Description
This is the perfect Valentine’s Day recipe: delicious red velvet Nutella donuts, but heart-shaped!
Ingredients
DOUGH:
- ½ cup (130ml) milk
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ – ½ a tsp of Red food coloring paste
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder, non-alkaline
- 2 1/3 cup (280g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp, 40 g unsalted butter, room temperature
FRY
- Enough to cover ¾ parts of the frying pan
COATING
- ½ cup, 100g granulated sugar, it will not be used all of it, it’s too easy to coat the donuts with no issues
- 2 tbsp dried strawberries, optional
FILLING
- 2/3 cup, 200g Nutella
Instructions
- To prepare delicious red velvet donuts, we start by making the sponge first. Warm up ½ a cup (130ml) of milk until lukewarm; make sure it’s not too hot, as it would kill the yeast, or too cold, as the yeast would not activate. In a large mixing bowl or the stand mixer bowl, add the milk, 2 tsp of active dry yeast, and 1 tbsp of granulated sugar. Stir to combine, then rest for 10-15 minutes. After 15 minutes, it should be foamy on top.
- To the foamy ready mixture, add 1 egg, ¼ tsp to ½ tsp of red food coloring paste, 1 tbsp of white vinegar, 1 tbsp of cocoa powder, 2 1/3 cups, 280g all-purpose flour, ¼ cup, 50g granulated sugar, and ¼ tsp of salt. Knead this mixture for 18 minutes at speed 1, low speed, using the dough hook attachment.
- After 18 minutes, add the room-temperature butter, cut into cubes. Knead for 10 more minutes. The dough should look glossy and smooth to the touch. Proof the dough for 1h and 30 minutes to 2 hours at 82°F (28 °C). The dough should double in size.
- Roll out the dough on a slightly floured surface. Using a heart cookie cutter, cut hearts, making sure you cut them close to each other so we use as much dough as we can from this first time. Whatever is leftover dough, roll it into a ball and repeat the process. I normally just break this dough into pieces as it turns a little tougher to work with.
- Proof again in a prepared tray with parchment paper, make sure to leave distance between them. Proof at a temperature of 82°F (28°C) for 30 minutes.
- Warm up the oil to 356°F (180°C). You can use a food thermometer to control the temperature. Fry the donuts, making sure not to overfill the pot, as the oil would drop in temperature. A donut should reach an internal temperature of 194°F (90°C) to be done. It takes about 2 minutes on each side. After cooking in the oil, drain the excess oil, placing them on top of a cooling rack with a tray under to collect the oil.
- In a big tray, combine ½ a cup (100g) of granulated sugar with 2 tbsp dried strawberries. Grab the donuts carefully and put them on the sugar tray. And cover them with sugar so they’re fully coated.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a tip with 2/3 cup (200g) of slightly melted Nutella, and fill each donut generously.