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To make jelly doughnuts, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke a hole three quarters of the way into each doughnut. Gently move it around to create a nice-size cavern for the jam. Put the jam in a pastry bag fitted with a plain decorating tip. Insert the tip into the doughnut and fill it until it feels heavy. Repeat with the rest of the doughnuts. Dip these in the glaze as well.

Doughnut Glaze

Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl until a smooth glaze is formed. Keep covered until ready to use.

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons honey

Grated zest of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons whole milk

Photographs by Sara Remington

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Chocolate Bundt Cake

In her years as a young pastry cook, Michelle made a devil’s food cake under every chef she ever worked for—and each one of them had a different opinion about what makes a cake good. One thing they all believe in, though, is using Dutch-process cocoa powder. One of the best is Valrhona cocoa powder, which is wonderfully dark and rich. After many trials, Michelle decided that she likes a very thin layer of frosting and mostly cake.

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1 ¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon

brewed coffee

¾ cup Dutch-process

cocoa powder

2 ¼ cups sugar

1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt

2 ½ teaspoons baking soda

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

1 ¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon

buttermilk

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons rice bran

oil or canola oil

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons

all-purpose flour, sifted

FOR THE ICING:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

¾ cup unsalted butter

2 cups powdered sugar

½ cup sour cream, at

room temperature

¼ cup brewed coffee, cooled (used for Bundt cake only)

Makes one 10-inch Bundt cake or two 9-inch cakes to be layered and iced

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Use the 1 tablespoon butter to thoroughly butter a 10-inch Bundt cake pan, using your fingertips to get into all the ridges. Set it aside. If making a layer cake, butter two 9-inch pans and set them aside.

To make the cake batter: Put the coffee and cocoa powder in a small saucepan and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

In an electric mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment, mix together the sugar, salt, baking soda, eggs, and egg yolk on low speed until well combined, 30 seconds. Add the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract, and mix for another 30 seconds. Add the flour and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the cooled cocoa mixture and mix on high speed for 3 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan(s) and bake for 1 hour (35 minutes if making cake layers). Let the cake cool completely in the pan. Remove the cake from the pan by inverting it onto a cooling rack.

To make the icing: Chop the chocolate into small pieces, put them in a heatproof bowl (or a double boiler), and set the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Remove the bowl from the heat when all the chocolate pieces have melted. Melt the butter in a separate pan, pour it over the melted chocolate, and whisk by hand to incorporate. Sift half of the powdered sugar right into the chocolate mixture, and whisk to combine. Add the sour cream and whisk to combine. Then sift in the remaining powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. The icing should be thick and shiny. Add the coffee and whisk to create a glossy glaze. Pour the glaze over the Bundt cake, covering it completely. Leave it at room temperature until ready to serve.

If you are making a layer cake, omit the coffee when preparing the icing and let the icing sit at room temperature for 2 hours, until it thickens to the consistency of soft cream cheese. To assemble the cake, spread about ½ cup of the frosting evenly over the first layer and top with the second layer. Frost the top and sides of the layer cake with the remaining icing. Leave