These healthy baked peppermint chocolate cake donuts are soft and moist, with cashew cream cheese frosting and crushed candy canes on top, this will be your favorite holiday dessert recipe.

Someone has taken a bite from a baked holiday treat.

Every season and every holiday needs a donut recipe, right!? So here you go, these Chocolate Donuts With Candy Cane Glaze are the perfect winter and Christmas treat! 

These baked donuts are soft and moist and packed with chocolate flavor and sprinkled with peppermint candy canes. 

Each bite is an explosion of rich chocolate, creamy cashew frosting, and bits of candy cane. YUM! 

They are so good you won’t believe that these donuts are healthy! They are, including the cashew icing, dairy-free, gluten-free, and grain-free.

If peppermint chocolate is one of your favorite holiday flavors, you have to try these Sweet Potato Peppermint Brownies and these Peppermint Chocolate Truffles too! They are both insanely good and are a Christmas staple in my house.

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Baked or Fried Donuts?

baked healthy chocolate donuts covered in a candy cane claze on a cooling rack

Which is better, baked or fried donuts? 

Personally, I love both! However, it kind of depends on what I’m in the mood for, and also if I’m making it myself, or buying it. 

When it comes to homemade donuts, baked is the obvious answer! 

Baked donuts are

  • Easier to make – No need to mess around with a deep fryer, or a hot boiling pan of oil
  • Healthier – Baked donuts are a lot healthier than traditionally fried donuts since they aren’t drenched in oil. 
  • Better texture – I love the cake-like texture that a baked donuts has. And honestly, I find it hard to achieve the light and fluffy texture that you can get from a commercially fried donut at home. 
  • Better flavor – When omitting the frying step for baked chocolate donuts, you won’t get that oily fried flavor, which I think is a big plus! 

With that being said, I too love a fried donut every once in a while, but then I’ll go out buying it. 

Are Baked Chocolate Cake Donuts Healthy?

6 paleo chocolate donuts covered in a dairy-free candy cane glaze sprinkled with crushed candy

As mentioned above, baked donuts are a lot healthier than fried donuts due to the fact that they aren’t deep-fried. 

However, there are a lot of other reasons why I consider this chocolate donut recipe not only delicious but is also good for you at the same time.

I used unsweetened apple sauce in this donut recipe, which will not only provide moisture, but plenty of sweetness, even though it’s unsweetened. 

Baked Almond Flour Donuts

These holiday donuts are made with almond flour.

No butter but nut butter

The only butter added to these chocolate donuts with candy cane glaze is almond butter, making them dairy-free. The almond butter also adds a nutty flavor, moisture, and a high-quality protein boost to this healthy chocolate donut recipe. 

The peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting is also dairy-free. It’s even vegan, making it perfect for all your vegan holiday baking as well. Just simply add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract in the original recipe.

Lastly, with some crushed candy canes on top, we have a perfect balance, which is much needed for the holidays! 

And remember, balance is healthy! 

Ingredients needed for These Soft Baked Chocolate Donuts

Chocolate Peppermint Donuts

  • Egg (room temp)
  • Apple sauce (unsweetened)
  • Almond butter
  • Coconut Sugar or Brown sugar
  • Peppermint extract
  • Cacao powder
  • Almond flour
  • Baking soda
  • Salt

Peppermint and candy cane Glaze

  • Raw Cashews
  • Maple Syrup
  • Coconut Oil
  • Coconut Cream
  • Peppermint extract
  • Candy canes

For the full recipe, see this Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. Just add 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract for a holiday twist. 

How to make this Baked Chocolate Donut recipe

Start with preheating the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a silicone donut pan. You can use a regular donut pan as well, just grease it generously.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg, apple sauce,coconut sugar, almond butter, and peppermint extract.
In a separate mixing bowl, mix cacao powder, almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Sift is there are lumps left.
Now, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Do not over mix. 
Spoon or pipe the mixture into the greased donut pan. Fill close to the top, but do not overfill.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean after inserting it in the middle. Set aside to cool.

Make the frosting using this dairy free cashew cream cheese frosting.

Let the baked chocolate peppermint donuts cool completely before icing them.

Lastly, sprinkle crushed candy canes on top.

Enjoy!

Store These Baked Donuts without the Frosting

six healthy baked paleo chocolate donuts on a cooling rack.

These baked chocolate donuts can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 2 months. 

However, I suggest you store the donuts without glaze and candy cane sprinkles.

Once the crushed peppermint candy is sprinkled on top of the donuts, it will melt after just a few hours. The glaze is also best if it’s added right before eating to prevent it from being absorbed by the healthy donut. 

So, store the donuts, glaze, and crushed candy canes separately and assemble them right before serving. 

I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS

healthy baked chocolate donuts glazed with a vegan peppermint icing and sprinkled with candy canes

baked healthy chocolate donuts covered in a candy cane claze on a cooling rack

Get the recipe:Peppermint Chocolate Cake Donuts {with Almond Flour}

Yield: 9
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
These healthy baked peppermint chocolate cake donuts are soft and moist, with cashew cream cheese frosting and crushed candy Canes on top, this will be your favorite holiday dessert recipe.
4.67 stars (3 reviews)
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Ingredients

Chocolate peppermint donuts

  • 1 egg, room temp
  • 1/4 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar, or brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup almond butter, unsweetened
  • ½ tsp peppermint extract
  • 1/4 cup cacao powder, 20g
  • 1/3 cup almond flour, 40g
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • Pinch of Salt

Glaze

  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup coconut cream
  • 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
  • Crushed up Candy Canes

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a silicone donut pan. You can use a regular donut pan as well, just grease it generously.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg, apple sauce, sugar, almond butter, and peppermint extract.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, mix cacao powder, almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Sift is there are lumps with almond flour and cacao powder. 
  • Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Do not over mix. 
  • Spoon or pipe the mixture into the greased donut pan. If you don’t have a piping bag, add the batter into a Ziplock bag, seal and cut a small hole in one corner, and squeeze into the donut pan. Fill close to the top, but d not overfill.
  • Bake for 18 -20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean after inserting in the middle. 
  • Blend the ingredients for the cashew cream icing, until smooth and creamy. if too liquidy, you can leave it in the fridge for 20 minutes to get to your preferred consistency.
  • Let the donuts completely cool before icing them.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 267kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 192mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 17g

The Nutrition Facts above are specific to the ingredients I chose to use for this recipe, which may vary.

Author: Shuang Shuang Liang
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American