
Erin says
Really good sweetie..
Jamie says
Loved these donuts! So much fun to decorate and had such a wonderful flavor!
Adrienne says
These are the most delicious donuts! They melt in your mouth, are super tender and have just the right amount of peppermint flavor. They were a hit in my house!