1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a donut pan* and set aside. Melt the butter in the microwave and let cool down again.

 

2. Add the melted butter and sugar to a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and egg and mix until well combined. Add half of the buttermilk and mix in. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a second bowl to combine, then add together with the remaining buttermilk to the bowl and mix until just combined. Add the chopped almonds and fold in. Fill the donut molds until they are almost full and bake for 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the donuts comes out clean. Take out of the oven, let cool in the pan for some time, then remove and let cool down completely on a wire rack. Clean and grease the pan and repeat with remaining dough to get more donuts.

 

3. Chop or crush the chocolate candy (e.g. KitKat, Snickers, Maltesers), chocolate, salted pretzels, nuts and/or cookies and mix in a bowl. Cover the top and sides of the donuts with caramel and then press them into the chocolate candy mixture or sprinkle it on top – you want as much as possible sticking to the donuts. Set aside so the caramel can dry a bit. It will still be a bit of a mess eating the donuts ;)