Dark Chocolate Cake Doughnuts with Chocolate Ganache Topping

A good friends birthday is this week and she happens to like chocolate..... a lot. We usually go out to lunch and then give the other person a small gift. This year my gift is these homemade baked chocolate doughnuts. I've been thinking about these little gems for a few months now, or at least the idea of them. I received a nonstick doughnut baking pan for Christmas and have been waiting for a good excuse to use them. These doughnuts are really fun to make. I used two different recipes to complete this. The chocolate doughnut part came from the "Shutterbean.com" website and the chocolate ganache topping came from the "Around My French Table" cookbook by Dorie Greenspan. Happy Birthday my wise friend.

Ingredients:

Base for the doughnuts:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bittersweet Ganache Topping:

1/4 pound Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter divided

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly butter non-stick doughnut pan.

In a large bowl whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk, sugar, egg, butter and vanilla until smooth.

Add milk mixture to flour mixture, whisk until just blended and smooth.

Spoon mixture into prepared doughnut molds approx 2/3 full. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes until doughnuts spring back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan, then carefully turn out on rack to cool.

To make ganache topping put chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Then pour it over the chocolate chips. Let the mixture sit for 30 seconds or so, then with a whisk or spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream together. The best way to do this is to stir in small circles, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way out in increasingly larger circles. Stir gently, and when the ganache is smooth and shiny stir in the butter, piece by piece.

Dip cooled doughnuts into chocolate sauce and allow excess to dip back into bowl. Transfer to rack and coat with salted peanuts or leave plain. Enjoy!