NOCCIOLATA (OR NUTELLA) DONUTS
Notes: I’ve made brioche donuts several times and they are delicious, but these eggless ones are lighter and rival them in taste. Instead of using high protein bread flour (traditionally used in brioche dough) I use AP flour; with its lower protein content the dough will form slightly less gluten, which will help keep the donuts light. You might think no eggs means less flavor, but not true. The liquid from the eggs is replaced with milk, water, and yogurt and as the dough proofs the flavor develops into something so delightful it’s almost surprising. As for the filling you could just inject some softened chocolate hazelnut spread and the donuts would be almost perfect, but it’s even better lightened with some whipped heavy cream and vanilla. Everyone has heard of Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread, but it’s ritzier cousin is Nocciolata brand spread, available in an organic, dark chocolate version. The flavor of Nocciolata is both more intense in hazelnut and chocolate flavors and doesn’t use palm oil (like Nutella), which is another plus. I used to love eating donuts when I was younger, but now that I’m older the ones in stores are often not worth the calories. The old fry oil, crazy amounts of sugar, and overall crappy quality ingredients often don’t justify it. But now that I can make these yeasty pillows bursting with chocolate hazelnut cream they are a treat worth the occasional effort.
You can get Nocciolata at most grocery stores these days. I’ll try making a vegan version of this recipe soon and if it works out I’ll post that one too.
Special Equipment:
Digital kitchen scale with a good weight range and relatively accurate/precise at lower weights.
The scale I have is a great balance of quality and price at ~$50 (not sponsored): OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Stainless Steel Kitchen Scale with Pull-Out Display
Temperature controlled fryer or large heavy bottomed pan with thermometer
A fryer is great because you don’t have to regulate the temperature yourself. If you want to use the same portable fryer I have it’s user friendly and relatively inexpensive at ~$70 (not sponsored): Hamilton Beach Electric Deep Fryer with 3 Baskets and Lid, 4.5 Liters
Stand mixer with dough hook attachment (you can also knead the dough by hand, but it’s a lot of kneading)
Large sieve for dry ingredients
Fine mesh sieve for powdered sugar
Total Time: 4-5 hrs
Ingredients:
Dough:
12 g instant dry yeast
120 mL milk (Lukewarm)
150 mL water (Lukewarm)
80 g powdered sugar
530 g AP flour
12 g salt (I used pink Himalayan, kosher is also fine)
120 g full fat yogurt, plain
60 g unsalted butter (Softened)
Chocolate Hazelnut Filling:
130-140 g chocolate hazelnut spread (I used Nocciolata spread (organic, dark chocolate version, but Nutella works too).
1 and 1/2 cup Heavy whipping cream (Cold)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Garnish:
Powdered sugar to taste
Directions:
Dough:
In a small bowl or glass measuring cup add milk, water and 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar from the sugar measured for the dough, stir well to dissolve then add the yeast and whisk in then cover and set aside for 5-10 minutes as the yeast comes to life.
In a large bowl sieve in the flour, remaining powdered sugar and salt, mix well.
Now add the yogurt and mix to incorporate. The dough will become a little lumpy at this point.
Pour in the milk, water and yeast mixture into the flour and mix with the dough hook attachment until fully incorporated. Once incorporated the dough texture will be sticky. Turn the mixer back on and keep kneading it with the dough attachment for another approximately another 5-8 mins until it’s no longer sticky.
Next add the softened unsalted butter in two portions. Let the first portion fully incorporate before adding the second. Once all the butter is incorporated keep the mixer going for another 10-12 minutes on medium-high speed until it becomes super smooth, stretchy, and pliable. At this point you can try the window pane test: Pinch and slowly pull up a piece of the the dough between your fingers and stretch it slowly to see if you can form a somewhat translucent “window pane” of dough without the dough tearing. If you can form this windown without tearing the dough is ready for proofing
Fold/form the dough into a rough ball at the bottom of the mixing bowl and lightly drizzle on some neutral oil and spread it over the surface with your fingers. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and/or a slightly damp tea towel. Place the bowl in a warm corner of the kitchen (ideally ~75-77 degrees) & let the dough proof until it doubles in size. This will take ~1.5 hours.
After it has doubled in size, punch down and deflate the bulk proofed dough and transfer it to a clean countertop to shape into balls. I always first weigh the entire dough mass to decide how much each donut should weigh. I didn’t want gigantic donuts so I decided to make 14 equally sized donuts with this recipe. This means each donut should weigh ~76 g each. I recommend that you also weigh your dough first and divide by 14 to make sure that’s the right weight to aim for in case your scale is not calibrated the same as mine.
Take a 76 g portion, and stretch out and roughly flatten it with your hands, then pull in the edges to form a dumpling shape where you pinch them shut. Flip the dough over and roll it on the counter seam side down until you get a smooth, round ball. Do that 13 more times.
Place all the shaped donuts on individually cut parchment paper squares and cover with a lightly damp cloth. If the room temp is cooler than 72 F find an area that is slightly warmer or use a proofer set anywhere in the range of 75-78 F. Let the donuts rise again for 45-60 mins, this is the final (shaped) proof or second rise.
Bring neutral, high smoke point cooking oil (e.g., canola oil) to 350 F ( 175 C). Carefully drop each donut in the hot oil using the parchment square. Fry 3-4 donuts at once, aiming not to overcrowd the fryer or pot. Let them fry for ~2 mins then flip once the first side turns light golden brown. Fry for another 1-2 mins on the second side. Transfer the donuts to a wire rack or baking sheet lined with paper towels to cool room temperature.
Filling and Garnish:
While they’re cooling prepare the nutella or nocciolata filling. Whip the cold heavy cream until you get stiff peaks. Although it’s not necessary to separately whip the chocolate hazelnut spread I recommend this to help soften and smooth it. Then add the chocolate hazelnut spread and vanilla bean paste to the whipped cream and beat until fully incorporated. Place the filling in the fridge until the donuts are cooled.
When the donuts have cooled you can pipe the filling in using a sharp piping tip.
Right before serving dust the tops with powdered sugar.
Make someone’s day with these pillowy, yeasty, chocolatey dreams.