Skip to Content

Chocolate Cake Baked Donut Holes

I’m always hesitant to declare a new recipe the best recipe on my blog because of recency bias and all that jazz. So, I’ll just say these high protein baked donut holes are in the top five.

I’m honestly not sure how to describe the joy you experience when biting into one. They’re slightly crispy on the outside but moist like perfect chocolate cake on the inside. And the powdered sugar exterior gives them a cool, perfectly sweet taste.

Amazeballs. (Ironically this was one of the more popular title suggestions when I polled my Instagram.)

And as always, I’ve done my best to keep things simple.

Chocolate cake and donut holes come together in this high protein, low calorie recipe. Each donut hole has roughly 6 grams of protein and carbs, 1 gram of fat, 55 calories, and 1 WW SmartPoint.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualified sales. Click here to read my full disclosure.

Ingredients for Chocolate Cake Baked Donut Holes

Below I’ll run through a few notes of ingredient swaps and recipe modifications.

Swerve Confectioners

These protein donut holes call for Swerve confectioners in the dough itself. Just look at how moist the center is below! If you don’t have any on hand, you could try adding a bit more pudding mix or other thickeners mixed with another low calorie sweetener.

chocolate cake protein donut holes

For the powdered sugar coating, however, it’s going to be a bit more difficult to replicate the true powdered sugar texture with protein powder and granular sugar blended together. But even without the perfect powdered sugar exterior, these protein donut holes are still delicious!

My final word on Swerve would be that if you’re on the fence about buying some, it’s one of the best ingredients I’ve come across in some time. For high protein, low calorie desserts, it’s a game changer. And don’t think it’s a one-recipe ingredient. Here are other recipes I’ve made with Swerve:

oreo protein cake with a slice cut out sitting on a white serving dish

If you’re curious where to find Swerve, you can use their store locator here or you can find it on my Amazon list

Pudding Mix

This ingredient is readily found these days in most grocery stores. If you can’t find the chocolate or fudge flavors or would like to use something else, you could combine cocoa powder with something like corn starch, arrowroot powder, xanthan gum, or another thickener.

dry ingredients for baked protein donut holes in a mixing bowl

Coconut Flour

Coconut flour works extremely well in lower calorie recipes thanks to how absorbent it is. You don’t need to use much to get the desired effects of flour, keeping calories low. That said, I realize not everyone keeps it on hand.

If you want to swap the coconut flour for something like all purpose flour, you’ll want to use at least a 2:1 exchange ratio. That means you may need a half cup of all purpose flour.

If you go this route and have a dough that’s too thick, you can add more fat or even a bit of liquid like a lower calorie milk or water at the end of mixing.

Protein Powder

The recipe calls for PEScience Select which is a bit different than most protein powders since it’s a blend of whey and casein. If you’re using a whey-only protein powder or something similar, you may need to add more protein powder or flour so you can handle the dough. 

the dough for baked protein donut holes

I expect to continue developing recipes with PEScience Protein. So if you like my protein desserts and want to pick some up, you can use my affiliate discount code mason at checkout to save 15%. 

Baked Protein Donut Holes Recipe Video

The video below shows just how simple this recipe is.

All right, grab a bowl and get ready to go. If you try these protein donut holes or any of my protein sweets, I wanna see them. Snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @mason_woodruff.
chocolate cake protein donut holes

Chocolate Cake Baked Protein Donut Holes

Yield: 8 Donut Holes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Quick and easy 58-calorie protein donut holes with a chocolate cake spin.

Ingredients

For Rolling the Donut Holes After Baking

Instructions

  1. Preheat an oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Add the Greek yogurt and egg to the dry ingredients and stir until you have a giant ball of dough. (I use a rubber spatula and use a folding, pressing movement to incorporate any remaining dry ingredients.)
  4. Once you have the ball of dough, pinch off 8 smaller balls and place them on the baking sheet.
  5. Using your hands (spray them cooking spray if the dough is sticking), roll the balls between your hands until smooth.
  6. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the donut holes are cooked through.
  7. Allow the donut holes to cool slightly before rolling them in the additional powdered sugar.

Notes

Each donut hole has 1 Smart Point.

*I used PEScience Select protein powder. You can use my affiliate discount code mason to save 15% on PEScience products.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Donut Holes Serving Size: 1 Donut Hole
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 56Total Fat: 1.4gCarbohydrates: 5.5gProtein: 5.9g

Want more kinda healthy recipes?

Follow me on Pinterest to see all of my recipes organized in one place with photos!

More Recipes with Protein Powder You Might Like

Debbie

Saturday 3rd of February 2024

Still grainy to me like Almond flour.

Sierra

Tuesday 13th of April 2021

Made these as a sweet treat for myself for Easter and Christmas, and both times they were meant to be meal prepped, well..they didn't last more than two days! I literally couldn't put them down!! They are perfect for squashing a sweet craving, and don't taste stale or chalky like other protein sweet recipes do. Get these in your fridge asap!!!

Mojoblogs

Thursday 11th of March 2021

Looks so yummy! Plus it looks so easy to make. I can't wait to try this. Thank you for sharing this! :)

Britany Cortez

Wednesday 7th of October 2020

Yummmmm!! Ok these were so good and very moist. You know it's good when it's kid approved!

Elizabeth

Monday 22nd of June 2020

All I can see are such positive reviews, and it looks like such a delicious recipe! However, I am unable to get that right texture every time I make them and they have a soupy texture kind of like cake batter and not the doughy batter it says. I don’t know where I am going wrong as I follow the recipe to the letter. They also have a dryer- funny texture when they come out that does not look like the picture. If anyone knows what I’m doing wrong, please let me know!

Mason Woodruff

Monday 22nd of June 2020

Are you using a different protein powder? Unfortunately, no protein powder seems to work the same in recipes.

Skip to Recipe