I’m so excited to share this recipe with you. I actually have something else that I was going to post today. However, with Valentine’s Day around the corner and the fact that these Dark Chocolate Doughnuts are AMAZING, I just couldn’t wait!! You have no idea of the amount of restraint I had to have to keep myself and my kids from eating them before I got photos.
I love dark chocolate. A good piece of dark chocolate can be heavenly!
This is the part I love…chocolate is considered a functional food ingredient. Cocoa products contain polyphenols, called flavonoids. These flavonoids are powerful antioxidants.
There is lots of research that supports eating small portions of dark chocolate or cocoa is beneficial for heart health. Studies have linked chocolate with lowering blood pressure, preventing blood clots, supporting healthy blood vessel function, improving insulin resistance, and lowering LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.
When looking for dark chocolate, read the label to make sure that cocoa is the first ingredient on the list rather than sugar. A chocolate that has 60-70% cocoa is the better choice, if you want the most antioxidants.
Which types of Chocolate have the most antioxidants?
- Natural cocoa powder has the highest levels of polyphenols, mostly as flavonoids, and the most antioxidant power of any chocolate product. (Dutch cocoa, is low in polyphenols.)
- Unsweetened baking chocolate
- Dark chocolate
- Semisweet chocolate chips
- Milk chocolate and Chocolate syrup
Indulging on chocolate may have its health benefits, but it also contains saturated fat. The interesting thing about the saturated fat in cocoa butter is this type of fatty acid is converted to an unsaturated one in the body. This is good because then it is not harmful like saturated fats.
Bottom line is…enjoy it in moderation and remember that those calories add up.
These baked Dark Chocolate Doughnuts are absolutely soft, moist, and full of rich chocolate flavor. My kitchen was filled with a heavenly aroma while these were in the oven. If you have been following me, you know my kids love to hangout in their bedrooms. If I didn’t pop-in on them, hours would pass without seeing or hearing them. Thankfully, the wonderful aroma of these doughnuts baking lured my children out of their rooms 😀
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- powdered sugar
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa. Blend with a whisk until no white is seen.
- In a medium bowl beat eggs. Whisk in oil.
- Add sugars, vanilla, and buttermilk; whisk until sugar is dissolved.
- Add the wet ingredients into the flour, stir until combined.
- Coat a doughnut pan with nonstick spray. Fill each well about ½ full. Use back of spoon or small spatula to smooth out batter.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. When it comes out clean they are ready.
- Cool donuts then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
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Can Dark Chocolate Really Be a Health Food? http://www.environmentalnutrition.com/issues/29_10/asken/151417-1.html
Dark Chocolate in Small Amounts Offers Healthy Indulgence http://www.environmentalnutrition.com/issues/34_2/researchnews/152122-1.html