Dark Chocolate Fudge Doughnut Cakes

Sometimes, you need to bake something for friends you are visiting for dinner. When you are trying to decide what to make, you need to figure out how to use that amazing Valrhona cocoa powder you've been saving up for too long, the doughnut pan which you thought was such a smart and essential buy, and you also need to make sure your own chocolate craving is satisfied.

I turned to one of my favourite books to address all of the above - A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman. I managed to use up the cocoa powder, inaugurate the new doughnut pan which I am in love with now, and get some super fudgy, sticky, not-so-sweet, delicious chocolate doughnut cakes.

Win!

The original recipe was for Dark Fudge Bundt Cake but that shouldn't deter us. Make it into anything you like - a cake, bundt cake, cupcakes, or these lovely doughnut shaped ones if you have the right pan.

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Dark Chocolate Fudge Doughnut Cakes

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Makes 18 - 20 doughnut cakes
Source: A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups of white sugar
1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup of unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
¾ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt
1 ½ cups of warm coffee (I used warm water mixed with 2 teaspoon instant coffee powder)

How to Make Chocolate Doughnut Cakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350F / 180C. Generously grease a cupcake tray, (grease the liners if using), doughnut pan, ramekins, or bundt pan, whatever you prefer to use. This cake tends to be quite sticky after baking so make sure you grease your pans well. You can make out the stickiness from the first picture, actually!

2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until well blended.

3. In a separate bowl, combine both the sugars with the melted butter. Mix well.

4. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for a minute until smooth. I did this in my Kitchenaid to make things easier (and also so I would I get some use out of it!)

5. Then add the flour mixture and stir to moisten the batter.

6. Slowly drizzle in the coffee, stirring at the same time carefully to make a smooth batter. I mixed it gently just enough for all the ingredients to blend well. Don’t overbeat.

7. Spoon batter halfway into the prepared moulds or pans and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 mins until the top glistens and springs back on touch.

After 2 days, store in the refrigerator for up to a week and serve warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds or after leaving it out for about 2 hours.

These carry really well for a party or pot luck. I love them as-is with no frosting or even dusting of sugar, with a glass of cold milk. Yum!

Notes:
- This recipe makes a lot of cake so halve it if you'd like. Some of the measurements are not easy to halve so do what I do. If you need to halve ⅓ cup for instance, just take a ⅓ cup measurement cup and fill it half way. For eggs, just use 2 instead of trying to use 1.5 eggs.
- I've mentioned it in the recipe but I'll say it again. The cake comes out quite moist and sticky so grease your pans well
- If you'd like a sweeter cake, increase sugar amounts. I know it looks like a lot but we are also adding a fair bit of chocolate and coffee. Adjust accordingly. You can also frost it if you'd like, keeping the amount of sugar the same as in above recipe
- To make this cake eggless, follow usual substitution ingredients (eg: flax seed meal, Ener-G, yogurt, etc)