Double Chocolate Donuts with Raspberry Glaze & Pomegranate Salt

Do you know what the sweetest type of food is? Food that’s made with love. When every ingredient is saturated with wholesomeness, when every step is done with care- brown the butter, crystalize the sugar, sear until crispy- that’s when food tastes good.
Sometimes I lose sight of that objective. It becomes about perfection, and while yes, the end results are the ultimate goal, my hurried rush towards the end sometimes results in lack of care during the process.
So this Valentine’s Day, I’m putting passion back into my technique, and remembering why I do this. I do this because I love it. Because I love giving treats to the people around me. And because the process is just as much fun as eating the results is.
These donuts are made with care and they taste it, too. Double the chocolate = double the richness, buttermilk = fluffy, fluffy, fluffy and coffee magically brightens and enhances the chocolate. The glaze is made from freshly muddled raspberries (naturally dyed, because you deserve the best) that add a hint of tart flavor, and the sea salt, carefully stained with fresh pomegranate juice, evens out the sweetness.
Come, have a donut. Bake some donuts for your loved ones, and don’t forget to put your love for them into everything you do, every step of the way. Because love, and donuts, are what it’s all about.

Yield: around 10 donuts

Why I love this recipe: buttermilk makes these donuts super moist and fluffy, while the coffee, in addition to the cocoa and grated chocolate, makes these as decadent as possible. Raspberries are a great natural pink dye for the glaze, adding just a hint of tartness, and the pomegranate salt perfectly balances out the sweet glaze and donut.

For the donuts: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder, dissolved in a drop of hot water
• 3 tablespoons grated chocolate

For the glaze: 

• 1/4 cup raspberries, muddled and juice strained
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 cup hot water

For the pomegranate salt/topping (inspired by Top With Cinnamon)

• maldon sea salt (or other flaky salt)
• pomegranate arils
• chocolate, for grating

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a doughnut baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, espresso, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together until all of the ingredients are well combined. Add the grated chocolate; combine.
5. Use a spoon to portion batter into the prepared doughnut pan, filling each doughnut mold about two-thirds full.
6. Bake doughnuts for 11 to 13 minutes. Remove from the oven.  Allow to rest for five minutes before inverting doughnuts onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cool completely before glazing.
7. Make pomegranate salt: squeeze some juice from the pomegranate arils over the salt and mix until stained pink. Set aside until needed.
8. Make the glaze: in a medium bowl whisk together powdered sugar, water and strained raspberry juice. Use only enough raspberry juice to get the color you want in your glaze. (You may need more or less water, depending on the consistency you want- mine was slightly thin, which I liked.) Whisk to combine, ensuring that there are no lumps.
9. Dip each doughnut into the  glaze. Shake off some of the excess glaze. Return to the wire rack and while the glaze is still wet, grate chocolate over donut. Top with a sprinkling of sea salt.
10. Allow to rest a few moments for the frosting to harden slightly.  These doughnuts are best served within two days of baking.