Coating the doughnuts in melted butter and sugar helps to give them that delicious, deep-fried flavour. You can swap the hazelnut butter for any nut butter, or leave it out, if you prefer.
Preheat air fryer to 140°C. Place the doughnuts in the air fryer basket, spacing 3cm apart (you will need to cook them in batches). Cook for 15min, or until golden and puffed. Transfer to a wire rack. Cook remaining doughnuts. Complete recipe to serve.
See the tip box for instructions on how to air fry these delicious chocolatedoughnuts!
Step 1For the doughnuts, in a small pan heat the milk and butter, stirring until the butter melts. Set aside to cool until tepid.
Step 2In the bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, eggs, cooled milk mixture and a pinch of fine salt. Knead on low-medium speed for 8-10min, until springy, glossy and slightly sticky. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 2hr, or until doubled in size.
Step 3Meanwhile, make the filling (see GH TIP). Melt the chocolate, cream and hazelnut butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Once combined and smooth, remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool completely. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a piping bag fitted with a 5mm plain nozzle. Set aside until needed.
Step 4Once the dough has risen, line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces (weigh for best results), roll each portion into a ball and space apart on the lined sheet. Loosely cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise again in a warm place for 30min, or until visibly puffed.
Step 5Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Brush the top of the doughnuts with the oil and bake for 20min, until puffed and lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 6Working 1 doughnut at a time, use a skewer to poke a hole into the centre through the side. Push the piping nozzle into the hole and squeeze in about 1/10 of the chocolate filling. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and filling.
Step 7For the coating, empty the melted butter and sugar into separate medium bowls. Dip the doughnuts first into the melted butter, then gently roll in the sugar to coat. Serve.
TO STORE:
Best eaten on the day of baking. Keep any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a day.
GH TIP:
For a cheat’s filling, in a small pan melt 100g chocolate hazelnut spread and 2tbsp double cream. Set aside to cool completely, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 5mm plain nozzle.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
