Spider Web Baked Chocolate Donuts

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These spider web baked chocolate donuts are a spooky and festive treat for Halloween! The double chocolate donut cake batter is made with olive oil, dark cocoa powder, and studded with mini chocolate chips. After it's baked and cooled, the donuts are then dipped in melted dark chocolate and decorated with white chocolate spider webs.

Spider web decorated baked chocolate donuts are sitting on a baking sheet with fake spiders all around.

These spooky spider donuts are scary good! They're soft and moist, full of rich chocolate flavor and totally adorable. You can make them even more festive by adding fake spiders and candy eyeballs.

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♡ Why You Will Love These Spider Web Donuts
Ingredient Notes
Substitutions
Step-By-Step Instructions
💡 Tip
Variations
Storage
⭐️ Expert Tips
FAQ
More Chocolate Recipes...
♡ Did you try this recipe?
📖 Recipe

♡ Why You Will Love These Spider Web Donuts

Super easy to make. The batter comes together in less than 10 minutes and the spider web design is a lot easier than you think!
Moist and tender. These baked chocolate donuts are so moist thanks a combination of olive oil, buttermilk and sour cream.
Perfect Halloween party treat. These donuts will surely impress your friends and family at all your Halloween festivities.

Looking for another fun Halloween treat, you'll love my gooey spider web olive oil brownies. For more dark and rich chocolate recipes, try my dark chocolate mousse cake, dark chocolate sheet cake, and chocolate malted cake.

Ingredient Notes

Here are some notes about all the ingredients used in these double chocolate donuts. Quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card below!

Spider web baked chocolate donut ingredients which include, flour, Dutch-process cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, olive oil, sour cream, buttermilk, egg, vanilla, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate.

Baked Chocolate Donuts

All-Purpose Flour - I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your flour with for best results. Adding too much flour can make your donuts dry and dense rather than soft and moist.
White Sugar - Adds moisture and a hint of sweetness.
Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder - Use Dutch-process cocoa powder for more intense chocolate flavor.
Baking Soda - Helps the donuts rise.
Salt - Enhances the flavors.
Olive Oil - Helps keep the donuts moist for days.
Lowfat Buttermilk - Makes the donuts tender.
Sour Cream - Keeps the donuts moist.
Egg - Adds structure.
Vanilla Paste or Extract - For flavor.
Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips - Adds more chocolate flavor.

Chocolate Shell

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar - I recommend using chocolate bars, as they melt more easily and smoothly. The chocolate shell won't be too thick either.
White Chocolate Bar - Melted white chocolate will be used to create a spider web design on the donuts.

*See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions

For the Olive Oil - I used light olive oil, but you can use extra-virgin olive oil too. You can also use a neutral oil such as, avocado, canola, refined coconut oil or vegetable oil.
For the Dutch Cocoa Powder - You can also use natural cocoa powder, but the donuts will be lighter in color.
For the Sour Cream - Feel free to substitute with Greek yogurt.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Here are step-by-step photos and instructions on how to make these Spider Web Baked Chocolate Donuts! Please find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda are in a medium mixing bowl.

Step 1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

Olive oil, sour cream, buttermilk, an egg and vanilla are in a mixing bowl.

Step 2.In a separate bowl, add olive oil, buttermilk, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract, and whisk until well combined.

Wet ingredients are mixed and added to the dry ingredients.

Step 3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until nearly combined.

Mini semi sweet chocolate chips are added to the chocolate donut batter.

Step 4. Fold in the mini chocolate chips until incorporated.

Chocolate donut batter with mini chocolate chips are piped into a 6-cavity donut pan.

Step 5. In a regular sized donut pan, fill each donut cavity ⅔rds full.

Donut batter with mini chocolate chips are baked in a donut pan.

Step 6. Bake at 350ºF for 10 to 12 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Melted semi-sweet chocolate is in a small bowl and melted white chocolate is in a small piping bag.

Step 7. Melt the dark and white chocolate into 2 separate bowls. Then transfer the melted white chocolate into a small piping bag.

Baked chocolate chip donuts are dipped into melted chocolate.

Step 8. Dip the cooled donuts into the melted dark chocolate, smooth side down.

Baked chocolate donuts are dipped in semi-sweet chocolate and then white chocolate is dragged on top of the chocolate to create a spider web effect.

Step 9. Pipe 3 thin circles on top of the donut.

Step 10. Use a toothpick to drag lines from the center of the donut and outward to create the spider web effect.

💡 Tip

White Chocolate Spider Web - If you don't have a small pastry bag, you can use a ziploc bag. Once you fill it with the melted white chocolate, cut off a very small corner of the bag.

Step 12. Let the donuts set at room temperature for a few hours or in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Variations

Reverse the Design - Dip the donuts in white chocolate and top with a dark chocolate spider web instead.
Skip the Spider Web - If you don't have white chocolate in your pantry, skip the spider web design.
Add Eyeballs or Teeth - Add candy eyes on top of each donut or add fake dracula teeth in the center of the donuts.
Other toppings - After dipping the donuts in the chocolate shell, sprinkle the tops with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, toffee bits, cacao nibs, or chopped nuts!
Make Mini Donuts - You can use a mini donut pan and bake for just 6 to 8 minutes.

Storage

Room Temperature - Store in an airtight container on the counter for 1 day.
Refrigerator - My favorite way to store these baked chocolate cake donuts is in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days. They stay moist as they sit in the fridge, and the chocolate shell remains intact.
Freezer - Flash freeze the donuts on a baking sheet for an hour. Once frozen, individually wrap each donut in plastic wrap and store in freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for an hour before consuming.

⭐️ Expert Tips

Use a kitchen scale to weigh all your ingredients. Baking in grams is the best and most accurate way to bake! All my recipes include gram conversions based on King Arthur's Weight Chart.

If you are not using a kitchen scale, measure your flour correctly. Fluff and aerate your flour first, then spoon into your measuring cup and finally level off with the back of a butter knife. Do not pack it in as it will add too much flour.

Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature - This includes the eggs, buttermilk and sour cream.

Do not overmix your batter - Be careful not to overmix. Overworking the batter can result in dense cake.

Do not overbake - Overbaking will result in dry donuts. Mine took 11 minutes, however, timing can vary as every oven runs differently.

FAQ

Can I double the recipe?

I would recommend baking 2 separate batches, rather than doubling the recipe.

Can I make this gluten-free?

Yes, you can substitute for a 1-to-1 cup gluten-free flour mixture.

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