Chocolate sprinkle doughnuts

A luscious shiny glaze and the crunch of homemade sprinkles on top of a fluffy light doughnut, you won't be able to stop at one. Mmmmmm. We made chocolate flavoured sprinkles but you can create sprinkles in plain white or colours to suit whatever it is your making. You will need to start at least 24 hours before you need to use them. If you’re concerned about artificial colours, try naturally colouring the sprinkles with beetroot, spinach or carrot juice.

Chocolate sprinkle doughnuts Credit: Petrina Tinslay

• makes

  12

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 3 tsp instant dry yeast
• 2 cups plain flour and a little extra for rolling
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅔ cup warm milk
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 60 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 1 quantity Dutch cocoa glaze
• 1 quantity chocolate sprinkles

Dutch cocoa glaze

• 2 cups sifted icing sugar
• ½ cup Dutch cocoa powder
• ¼ cup milk or water
• 1 tsp pure vanilla essence

Chocolate sprinkles

• 1 cup royal icing mix (available at the supermarket or specialty cake decorating stores)
• ¼ cup Dutch cocoa
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp water

Proving time 1½ hours

Chocolate sprinkles setting time overnight

Instructions

To make the chocolate sprinkles, sift the royal icing mixture and cocoa into a bowl. Add the vanilla and then the water a little at a time until you reach a piping consistency. Place the icing mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain, fine nozzle. Line a baking tray with paper, pipe lines of icing the length of the tray. The easiest way to get them straight is to touch the icing nozzle onto the baking paper, squeeze out the icing and then lift it up and along the length of the tray, let the icing fall onto the tray in a straight line. Stop squeezing at the end of the tray and the icing will fall away from the nozzle. Allow to dry for 24 hours and then break into the required lengths, short or long, whatever takes your fancy.

To make the Dutch cocoa glaze, sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a mixing bowl; gradually add the combined milk and vanilla essence. Beat well to a smooth consistency. Use as required. If the icing is allowed to stand for too long it may harden, add a little more milk and beat again until smooth.

To make the doughnuts, place the yeast, flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and gently mix to combine. Add the milk and eggs and beat to form a soft dough. With the mixer running drop in the butter, a few cubes at a time and beat until all of the butter has been added and is well combined into the yeast dough. The dough will be soft but should not be so sticky that you can’t roll it out.

Remove the dough from the mixer and place into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and allow the dough to prove in a warm place for 45 minutes or until it has doubled in size. The dough can be allowed to stand overnight in the refrigerator and you can make fresh doughnuts to order in the morning! The refrigerator slows the proving process.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured bench and give it a gentle knead. Roll out to 1½ cm thickness and cut approximately 12 rounds of dough with a 7 cm cutter. Then using a 2 cm cutter, cut the holes out of the doughnuts. Gently reroll the excess and cut out more doughnuts. Place onto a tray lined with baking paper, cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 45minutes or until they have doubled in size.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large open pot, I find a wok works well, to 180˚C. Carefully lower the doughnuts into the oil and fry for 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown.

Using a slotted spoon lift the doughnuts from the hot oil, drain on absorbent paper. Place onto a cake cooler lined with baking paper.

Once cool dip the doughnuts half way into the chocolate glaze and then turn glaze side up and top with the Chocolate sprinkles.

Allow the glaze to set and then serve. These will keep for a day but best eaten the day they are made.

Photography by Petrina Tinslay, styling by David Morgan and art direction by Anne Marie Cummins.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.