Tim Horton's Style Chocolate Cake Doughnuts

DIRECTIONS

• In a bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, buttermilk, and melted butter to blend. Stir into dry ingredients until well blended. Chill until cold, at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
• Scrape dough onto a generously floured surface. With floured hands, pat dough out to about 1/2 inch thick. With a 3-inch doughnut cutter, cut out doughnuts. Pat together scraps of dough and cut again. (Alternately, shape dough into ropes about 5 inches long and 1/2 inch thick; join rope ends to form doughnuts.) Place doughnuts on a well-floured baking sheet.
• Meanwhile, fill an electric deep-fryer to the fill line or pour about 4 inches of oil into a 5- to 6-quart pan; heat to 375°F Place one doughnut at a time onto a wide spatula and gently slide into oil, frying up to three at a time. Cook, turning once, until puffy and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes total (to check timing, cut first one to test). With a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Repeat to fry remaining doughnuts.
• When cool enough to handle, dip the top half of each doughnut in warm mocha glaze and place on a plate. Let stand until glaze is set, about 5 minutes.
• Mocha Glaze - In a heatproof bowl, combine 6 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate, 1/2 cup whipping cream, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 teaspoons corn syrup, and 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder. Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a pan; remove from heat. Place bowl over water and let stand, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 10 minutes.