Mocha Crunch Donuts

Mocha donuts with chocolate ganache, mocha toffee crunch, and coffee glaze. These babies are just begging to be dipped in your morning coffee.

Donuts are a girl’s best friend.

Or at least my best friend (sorry I’m cheating on you, brownies).

Whoever thought of making a cake in ring-form, then dipping it in glazey goodness, is a genius.

And, if I can give myself a little pat on the back, these mocha crunch donuts are a little genius, too.

Of course, I wouldn’t have made it to this point without the countless donuts I’ve eaten in my life. Thank you, chocolate glazed cake donut at Linda’s Donuts in my hometown. Thank you, Dunkin’ Donuts’ boston cream donut, for being there when I needed you most. And thank you, fried dough, for being a great companion when regular donuts weren’t around. I can’t imagine where I would be today without you.

These babies are, like, serious donuts. There’s no playing here. Four separate parts come together in one delicious bite: baked mocha donut, dark chocolate ganache, mocha toffee crunch, and coffee icing.

Dipped in coffee it’s a flavor explosion in your mouth.

And for those of you ready to take the donut plunge, I got this donut pan two years ago and haven’t looked back since. It makes donut making so easy, so uniform, and so bakey delicious.

Thank you, donuts, for being you.

Mocha Crunch Donuts

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Author: Sarah Fennel

Author: Sarah Fennel

Units:

Ingredients

For the mocha toffee crunch

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup salted butter, cold, cut into chunks

For the donuts

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, room temperature
1/3 cup plain yogurt (any will do)
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate ganache

4 ounces dark chocolate
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon coconut oil (see instructions)

For the coffee icing

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon coffee (can also sub 1 T heavy cream + 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder)

Instructions

Make the mocha toffee crunch

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, espresso powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse sand.
Sprinkle mixture evenly over an unlined cookie sheet, then bake for 25 minutes, stirring mixture with a spatula at 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and 20 minutes to break up chunks. Allow to cool completely before using. If any large pieces remain, break those up with your hands or a knife. Spread onto a large plate so it’s ready for dipping the donuts in 🙂

Bake the donuts

To make the donuts, grease a standard sized donut pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk egg, yogurt, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking to combine.
Transfer mixture into a pastry bag or large ziplock with a hole cut into the corner. Pipe batter into donut molds, filling ⅔ of the way up the molds. Bake for 12 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the donut comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before frosting.

Make the glazes

While the donuts are cooling, make the chocolate ganache. In a double boiler over low heat, melt the chocolate and espresso powder. Consistency should be thin enough to form a ribbon when you pull it up with a spoon. If it’s too thick, add 1 teaspoon coconut oil.
Once melted, dip each donut into the ganache, then dip into the mocha crunch. Allow to cool slightly, then top with coffee icing (below).
To make the coffee icing, mix all ingredients in a small bowl, then microwave for 15 seconds to heat up. Drizzle over donuts!