This black chocolate vegan brioche donuts dough is so fun to work with! Vibrant black dough makes for some fun and spooky special treats!
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We absolutely love donuts and even if you are vegan you still deserve to have amazing donuts! These black chocolate vegan brioche donuts are hands down some of the best donuts that we have made to do.
A delicious black chocolate dough is fried to perfection and then stuffed with a vegan chocolate cream filling.
If you love Halloween, or spooky season to some, then these are perfect for breakfast. You could also stuff with an orange buttercream or vanilla frosting for an orange and black theme! So may possibilities!
This recipe was inspired by Edd Kimber’s non-vegan version.
Black Chocolate Vegan Brioche Donuts INGREDIENTS:
Below are notes about the ingredients before we get into the full recipe located lower in this post on how to make these Black Chocolate Vegan Brioche Donuts:
- flour – we use bread flour for the recipe to give it the perfect texture
- vegan sugar – Cane sugar is what we are using. If you want to learn more about why your sugar may not be vegan, you can learn more by clicking on the link.
- yeast – we are using instant yeast so that the recipe goes as fast as possible
- pumpkin puree – this is acting like an egg in the recipe, but also helping with moisture and texture
- black cocoa powder – to get that uber dark black color on the donuts, we are using a black cocoa powder (click link to purchase)
SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS:
- flour – you can use all purpose flour
- vegan sugar – swap with date or coconut sugar
- yeast – you can use active dry yeast but it will take longer to rise
- pumpkin puree – swap with puree potato or sweet potato instead
- black cocoa powder –can use regular cocoa powder but it will not be the same color
Frequently Asked Questions:
The easiest way to fill a vegan donut is to use the end of a chopstick or a small metal funnel tip. Move it around to break up the dough inside.
Then use the tip or a rough piping tip with piping bag to fill the donuts. Pull out as you fill until it’s no longer inserted.
It’s not as easy, but it is possible.
You could tip a small tip off a zipped sandwich bag and try your best to get it directly into the hole
Another option would be to use a straw inside a sandwich bag like a piping tip
There is flour, dairy free milk, and vegan butter in this recipe.
If you are completely Top 8 Free, use an alternative dairy free milk like oat or hemp for this recipe. You could also use water.
For the vegan butter, use a soy free version like Flora or Earth Balance soy free.
We cannot recommend a gluten free flour to use with this dough at this time.
These fried vegan brioche doughnuts will last for up to 2 days when stored in an air tight container.
Best if warmed for 10-15 seconds if not eating immediately.
They can be stored at room temperature and do not need to be refrigerated.
Yes! Regular white potatoes or sweet potatoes can be used. Sweet potatoes will continue help give it that orange-yellow color that you see.
This purpose of using this is to be the “egg” in the recipe. So you can use any of these in a similar manor.
Instant yeast rises faster and less of an issue. However, you can still use active dry. It typically will take longer to rise.
No, not at all. We prefer it, but it’s not a requirement. You can make this recipe with a bowl and a silicone spatula. But the kneading by hand will be the hardest part.
What other vegan donut ideas could I make?
If you love donuts as much as us, then you may want even more recipes! Here’s some more ideas!
Yeasted Donuts
Cake Like Donuts
- Vegan Chocolate Donuts
- Vegan Maple Donuts
- Glazed Vegan Donuts
- Vegan Eggnog Donuts
- Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
Also try our Vegan Apple Cider Donut Cake!
Pin these black chocolate vegan brioche donuts for later!
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Black Chocolate Vegan Brioche Donuts
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 cup warm water
- ¼ cup vegan cane sugar, + ½ cup more for coating
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast (this equals 1 packet)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (or pureed yukon or sweet potatoes)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 ½ -4 cups bread flour, divided
- ½ cup black cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup vegan butter
For the Chocolate Custard Filling*
- 2 ⅔ cup non dairy milk
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup vegan chocolate chips
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Additional Ingredients
- 1 quart vegetable oil, for frying
- ½ cup cane sugar
Optional Filling (if you don't want to make custard)
- store bought chocolate frosting
Instructions
For the Dough
- In a stand mixer bowl, with a paddle attachment, (or a large bowl) add the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Mix together. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add in pumpkin and vanilla. Combine again.
- Turn stand mixer to low and add 2 cups of flour, black cocoa powder, salt, and nutmeg. When almost all combined add 1 more cup of flour and combine again.
- Switch to a dough hook and add ½ cup more of flour and mix just until combined. Add in butter 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing completely after each.
- Let knead for 8-10 minutes on medium speed or until it doesn't stick to the bowl. It should pull away from the bowl. Still slightly sticky but not sticking to your hands. Use the remaining ½ cup of flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed.
- Spray bowl, form into a ball and place ball inside. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes in a warm, draft free place.
For the Custard Filling
- While dough is rising, make custard filling. In a medium saucepan, add non-dairy milk and brown sugar. Whisk in flour, cocoa powder, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch until no powder remain.
- Place pan over medium heat and let cook for 3-5 minutes until it starts to thicken, stirring occasionally. Add in vegan chocolate chips and butter. Stir constantly until melted completely. Remove from heat and stir vanilla into mixture.
- After 5 minutes, stir the mixture. Wait an additional 5 minutes and stir again. Place plastic wrap on top of the mixture (touching it so a "skin" doesn't form). Place in fridge until completely cooled before adding to donuts.
To Make Doughnuts
- After 30 minutes, lightly flour a surface and roll out dough to be about a half an inch thick. Then using a 3.5" donut cutter, cut out your donut shapes. Fold dough back up and then roll out again to cut out more donuts until no dough remains.
- Place each cut out on a baking sheet and then cover and let rise again for 15-20 minutes.
- Heat oil up to 350-375˚F. Fry for about 1 minute on each side (*Use a timer since this is black dough to make sure it's cooked properly). Carefully remove donuts from hot oil and place on a cooling rack with a sheet pan under it to catch the oil or a towel lined plate.
- Once cool to touch, add ½ cup sugar to a bowl and toss donut in sugar to coat. Repeat until all donuts are cooked and coated.
- Once donuts and filling are completely cooled, use a piping bag and a narrow piping tip fill the inside of the doughnut, pulling back as it fills until it's out. Repeat with all doughnuts. *If you do not have a narrow pipping tip, use a skewer or chopstick to poke a hole through the length of the donut. Then, use any pipping tip and fill in filling on both sides.
- Serve immediately or let cool to room temperature and store in an air tight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
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This recipe looks amazing! I wanted to use eggs instead of pumpkin puree. The ratio seems to be 1/4 cup pumpkin. puree to 1 egg. Do you think 4 eggs would be too much. I am not used to using 4 eggs to make dough for donuts..
Hi Christina – we’re vegan so we don’t test or use eggs therefore we have no idea if this would work properly.
Thoughts on using regular coco powder and maybe a Tbsp of activated charcoal powder for the color? Recommendations on amounts going this route? Thank you
We’ve never cooked with activated charcoal, so we have no recommendations there. So sorry!
Can these be baked instead? If so what would oven temp and bake time be?
Yes they can. 350˚F for about 12-15. They will have a different texture, but still be soft
hi! everything came out perfectly and the flavors are delicious! the only problem is the custard filling came out extremely runny. to the point of where I can’t fill the donuts. is there a way to fix this?
Great to hear that you enjoyed the donuts! As for the filling, this is usually from not cooking the custard long enough or not enough thickener. To fix this, reheat it gently and whisk in a cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch + 1–2 tbsp plant milk). Cook until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon, then cool COMPLETELY before filling.
My friend and I tried this recipe last night and were so excited. We followed the instructions exactly and double-checked multiple times that we measured right. The filling was so loose even after tripling the corn starch and cooling completely which took close to two hours in the freezer (it tastes OK though, but I wasn’t trying to re-taste it over and over). The donut itself was a bit bland, it seemed one note, it was not sweet at all it needed the sugar coating. I can appreciate a less sweet donut as I am trying to cut out some sugar from my diet. We went and looked at the IG video and noticed many discrepancies that were not in the instructions. We don’t know if this made a difference in how the donuts turned out mostly the filling. The dough was soft and rolled well so that was nice. Overall, we were disappointed and won’t make these again.
Thank you for the honest and detailed feedback. Sometimes the shorter videos don’t match up because we have to add in so much in such a short time that not everything can be shown. Other times, the recipe has been updated because we’ve clarified or made it easier for people to have success.
This filling is designed to be lighter rather than a firm pastry cream, which I understand may not be what everyone expects. I’ve worked on making this recipe clearer and more consistent. Hope that helps.
Currently making the recipe. Had to add another cup of flour, the dough was still too wet after 4 cups. They are frying nicely. The custard filling isn’t setting, I wasn’t it expecting it to since its 2 2/3 cup of milk to only 1 tbsp of corn starch. Did anyone else get the custard to set with those ratios or did you add more cornstarch?
Thanks for sharing. While the recipe work work for us, you aren’t the only one with this concern. We have updated this recipe after extensive testing to make sure it works for everything. Hope you’ll try them again!
hi
Can you make these donuts in oven if i can find the right pan. Because i canr have deep fry plus dairy free.
We don’t recommend baking these