Doughtnuts are such a yummy treat, but we don’t really eat them too often! Once in a while we will go to Dunkin Donuts and grab some donuts, but I’ve always wanted to make them at home! These donuts are soft, not too sweet, slightly chewy, and filled with a chocolate hazelnut filling. They are divine.
After about 5 trials and errors, I FINALLY got these right.. and they were so worth the effort! Once I got the perfect recipe, they were so easy to make. Certainly they take some time, patience, and a full day.. but they are so worth it!
YEAST- RAISE DONUTS
Yeast-raised donuts are very nostalgic to me. Cake donuts are great too, but there is nothing like a soft, pillowy, yeast donut! The dough for the donut almost starts out like a bread, but isn’t kneaded as much so it stays nice and pillowy! When you pull apart these yeast donuts, they are fluffy and delish! I DID try to bake these, and they came out delicious, but not quite as soft and pillowy, so I did end up frying them. We try to stay away from seed oils, so I opted to fry them in avocado oil. Avocado oil is definitely more pricey, but you can get a good deal on amazon here.
INGREDIENTS FOR YEAST-RAISED DONUTS
Organic, Unbleached All-Purpose Flour. I used King Arthur which you can find here.
Rapid-Rise or Instant Yeast. I prefer Rapid-Rise because it is highly active so your donuts rise super fast! I use this brand here.
Whole Milk. Full-fat, whole milk adds extra richness to the dough. If you only have low-fat or fat-free, that will be fine too.
Eggs. Eggs bind and add texture to the dough. I used about 2 medium eggs for this recipe.
Salted Butter. I ALWAYS use salted butter for my recipes. Extra salt never hurt any sweet recipe! 🙂
Organic White Sugar. This is a treat, and good donuts require white sugar for proper yeast activation.
Sea Salt. I always use sea salt in my recipes! Any salt will be fine, as long as they aren’t big flakes.
OK, OK, Without further Adieu.. the recipe!
Chocolate Hazelunut Filled Heart Doughnuts
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer With Dough Hook (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 packet Rapid-Rise Yeast about 2.5 tsp
- 2 tbsp warm water temperature should be between 105°-115° F
- 1 tsp organic sugar
- 3 ⅛ cup organic AP flour
- 1 cup organic, whole milk warmed to 105°F
- 3 tbsp salted butter room temperature
- 3 egg yolks I use medium eggs
- 3 tbsp organic white sugar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup ChocZero Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread or your favorite spread.
Instructions
- Proof yeast by stirring the warm water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Leave to rise and bubble for about 5 minutes before using. If yeast does not foam or bubble, it is no longer active and should be discarded.
- Heat milk and butter in a microwave- safe bowl for about 40 seconds, or until the milk and butter has reached about 110°F (use a thermometer)
- In your stand mixer with the dough hook, combine all yeast mixture, milk mixture, and all remaining ingredients and mix on low until it all comes together. If dough is still quite sticky, add 1/4 cup more flour.
- Knead on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is tacky to the tourch. Do not continue kneading past this point or the donuts will become like bread.
- In a large greased bowl, add the dough and cover with a clean towel. Trasnfer to a warm location. I like to heat the oven to 250°F, then turn it off. This provides the perfect location for your dough to rise.
- After dough has tripled in size, punch dough down and transfer dough onto a floured surface.
- Roll dough until about 1/2" thick. Use a heart-shaped (or circle) cookie cutter to cut out donuts. Transfer each donut carefully to a large parchment lined sheet pan. Cover with a clean towel, then transfer to a warmed oven to rise again, this should take about 45-60 minutes.
- In a dutch oven, add oil and heat until 350°F. Use a candy thermometer to keep track of the temperature and keep it consistent.
- Fry donuts 1-2 minutes per side or until each side is golden brown, then flip.
- Use a large slotted spoon to transfer the donuts to a cooling rack.
- While they're still warm, coat with sugar if desired.
- Fill with Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread. We like ChocZero, which contains no sugar.
