Clocks move forward this Sunday. These decadent doughnuts might help your groggy group of weekend guests. If they’re still grumpy with the lost hour of sleep, give them something to read (see below for some awesome weekend reading). Don’t say I don’t take care of you.

Coffee and chocolate are a sexy couple. Don’t they just ooze charm? I was at Toronto’s SOMA chocolatiers recently and scooped up some of their dark chocolate for baking. Whipped into a shiny ganache draped over these baked (no need to fry in oil) doughnuts, that chocolate upped the ante on this baking project.* Doughnut purists might miss the crispy exterior of the fried variety, but the ganache will win them over. Mocha always delivers.

Mocha Doughnuts

Makes 6 large, or 8 medium doughnuts

What you need:

for doughnuts:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

for chocolate glaze:

• 3 oz bittersweet good quality chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon cream (whatever you have handy)
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup

What you do:

1. Preheat oven the 350Ⓕ. Spray doughnut pan with cooking spray.  For these, I used Canola baking spray with flour.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.
3. Whisk egg, cooled melted butter, buttermilk, sour cream, coffee powder, vanilla, and brown sugar together until dissolved.
4. Dump the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula to blend.
5. Spoon batter into doughnut pans. Fill to top for 6 large or half for 8 medium.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until doughnut feels firm but slightly springy when touched.
7. Cool on baking rack.
8. Make ganache: in top of double boiler, melt all glaze ingredients together over medium heat. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk until shiny.  Pour into bowl.
9. Dip the top of each cooled doughnut into the ganache and place on rack until dry, about ten minutes. Serve immediately, or keep under a cake dome for a day. I like to serve my doughnuts fresh so these are best served on the day they are made.

*My favourite doughnuts are still the most basic of the brand: the cinnamon sugar glazed variety featured in my cookbook, with love and sugar.

ORDER via email at annehome1@rogers.com

Weekend Reads:

March Break in Toronto. No whining allowed.

This Toronto Zadie Smith event sold out in 30 minutes. Fans quibble over which book they love best: here’s her latest.  Read why those of us who love this author can be wrapped up entirely in just one of her sentences.

Made me cry. 97-year-old twins leave world as they entered it

My kids attempt to keep me updated but this interactive list is fine too 25 Songs that tell us where music is going

Then again, there’s this very cool new visual language for music. There’s hope for us all.

HAPPY WEEKEND!