Our favorite recipe of the week comes from Alexander Roberts, a food stylist, trained pastry chef, and recipe developer based in Los Angeles. Alexander made classic buttermilk donuts with our single origin Tanzanian Cacao Powder and our Rose Cardamom bar (also made with Tanzanian cacao from Kokoa Kamili!). These donuts have a lush, floral, and ambrosial flavor profile.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cup flour
2 tablespoons single origin Tanzanian Cacao Powder
⅔ cup brown sugar
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, cold
1 egg
¼ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup chopped Rose Cardamom bar
1-2 quarts canola or grapeseed oil, for frying
Recipe note: if you want these to be really floral and bright, add ½ teaspoon ground cardamom (with the dry ingredients) and 1-2 teaspoons rosewater (with the wet ingredients).
For the glaze:
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons buttermilk
Instructions:
1. To make the doughnuts, combine flour, cacao powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground cardamom (if using) and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine, then add cold cubes of butter to the processor and pulse again until incorporated, about 10-15 seconds.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and rosewater (if using). Pour the dry ingredients from the food processor into the bowl along with the chopped chocolate. Gently fold everything together with a spatula, this will be closer to biscuit dough in texture, so it may seem dry at first.
3. Empty the mixture onto a floured work surface and fold/knead together if needed. Cut out doughnuts with a floured cutter. You’ll get around 6 standard-sized doughnuts, and scraps can be reused.
Add the frying oil to a medium-sized pot and heat to 375º. Fry each doughnut for about 2 minutes per side, or until puffed, cracked and darkened slightly. Drain and cool the finished doughnuts briefly on a wire rack.
To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and buttermilk in a small bowl. Dip the doughnuts in the glaze and allow it to set up for a few minutes. Enjoy!