Keto Chocolate Frosted Donuts 🍩

Keto Chocolate Frosted Donuts are low carb, sugar-free, nut-free, high protein and delicious! With a pillowy texture, rich chocolate ganache frosting and just 1 net carb each – these are a decadent and healthy breakfast!

Who doesn’t love a great donut? Did you know that the Salvation Army served donuts to soldiers during the world wars to cheer them up and keep up morale? Mental Floss has a great write up and about these historic snacks (the historic photos are amazing!).

I figured everyone could use a little cheering up and decided some sweet, sugar-free, low carb donuts would be a great way to accomplish that! Sweet treats do make a great breakfast now and again, and with the high protein in this recipe, you can’t even feel guilty about it!

Read on to see how to make a treat that’s usually carb and sugar heavy keto friendly. It all starts with the ingredients….

KEY INGREDIENTS

ALLULOSE

How do I love thee, allulose? Let me count the ways! This sweetener tastes and behaves so much like sugar, I really do love it. Allulose is a rare, naturally occurring sugar that is very low in calories and well as low carb. It’s hands down my favorite keto ingredient. This is the perfect way to sweeten up our cheerful little Keto Chocolate Frosted Donuts!

Check out more keto recipes with allulose.

OAT FIBER

This is the main ingredient in our Keto Chocolate Frosted Donuts flour. It is a zero calorie (that’s right!) fiber that comes from oats. It makes baked goods that are light and fluffy but can be a bit dry on its own. LifeSource is absolutely my recommended brand. LifeSource is not a sponsor (but I’m open!), but they truly are that good. Other brands I’ve tried have been heavier and much darker and have resulted in a much less pleasant final product!

Check out more keto recipes with oat fiber.

VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN

This is the protein from wheat, and unlike four, it is low carb. It has some great characteristics for baking including adding chew and wheat flavor. For something like a donut or cake, you don’t want to over mix it. When you use it in bread, the opposite is true – you knead it to develop the gluten. In our Keto Chocolate Frosted Donuts, vital wheat gluten helps add a great texture and flavor.

Check out more keto recipes with vital wheat gluten.

CASEIN AND WHEY PROTEINS

Both of these are added to our “flour” mix. They work together extremely well with the oat fiber to produce a light fluffy cake that is high in protein, so it’s healthy too! Although these are harder to find, I highly recommend them and use them in many of my recipes.

Check out more keto recipes with casein protein and whey protein.

TECHNIQUE

These Keto Chocolate Frosted Donuts are really simple to make – I spoon the batter into the pans but you could use a pastry bag if you wanted to speed the process up. I honestly don’t think it’s worth the bother to do it. I find the pan takes about 2-2.5 tablespoons of batter per donut so I tend to just use the tablespoon because it’s dirty anyway!

I turn on convection for the last 4-5 minutes of baking to help brown up the bottom of the donuts (they bake upside down). If you don’t have convection, I don’t think it’s a huge deal. I have forgotten to turn it on before and they just come out a pinch less brown.

For the frosting, we’re drizzling our donuts with a chocolate ganache 🍫- yum! Chocolate ganache sounds fancy and potentially difficult to make, but it is actually quite simple. I use the microwave to warm the mixture of chocolate and cream. As long as you don’t burn it, it can be very forgiving! When it comes to frosting the donuts with the ganache – there are a couple of options you can spoon the ganache over the donuts for an organic look to the drizzle or you can pipe the ganache over the donuts with a pastry bag or zip top bag. This will give you greater control over the decoration.

TIP: use a zip top bag, fill with warm ganache, cut off one corner of the bag. This is such an easy way to decorate baked goods and with a small enough hole you can even use this technique to write with the ganache.

EQUIPMENT

• Mixing bowls
• Donut pan

• Cooling rack

TROUBLESHOOTING

These are pretty straightforward, but as any baker knows, there’s always something that can go wrong in the kitchen! Let’s try to anticipate an issues that can come up and head them off at the pass!

Why did my donuts come out a mottled color?

The casein and whey proteins are kind of clumpy and need to be mixed in well. It helps to mix the flour mixture very well before combining wet and dry ingredients. I’ve noticed that the proteins can leave darker splotches in baked goods if not mixed in thoroughly. I haven’t found it to affect the taste or texture much but maybe just mix a bit more next time.

How can I tell when the donuts are done?

The should be puffed up and browning on the top (bottom). When you touch them they should feel firm and a knife inserted should come out clean.

How do I prevent the donuts from cooking unevenly?

Make sure that the donut wells are filled to the same level so that they cook evenly. You can always pop some in the oven for a second batch – better than overfilling! Also, rotate the pan half way through. This is particularly helpful if your oven doesn’t heat evenly. I liked to use convection for the last 4-5 minutes of baking. However, I do NOT recommend using convection the entire time with this recipe because the exterior will brown too quickly leaving the interior underdone.

Why did my donuts collapse?

It’s okay if the undersides collapse a little while they are cooling, the tops will look perfect from the pan shape. You can leave the donuts in the oven a couple of minute after you’ve turned it off to help with this. If it bothers you and you don’t mind a slightly spongier texture, add a second egg to the batter.

What if my chocolate ganache doesn’t pour easily?

Throw it back in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir again; it could need another drop of cream if it’s too stiff. It should be like a little runny when you drizzle your donuts.

SERVING

Well, I could go on and on with this one – let’s explore some fun ways to serve donuts!

How to serve Keto Chocolate Frosted Donuts:

• The classic – for breakfast or brunch, how about breakfast in bed!?
• Great for a picnic or outdoor gathering; no cutlery required
• Perfect for a potluck or to take to a party
• Great for holidays – valentine’s day 🍫, mother’s day, Halloween, (healthier) Hanukkah, Christmas morning

Variations on this recipe

• Different flavors of frosting – how about coconut pecan frosting?
• Replace frosting with peanut butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, or Keto Sweet Sugar-Free Strawberry Jam… yum!

What should I drink with Keto Chocolate Frosted Donuts?

Coffee is a classic pairing! There’s a reason why Dunkin’ has that name! Milk would also be great – maybe a tall glass of ice cold almond milk with a warm chocolaty donut? Count me in!

STORING

These are best consumed within a day or two of making and stored in an airtight container.

❤️ MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

• Try these Keto Chocolate Babka Buns
• Keto Chocolate Marshmallow Cloud Cake 🍫 is a gorgeous and delicious chocolate dessert!
• Enjoy your favorite ice cream with Keto Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches! 🍨
• Keto German Chocolate Cupcakes are also a must try! 🧁