Homemade cake donuts are sweet and tender. Dip them into this shiny chocolate glaze while they are hot for a weekend breakfast treat that's absolutely delicious! You can even make the dough the night before and fry it fresh in the morning.
peanut oilor your favorite light vegetable oil for frying - you'll need enough to fill your fryer according to manufacturer's instructions or a deep pan with about 6 inches of oil.
Glaze
3cupsConfectioner's sugar
½cupdark cocoa powderI use Hershey's Special Dark
⅓cupwateror strong coffee - hot
2teaspoonsof vanilla
Instructions
Donuts
Combine the eggs, sugar, buttermilk, vanilla, and butter in a bowl.
Whisk until smooth.
Mix the dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, stirring until a soft dough forms.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours or up to 4 days.
Turn chilled dough out onto a well-floured surface.
Preheat oil to 365F.
Gently roll the dough to ½ inch thickness.
Cut with a floured donut cutter.
Fry about four at a time in the hot oil until they are golden brown - don't crowd the fryer or the temperature of the oil will drop and the donuts will be oily.
Drain on absorbent paper towels or brown paper sacks.
Dip in the chocolate glaze while they are still hot.
If you like a thick chocolate glaze dip them again when they've cooled a bit.
Glaze
Mix the Confectioners' and cocoa powder.
Add the hot coffee (or water) and vanilla and stir until smooth.
Add more coffee as needed to get the right consistency.
Notes
Storage:Homemade donuts, especially cake donuts, get stale pretty quickly. They're best eaten within an hour or so of being made. You can usually get away with a holding them for a few hours but if you make them a day ahead of time they'll be stale.To freezeFor longer storage you can freeze unglazed donuts for up 3 months. Put them in a single layer in a freezer container with parchment paper between the layers.Tips:
Cut the donuts straight down without twisting the cutter. Twisting seals the sides and the donuts won't rise well.
Measure the flour carefully by lightly spooning it into the measuring cup and then leveling off.
Keep the dough as sticky as possible. Adding too much flour will make them tough and they'll lose the cake-like texture.
If you don't have a donut cutter you can use a biscuit cutter and use a cake decorating dip or other small round object to punch out the middle of the donut.
Use clean oil. Change the oil in your fryer frequently depending on how often you fry.
I like peanut oil the best.
Never overload the fryer. You can do four or five at a time depending on the size of the fryer.
Flip the donuts as they float to the top.
Cake donuts are best eaten within a few hours of being made.
I like the rich chocolate glaze made with hot coffee but try Earl Grey tea or plain hot water.
You can also let them cool some and shake in a bag of sugar, cinnamon sugar, or powdered sugar if you prefer to leave them unglazed.
If you are a chocolate lover dip the donuts in the glaze twice to make it thicker.
Save the donut holes that are left from cutting the donuts and fry them. You can dip them in glaze or roll them in cinnamon sugar.