Peanut butter cake doughnuts dipped in dark chocolate glaze and topped with honey roasted peanuts.
Typical peanut butter cake doughnuts use a plain dough.
The only peanut butter flavor comes from the glaze.
Let’s upgrade that standard doughnut and bring it up a notch!
Peanut butter flavor oozes out of these donuts!
Peanut butter is incorporated into the dough. This ensures you can taste that iconic, smooth, nutty peanut butter!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Donut
While most of the other donut recipes I share are a bit time consuming and labor intensive, these are not!
These are by far the easiest fried doughnuts I’ve made.
Mix the donut dough together in the same manner as cookie dough!
No need to worry or fuss with yeast. Baking powder is responsible for leavening these donuts.
The peanut butter dough needs to be chilled in the freezer for about 15 minutes. That’s about the same amount of time it will take to heat up your fry oil.
The dough relies on baking powder for leavening. Therefore, use fresh baking powder.
Obviously, check the expiration date and note when the package was opened.
Over time, baking powder will lose its leavening powers. (Check if your baking powder is still active here.)
Cake doughnuts are a bit more dense in texture compared to light, fluffy yeast raised doughnuts.
Donut Tools and Equipment
You’ll need a 3 1/2-inch dough cutter to portion out the peanut butter dough.
Alternatively, you may use a 3 1/2-inch round cutter paired with a 1-inch round cutter for the center.
Use a rolling pin to flatten out the dough. Or, simply pat it down using the palm of your hands.
Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the freezer while you heat up the fry oil.
Dark Chocolate Glaze
Dip the freshly fried cake donuts in luscious dark chocolate glaze.
Peanut butter and chocolate are an unstoppable pair.
The sweet and salty peanut harmonizes with the dark chocolate.
The glaze is a simple mixture of chopped dark chocolate, milk, cocoa powder, and light corn syrup. The syrup ensure the glaze stays shiny and smooth.
For the final touch, chopped honey roasted peanuts adds a nice textural crunch!
It’s a rich and decadent sweet treat that pairs wonderfully with a tall glass of milk!
Hungry for more donuts? Try these delicious recipes:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Doughnuts with Glaze
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cake Doughnut:
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter*, (140 g)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar, (67 g)
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, (228 g)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup low-fat buttermilk, (114 g)
- vegetable oil or fry oil of choice,*, as needed
Chocolate Glaze:
- 3 oz dark chocolate, 60% cacao, (90 grams, about ½ cup), finely chopped
- 5 Tablespoons whole milk, (70 g)
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, (10 g)
- 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup, (40 g)
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, (25 g)
- honey roasted peanuts, , chopped, as needed to garnish
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cake Doughnuts:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together peanut butter and sugar until well combined. Scrape down as needed to ensure thorough mixing. Add egg and mix until incorporated.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add dry mixture to mixing bowl in three additions, alternating with buttermilk. Start and finish with dry mixture. Mix on low speed until dough has formed and there are no longer any dry streaks of flour.
- Scrape out dough and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roll out or pat dough to about ¾-inch thickness. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add about 3-inches of vegetable oil (or shortening) to a heavy bottomed pot (Dutch oven and cast iron pans work best). Attach candy thermometer to pan. Set over medium heat until oil reaches 350°F.
- Remove chilled dough from freezer. Use a floured 3 ½-inch doughnut cutter (or 3 ½-inch round cutter and 1-inch round cutter) to punch out as many doughnut rings and doughnuts holes as you can. Gather up the scrape and re-roll dough up to two times to punch out additional rings and holes.
- Carefully place two or three doughnut rings into hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pot. Cook for about 90 seconds on each side, until golden brown. Cook doughnut holes for about 55 seconds on each side. Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked doughnuts onto a paper-towel lined baking sheet (or to a wire rack over a baking sheet). NOTE: Oil temperature will change as you add raw doughnuts into the pot. Monitor oil temperature using a kitchen/candy thermometer to make sure doughnuts do not burn.*
Chocolate Glaze and Assembly:
- Place finely chopped chocolate a heat safe bowl and set aside. In a sauce pot, combine milk, cocoa powder, corn syrup, and sugar. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once boiled, remove from heat and immediately pour over chocolate. Allow mixture to sit undistributed for about one minute. Use a spatula to stir together contents until smooth.
- Dip one side of cake doughnut into chocolate glaze. Top with chopped honey roasted peanuts. Serve immediately, or allow chocolate glaze to set up before enjoying.
Notes
Ingredients notes:
- Peanut Butter: cake doughnut recipe works best with homogenous peanut butter like JIF or Skippy. These peanut butters tend to be sweetened and salted. Natural peanut butter (those that require stirring before use) may separate from the dough when being chilled. If using natural peanut butter, you may also have to increase the amount of sugar in the recipe.
- Buttermilk: You swap in milk of choice.
- Fry Oil: Vegetable shortening is the standard for donut shops. If you have access to a restaurant supply store, I suggest using “Donut Fry Shortening.” Otherwise, use vegetable oil or canola oil. These two oils have a high smoke temperature, making them suitable for deep frying.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
I have such a weak spot for doughnuts and then you had to go and throw in peanut butter into the mix. Wow, wow, wow! These looks amazing!!
Doughnuts are my kryptonite! Thanks so much! :)