Today, we will be preparing one of my favorite recipes of the year. Ferrero Rocher donuts. Even after sharing plenty of recipes, this one is probably MY FAVORITE.

Pillowy soft Ferrero-inspired donuts, made with a sweet brioche dough that feels like biting into a cloud, filled with warm Nutella, and covered with a mixture of chopped hazelnut and chocolate. Can it get any better?

We got inspired by our Ferrero Rocher buns and turned them into donuts. While our buns recipe is with cocoa powder for an extra chocolatey flavor, this one is plain donut dough.

What are Ferrero Rocher Donuts

Ferrero Rocher donuts are inspired by the Ferrero Rocher chocolates. The famous chocolates are filled with Nutella, covered in a hazelnut-chocolate mixture, and they are perfectly round. Even though our donuts are not perfectly round and don’t taste exactly like Ferrero Rocher, they are completely inspired by their appearance.

Using our glazed donuts for the base recipe, we modified it slightly to fit this recipe better.

This Ferrero donut recipe will be the one you always go back to.

Temperatures when making donuts

When we make Ferrero Rocher donuts at home, we need to pay attention to the temperatures, from proofing the dough to frying the donuts.

If you proof the dough at a low temperature, it will take longer than it would if fried in a warm environment. If you fry the donuts at a higher temperature than they should, their exterior will burn, and the donut center will be completely raw. But if the temperature is too cold, the donuts will become very, very oily.

Temperature of the milk to activate the yeast: 100F – 110F (38C – 43C)
Ideal proofing temperature: 82 F (28C)
Last 10 minutes: freezer. (optional!)
Frying temperature: 347F – 374F (175C – 190C)
Internal donut temperature when it’s cooked: 190F (88 °C)

Why do we put the dough in the freezer to make donuts?

It’s a completely optional step, but it will be very helpful, especially in the summer. Our donut dough for many recipes, like maple-glazed or Nutella donuts, is very soft, which makes it change shape very quickly just by touching it.

When you freeze the dough for the last 10 minutes, the dough will be better and easier to work with, especially in the summer.

Grab these ingredients

Milk: Needs to be at the perfect temperature to activate the yeast.
Granulated sugar: sweetens the dough.
Active dry yeast: Make sure the yeast is active, not expired or old.
Eggs: room temperature is best.
All-purpose flour: provides structure to the dough; it has the perfect amount so the donuts are fluffy but not too sticky.
Butter: unsalted butter is better to have a good control over the amount of salt that goes into this recipe.
Salt: enhances the flavor of the donut and balances the sweetness, giving you a perfect Rocher donut.
Neutral oil: My preferred choice when frying any donuts, like our vanilla cream donuts, or New Orleans beignets, is using sunflower oil. In my opinion, it’s the best neutral oil you can use.
Nutella: we will use it to fill each one of the donuts.
Milk chocolate: I prefer using Callebaut 823 callets; they melt beautifully and taste amazing. I’ve noticed recently that most chocolates you find in stores lack in quality, and I think the quality of the ingredients matters a lot when baking.
Cocoa butter: it helps melt the chocolate and gives us a thin, shiny coating.
Chopped hazelnuts: you will need them for the coating.

Why does proofing matter when making donuts?

Proofing matters more than you think, not only in donuts but also in recipes like our Nutella brioche or Nutella rolls.

If you skip proofing or under-proof the dough, you will not get good results.

Not proofing the dough gives you a hard rack dough that is impossible to swallow.

Under proofed dough gives you very gummy and chewy donuts.

To achieve the characteristic texture of this soft donut, it’s important that you proof the dough following the times specified on the recipe card.

Safety first!:) How to safely fry donuts at home?

Every donut recipe I share, since last year, I started sharing some safety tips for frying, shared in our strawberry cheesecake donuts, or even pistachio donuts. Safety should always be your priority.

Keep water or inflammable things very far from the stove. If water falls on the oil accidentally, it could possibly cause a fire.
Don’t fry too many things at the same time; the pan will be too filled and the oil could overflow.
Always leave enough distance from the oil to the top of the pan. I have seen accidents because people only leave a 1-finger distance between the edge of the pan and the oil. The minimum bubbling of the oil will cause it to overflow.
Make sure always to pay attention to the oil; you don’t want any accidents.

Stop a flame by turning off the stove and placing a lid on the pan. This should extinguish the fire.

How to achieve a perfect thin coating on our donuts

The perfect trick to having a thin chocolate coating like in our white chocolate coconut cookies is melting the chocolate with cocoa butter, which will give us just a thin layer of chocolate coating instead of a thick layer.

Best tips for homemade donuts

When you knead the dough, it will be sticky; after proofing, it has the perfect consistency. I recommend you don’t add extra flour to the dough; if you do add just one more tbsp, it will become very dense and dry.
Use a stand mixer if possible for kneading.
Proof the dough until it has doubled in size. Underproofing your dough leads to tough donuts.
Control the temperature of the oil for frying. If the oil is too hot, the donuts will burn while keeping a raw interior.
When you place the donuts in the oil, try not to touch them too much, or they will struggle to puff up.

What to do with extra donut dough?

If you prepared this recipe and have some extra dough, you can prepare pistachio donut holes, Biscoff donut holes, or our newest recipe that we will share tomorrow, churro donut bites! Crunchy donuts that you can safely fry without them popping in the oil.

Variations in the coating

I recommend you keep the chocolate couverture; you can choose from dark to milk chocolate.

For the crunch, there are many options you can choose from: chopped hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, peanuts, walnuts…you can even choose caramelized nuts for the extra crunch and sweetness.

Tools you will need to make Ferrero Rocher donuts

Most of the tools are used in our chocolate chip donuts and Biscoff donuts.:)

Stand mixer: fitted with a dough hook attachment.
Pyrex: perfect for the sponge, yeast mixture.
Rolling pin: to roll out the dough.
Round cutter: 3.9 inch – 10 cm size.
Parchment paper: to gently transfer the donuts to the oil.
Large frying pan or fryer: large enough to fry the donuts.
Cooling rack: I recommend you have two, one for draining the oil and another one for chocolate.
Tray: to collect the oil drippings and another one to collect the chocolate.
Saucepan: to gently melt the chocolate.
Silicon spatula: to stir the chocolate.
Slotted spoon: to remove the donuts from the oil.

How to store donuts so they taste fresh ALWAYS

Allow the donuts to fully cool down, place them in a tray lined with parchment paper, freeze for 4 hours, then transfer into a container and freeze for up to 3 months. Whenever you want to enjoy a fresh donut, warm it up in the microwave.

Freezing donuts will always give you the best results, not only with donuts but with cookie dough rolls or brownie rolls, too, for example.

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Ferrero Rocher Donuts