Chocolate Peppermint Christmas Donuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease four to five 6 cup donut pans with softened butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powders, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light & fluffy.

Mixing on low speed, add the eggs one a time. Scrape down the bowl and mix in the vanilla and peppermint extract.

Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the sour cream and oil, then the remaining dry ingredients until just combined. Scrape down the bowl to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the prepared donut pan, filling each about ⅔ full. Bake the donuts for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the donuts to cool completely in the pan before removing.

In a small saucepan, place the heavy cream over low-medium heat. Stir frequently with a rubber spatula, and bring to simmer, or about 190 degrees F (85 degrees C).

Remove the pan from heat and add the chocolate. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can use a rubber spatula to gently combine them. However, I highly recommend using an immersion blender, as it effectively combines the heavy cream and chocolate without over-mixing or aggravating them.

Immediately dip 8 donuts in the ganache, then in Christmas sprinkles to coat.

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth.

Pour half of the glaze into a separate bowl. Set aside.

Dip 8 donuts in the plain vanilla glaze and top them with candy cane pieces and/or snowflake sprinkles.

To the second bowl of vanilla glaze, remove a couple tablespoons and place in a small bowl. Color the bigger bowl of glaze red, and the smaller one green. Transfer the green glaze to a piping bag and snip the end off.

Dip 8 donuts in the red glaze, and drizzle the green glaze on top.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar and mix on low speed until fully combined. Once all of the powdered sugar is added, continue beating on low speed until no more lumps or pockets of air remain and the frosting is smooth.

Add a few drops of green food coloring gel, and mix until fully combined.

Transfer the cream cheese frosting to a piping bag with a small star tip.

Pipe the frosting onto 8 donuts and add holly sprinkles, if desired.