How to Make Tim Hortons Chocolate Glazed Donut?

Most people know Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme, but not as many people have heard of Tim Hortons. Did you know that Tim Hortons is a restaurant chain that began in Canada and now has restaurants in fourteen countries across the world?

How they make their donuts is a secret. However, for this article, we have sourced recipes for chocolate glazed donuts in the style of Tim Hortons. Read on to learn more about Tim Hortons and how to make chocolate glazed donuts.

How it all began

The Canadian restaurant chain is known for its coffee, donuts, and a connection to one of Canada’s favorite sports: ice hockey. It was founded by Tim Horton, a defender for the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team together with a business owner from Montreal, Jim Charade. Their first donut shop opened in Hamilton, Ontario in April 1964 and is still in operation.

A year earlier, the two partners had also opened four restaurants serving burgers and chicken. However, the burger and chicken restaurants struggled and Charade decided the future was in donuts and franchising restaurants.

A new partnership

The partnership between Horton and Charade was short-lived and in 1966, Charade’s share was sold to Ron Joyce, a police officer, for $12,000. The new partners began expanding the chain and by 1967 had three stores in Hamilton and one in Waterloo, Ontario.

Despite the expanding restaurant business, Horton couldn’t stop playing hockey. He needed his salary to finance the donut business because at the time, the restaurants were spending more than they were making. Horton used part of his salary to keep the restaurants going and another part to pay his partner Joyce to run the business.

Big mergers

In 1995, Joyce sold the company to Wendy’s, an American fast-food chain. Merging with an American company meant better opportunities to expand in the United States. This partnership ended in 2006. By this time, Tim Hortons had become the largest fast-food chain in Canada, overtaking McDonald’s in sales in 2002.

Today, the company is owned by a Brazilian company 3G Capital which also owns Burger King. Despite being owned by a foreign company, Tim Hortons outlets have kept their Canadian feel and the company is still a Canadian cultural phenomenon.

You can read a more in-depth history of the donut restaurant chain on the Canadian Encyclopedia website.

Tim Hortons’ work to support children

In 1974, Lori Horton and Ron Joyce created the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation and the Timbits Minor Sports Program in honor of Horton’s memory. The goal of the foundation was to fund children from low-income families so they could have a camp experience.

The charity receives money from Tim Hortons, the franchisees, and members of the public. Every year, on the first Wednesday of June, the restaurant has ”Camp Day” when all the money from coffee sales is donated to the foundation. The children who receive places are nominated by local schools and community organizations.

If you are interested in learning more about the charity and how it is helping children from low-income families, you can find more information here.

They said that the company’s support for sports and treats such as Timbits were counter-productive, as children would consume more calories in treats than they would burn during the rewarded activity.

In the past, there have been issues regarding the sustainability of the company, but Tim Hortons has been quick to address these. You can find out more about what the company is doing to reduce its carbon footprint here.

What do you need to make chocolate glazed donuts?

As we mentioned earlier, the exact recipe for the donuts is a guarded company secret. However, the recipe we are sharing with you, from Maritime Glutton, makes donuts that are just like Tim Hortons. It is a quick recipe with just five minutes to prepare and eight minutes to bake, and it makes twelve donuts.

The ingredients you need to make the donuts

• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• ½ cup White Sugar
• ⅓ cup Cocoa Powder
• ½ teaspoon Table Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ⅓ cup Sour Cream
• 1 Large Egg
• ¼ cup Canola Oil
• 5 tablespoons Milk
• 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

The ingredients you need to make the vanilla glaze

• 1 ½ cups Icing Sugar
• ¼ cup Milk 2%
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Step-by-step instructions to make chocolate glazed donuts Tim Hortons style

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Prepare two donut pans for six donuts each by greasing them with neutral oil or butter. Get two bowls ready to prepare the donut dough.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir until properly mixed.
3. In a different bowl, combine all the wet ingredients. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with all the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
5. Use a spoon to divide the batter equally between the donut molds. It will take about 1½ tablespoons for each mold. Alternatively, you can use a large freezer bag to pipe the batter into the molds. Just spoon all the batter into the bag, cut out one corner and squeeze the batter into the molds.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. When the donuts are cooked, they should spring back when touched. You can also use a toothpick to check. Insert it into a donut and when you pull it out, it should be completely clean if the donuts are ready.
7. Leave the donuts to cool while you make the glaze. Put the icing sugar, milk, and vanilla extract into a bowl and mix well until slightly runny.
8. When your donuts are almost cooled, and your glaze is ready, dunk them into the glaze covering both sides of the donut. Let the glaze set, this will take about five minutes, and serve.

Key nutritional values for these donuts

• 204kcal calories
• 2g protein
• 7g fat
• 24g sugar
• 79mg potassium
• 1g fiber
• 47mg calcium

What other recipes are there for glazed chocolate donuts?

This recipe from Food.com is not for anyone on a strict diet regime. In this recipe, the donuts are deep-fried rather than baked and there is chocolate, whipping cream, and butter in the glaze. You can find the full recipe and instructions here.

For a less decadent alternative, we recommend this recipe from Basics with Bails. It is a gluten-free and dairy-free recipe.

Conclusion

For many of us, it might not be possible to taste the original chocolate glazed donuts from Tim Hortons unless we live in or visit the countries where the company has restaurants. The good news is that with the recipes we have shared in this article, you can replicate the taste at home.

If you would like to ask us any questions about the chocolate glazed donuts Tim Hortons style, you can write them in the comments section. However, take a look at the frequently asked questions first as you might find the answer is already there.

FAQ

Is it better to bake or deep-fry the chocolate donuts?

Baking your donuts is the healthier option as the oils from deep-frying will add more calories and fat. However, there are some people who prefer the texture of baked donuts as they tend to be crispier on the outside.

My donuts are burnt on the top but still gooey inside? How do I fix this?

This might be because ovens vary. In theory, 400°F should give you exactly the same result in all ovens, but that’s not always the case. Some ovens, especially as they get older, might cook them too fast from the outside. Try reducing the temperature of your oven.

The same applies if you have a fan-assisted oven. If you are baking your donuts in a fan-assisted oven, turn the temperature down about 20 degrees.

How many calories are there in an original Tim Hortons chocolate glazed donut?

The chocolate glazed donuts from the restaurant have 280 calories. For more nutritional information on them, visit Fatsecret.

Which is better, Tim Hortons or Krispy Kreme?

That comes down to personal preference. But to get one viewpoint of how donuts from these two companies compare, you can watch this YouTube video.

Which countries can you find Tim Hortons restaurants?

At the moment, the chain has over 5,100 restaurants across thirteen countries other than Canada. The countries are The United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China, Philippines, United Kingdom, Mexico, Thailand, Qatar, Oman, Spain, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The company is also planning to open restaurants in India in the near future.

The majority of the restaurants are in Canada where you can find around 4,000 Tim Hortons across the country. The United States has the most restaurants outside Canada, with approximately 500 outlets.