Halloween Donuts (pumpkin chocolate)

Looking for an easy chocolate glazed donut recipe? These super fun pumpkin chocolate Halloween donuts have a homemade chocolate ganache and are decorated with plenty of colourful sprinkles! They’ll surely be a hit!

Heading your way today with a Halloween recipe.

Yep.

I went there.

Halloween.

No, it’s not too early.

It’s just around the corner.

And what way to channel festive Halloween vibes then with pumpkin spiced donuts…

Actually, pumpkin chocolate Halloween donuts to be exact. This easy baked donut recipe has it goin’ on, my friends!

To me, Halloween means chocolate, pumpkins and candy…and these baked donuts deliver just that!

And, guess what? No mixer required! Woot woot!

Ingredients Needed for Halloween Donuts

• Flour
• Cocoa powder
• Sugar
• Pumpkin Spice
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Chocolate Milk
• Melted butter
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Fun fall/Halloween sprinkles, of course! Use what makes you happy!

How to Make Baked Donuts

Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics –

• Mix together dry ingredients, including flour, cocoa powder, sugar, pumpkin spice, baking powder and salt. Lay to one side.
• In another bowl combine wet ingredients, including milk, egg, butter and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
• Mix together wet ingredients with dry ingredients.
• Grease donut pan and distribute batter into pan.

Tip: Pipe or spoon the batter into the prepared pan….whatever works for you. For me, I just spoon the batter in and then tap the pan on a hard surface to level it out.

• Bake donuts and let cool for a little in the pan.
• Remove donuts from the pan to further cool completely on a wire rack.
• Invert donuts into homemade chocolate ganache.
• Place on wire rack (over a baking tray to catch spills) and sprinkle with your favourite candy.
• Enjoy!

How to Make Chocolate Ganache for Donuts

What is chocolate ganache anyway?

Chocolate ganache is essentially made of two ingredients – cream and chocolate. That’s it!

Basically, the ratio is equal parts cream to milk. For these glazed chocolate donuts, use 2 ounces of heavy cream (¼ cup) and 2 ounces of chocolate (56 grams).

• In a heavy bottomed pot, heat heavy cream. Don’t boil, just heat through until it starts to bubble a little around the edges and it’s hot.
• Place chopped chocolate in a bowl and pour hot cream over top. Let sit a couple of minutes.
• Slowly start to stir chocolate into cream.
• Stir until cream and chocolate are combined and everything is nice and smooth. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before you dunk those donuts in there.

Tip: I sometimes like to double the ganache used in this recipe so I have some leftover for use later on other treats.

What Type of Chocolate Do I Use for Ganache?

Use a good quality chocolate and opt for bar form over chips.

Semisweet, bittersweet or dark works great in ganache.

What to Do with Leftover Ganache

Like I mentioned above, I love to double the recipe for ganache. And if you want to use this recipe for something larger (like a big cake or something), you may want to make even more ganache. Just stick with the same 1:1 ratio.

Leftovers can be used on more treats, like cookies, to glaze cupcakes, over cake, ice-cream, fruit and more!

And, if you let ganache harden, you can roll into balls and make truffles. Dust those babies with some cocoa powder for one sweet treat! Alternatively, you can whip hardened ganache to pipe on cupcakes.

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Can I Make These Pumpkin Spiced Donuts Ahead of Time?

Like with most baked goods, these are best enjoyed the day they are made.

However, you can make a day ahead of you like. They’re still super duper delish the next day!

Can I Freeze Donuts?

If you want to make these ahead of time, you can certainly prepare, let cool and then freeze.

You can freeze the donuts with ganache, but I prefer to simply freeze unglazed donuts and glaze them after when you are ready to enjoy. Having said that, if they are glazed, you can still freeze.

To freeze, place cooled donuts in a single layer on a wax paper lined sheet pan and freeze for a few hours. Once donuts have frozen, you can store in a freezer safe container or bag.

When ready to enjoy, place on a plate or platter (in a single layer) and thaw.

More Tips

Allow these baked donuts to fully cool before glazing.

Add those fun sprinkles while the glaze is wet so they stick.

To get the glaze to set faster, pop the donuts in the refrigerator for a little bit. Though, you could dig in right away, if you like (which is what I always do!)

Prefer less pumpkin spice flavour? Use just 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice.

For extra chocolate oomph, try some shaved chocolate on top of the chocolate ganache.

For the ganache, chop the chocolate well so it melts easily when the hot cream is poured over top. It doesn’t have to be chopped finely or anything, you just don’t want big ol’ chunks.

Speaking of chocolate, use a quality chocolate in the ganache. There’s only two ingredients (chocolate and cream) so, of course, the chocolate really stands out. Use something you enjoy.

The type of chocolate you use will impact the sweetness of your overall ganache. I love to use a semi sweet.

More Homemade Halloween Treats You May Enjoy

• Halloween Witch Finger Butter Cookies from Maria of She Loves Biscotti – These kinda scary, and totally tasty, butter cookies make for such a festive treat!
• Dark Chocolate Halloween Chip Cookies from Lauren of A Nerd Cooks – chocolate, peanut butter and fun Halloween chips? What’s not to love?
• Mummy Pumpkin Hand Pies from Kathy of Beyond the Chicken Coop- talk about cute! With cute little candy eyes and a puff pastry wrap, these hands pies are just as fun to look at as they are to eat!
• Halloween Chocolate Bark from Lisa of Drugstore Divas – with only 4 ingredients, you could make your very own bark!
• Halloween Spider Treats from Sandra of The Foodie Affair – chocolate cups filled with a peanut butter mouse and candy that looks like a spider? Delicious and fun!
• Chocolate Cupcakes with Bourbon Buttercream – These simple chocolate cupcakes are a little boozy and decorated with things like candy worms and cookie ‘dirt’.

Hope you love these fun Halloween donuts as much as we do!

If you make this chocolate glazed donut recipe, be sure to leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed! Thank you!

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5 from 14 votes

Halloween Donuts (pumpkin chocolate)

Looking for an easy chocolate glazed donut recipe? These super fun pumpkin chocolate Halloween donuts have a homemade chocolate ganache and are decorated with plenty of colourful sprinkles! They'll surely be a hit!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Canadian

Keyword baked donuts recipe, halloween dessert, halloween recipe, halloween treat

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes

Cooling Time 20 minutes

Total Time 37 minutes

Servings 6 donuts

Calories 308kcal

Author Dawn – Girl Heart Food

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• ½ cup sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons chocolate almond milk (⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (or dairy chocolate milk))
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• baking spray (to grease pan)

Chocolate Ganache

• ¼ cup heavy cream (2 ounces)
• 2 ounces semi sweet chocolate , chopped (56 grams)

Garnish

• fun sprinkles

Instructions

Halloween Donuts

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Generously spray 6 unit donut pan with baking spray and lay to one side.
• In a large bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, pumpkin spice, baking powder, and salt.  Stir to combine.
• In a small bowl whisk together almond milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla extract. Add to dry ingredients. Whisk to combine. 
• Distribute mixture into prepared donut pan.  You can pipe mixture in or spoon. Tap pan down on hard surface to settle batter. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes or until wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted (check on at the 7 minute mark). Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes before gently removing and cooling completely on wire rack before glazing.
• Dip cooled donuts in ganache and place on wire rack. Decorate with candy sprinkles.  Best enjoyed same day. 

Chocolate Ganache

• Heat cream in a small, heavy bottomed pot on medium low heat. Don't boil.
• Place chopped chocolate in a bowl and pour hot cream over top.
• Let sit 2 to 3 minutes.
• Then, stir to incorporate ingredients, until smooth. Allow to cool 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Notes

• Allow these baked donuts to fully cool before glazing.
• Add those fun sprinkles while the glaze is wet so they stick.
• To get the glaze to set faster, pop the donuts in the refrigerator for a little bit. Though, you could dig in right away, if you like (which is what I always do!)
• Prefer less pumpkin spice flavour? Use just 1 tsp of pumpkin spice.
• For extra chocolate oomph, try some shaved chocolate on top of the chocolate ganache.
• For the ganache, chop the chocolate well so it melts easily when the hot cream is poured over top. It doesn’t have to be chopped finely or anything, you just don’t want big ol’ chunks.
• Speaking of chocolate, use a quality chocolate in the ganache.
• The type of chocolate you use will impact the sweetness of your overall ganache. I love to use a semi sweet.
• I sometimes like to double the ganache recipe and have leftovers for another use.
• More tips in body of post above.

Tried this recipe? That’s awesome!Mention @dawn.girlheartfood or tag #girlheartfood

Nutrition (estimate only)

Serving: 1donut | Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 129mg | Potassium: 227mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 363IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition Facts

Halloween Donuts (pumpkin chocolate)

Amount Per Serving (1 donut)

Calories 308 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Fat 15g23%

Saturated Fat 9g56%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Cholesterol 57mg19%

Sodium 129mg6%

Potassium 227mg6%

Carbohydrates 41g14%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 21g23%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 363IU7%

Vitamin C 2mg2%

Calcium 66mg7%

Iron 3mg17%

* Nutrition estimate only. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.