These decadent chocolate filled donuts are such a treat. With the perfect pillowy-soft, yeasted dough fried until golden brown, coated in a cocoa-sugar mixture, then filled with a whipped ganache. Perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft and gooey in the middle, these are a deliciously indulgent dessert.
There’s something so satisfying about taking the time to make bread or sweets like these fried chocolate donuts from scratch. They aren’t difficult to make but they do require some time to rise, so making this a Sunday project is perfect. All in, they can be ready to eat in as little as 2 ½ hours but require only 30-40 minutes of hands-on time.
What’s more, these doughnuts can be baked if you prefer. While they won’t get the crispy golden outside (they’ll be much lighter, like these lemon donuts and softer on the outside), they are just as delicious.
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Ingredients
The ingredients list for these homemade donuts is very simple. All the usual suspects you’d expect in any baking project with the addition of yeast which is used, not only for it’s rising ability, but also for it’s flavour.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Bread flour: While you could use plain flour / all-purpose flour, bread flour is what gives bread products it’s wonderful chewy texture so use that if you can.
- Milk: Whole milk adds moisture and richness to the doughnut dough.
- Yeast: I use instant yeast here. Active dry yeast will work too, with no other changes to this recipe. Yeast is a leavening agent, giving the bread dough rise and making them light and fluffy.
- Sugar: Caster sugar (aka superfine sugar) is used both in the dough and in the coating for the donuts. Don’t use powdered sugar.
- Butter: Unsalted butter adds richness to the dough and the ganache. If you choose to bake your donuts, use a little butter to brush them both before and after they bake.
- Egg: Just one egg here adds richness and texture.
- Cocoa powder: A little cocoa powder in the sugar coating complements the chocolate filling.
- Cinnamon: Because somehow donuts taste more like donuts when there’s cinnamon even just the tiny amount that is in the sugar coating on these chocolate filled doughnuts.
- Cream: You’re after thickened cream, heavy cream or whipping cream. You want a cream that’s 35% fat content so that it whips well.
- Vanilla extract: Just a little added to the ganache intensifies the chocolate flavour. You only need 1 ½ tsp.
- Dark chocolate: I use dark chocolate with 50% cocoa solids for this recipe. You can use darker chocolate but it will have a more bitter flavour and less richness.
How to make chocolate doughnuts
There’s nothing tricky here. Making doughnuts at home is quite straightforward but a stand-mixer is helpful for kneading the dough. It is a soft and tacky dough which translates to soft and fluffy donuts and you may be tempted to add too much flour if you knead by hand. Kneading actually activates the glutens in flour which gives a chewy texture to the finished product so it’s very important. If you do knead the dough by hand, don’t be tempted to add too much extra flour. Stick with the discomfort of sticky dough on your hands and the more you knead, the less sticky it will become.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Activate the yeast
Technically, this step is not required if you use instant yeast. It is required if you use active dry yeast though. The reason I always take this step, even though I use instant yeast is that you can make sure your yeast is actually working before you go and waste a load of flour. Just add it to warm milk and a little sugar and let it sit for a few minutes. If that yeast doesn’t start getting puffy, it’s time to get some new yeast.
2. Make and rise the dough
Add the rest of the ingredients – both dry ingredients and wet ingredients – and knead in the stand mixer for 7-8 minutes (or by hand for 12-15 minutes), until it’s looking mostly smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 45-60 minutes. I use the dough rising setting on my oven.
3. Roll the doughnuts
Once the dough has risen you can roll it out into small balls. This is a great way to make donuts, rather than using a cookie cutter as none of the dough gets wasted. It’s a good idea to weigh the dough, then divide it by 9 and weigh out individual pieces of dough to that weight. This way they’ll all cook evenly in the same time.
I have two rolling methods. The first is the pinching method. Place a piece of dough in your non-dominant hand and pinch the sides into the centre with your other hand over and over until it’s smooth underneath.
The second method is the drag-roll. Place the dough onto a clean surface (not floured or this won’t work). Cup your hands around it and pull the dough towards you, dragging it with your little fingers. Turn and drag a couple of times and you should have a nice round ball.
4. The second rise
Now the balls of dough need to rise again. Place them onto a floured baking tray and cover with a light tea towel. Let them rise in a warm spot again for 45-60 minutes until doubled in size.
5. Make the ganache
While the dough is rising go ahead and make the sugar coating and the chocolate ganache. For the ganache, heat the milk and butter over medium-low heat until steaming hot, then pour over finely chopped chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then stir to a smooth and glossy ganache. If the chocolate is not fully melting, just zap it in the microwave for 15 seconds. Chill the ganache until required.
6. Fry the doughnuts
- Heat about 1 ½ inches of oil in a large, deep saucepan to 180C/350F.
- You really need to use a deep fry thermometer here to keep an eye on the oil temperature. If it’s not kept around the right temperature, the doughnuts will either take too long to fry (making them extra greasy) or the outside will be too dark before the inside is cooked.
- Once the doughnuts go in, you want the temperature to stay between 170-180C/340-350F. I find my portable induction cooktop the best for keeping the temperature stable.
- Fry just 3 donuts at a time so the oil temperature doesn’t drop too much.
- Fry each one for about 2 minutes per side.
- You can use a thermometer inserted into the middle of the donut to check if it’s done. It should read 88C/190F.
7. Coat the chocolate doughnuts
Mix together the sugar, cocoa and cinnamon in a small bowl, then roll the donuts through it to coat the outside.
8. Add the filling
Use an electric beater to whip the ganache for about 1 minute until lightened and softer. Transfer it immediately to a piping bag. Now, use the handle end of a teaspoon to press a hole into each donut and wriggle it around inside to create some space to add the filling. Now just press the piping bag into the hole and squeeze until it is forced out by the filling.
Now, your chocolate filled donuts are done and ready to devour. These donuts are best eaten fresh and best eaten a little warm so that ganache filling goes all gooey.
Tips and tricks
- Use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour and sugar. This is so important in any baking project since a little too much flour, for instance, can make a huge difference in texture and moisture.
- Make sure the dough doubles: The dough needs to double in size to be properly proofed, but also you can’t just leave the dough for hours. Under or over-proofed dough may result in flat doughnuts.
- The dough is a little tacky and it should be. This results in moist and soft chocolate doughnuts. Don’t be tempted to add too much flour.
- Use a thermometer to keep your oil temperature at the right level.
- A thermometer to check the inside temperature of the donuts is really handy too so you know exactly when they’re ready without overcooking them. They should be 88C/190F in the centre when cooked.
- Dough will rise best in a warm environment. Rangehood lights are great, a sunny window in winter or use the dough rising function on your oven.
Variations
Rather than the ganache, you could use a chocolate cream or chocolate custard filling like this chocolate pastry cream or this chocolate cremeux.
You could also opt for a glaze instead of the sugar coating. The chocolate glaze on these chocolate sprinkle donuts is great or you could try the caramel glaze on these caramel donuts.
You can bake these donuts too!
If you prefer not to deep fry, I totally get it. I actually really dislike deep-frying because it can be messy and even dangerous if you aren’t used to it. Baking these chocolate filled doughnuts (before they’re filled) is far less messy and healthier too but it does change the texture a little. They won’t get quite so dark in colour and the outside of the donut won’t be crispy. Still, they taste delicious.
Brush the dough balls with a little melted butter. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and bake the doughnuts on a large baking sheet for about 15 minutes.
Storage
I recommend eating homemade donuts as close to the time they were cooked as possible as they can begin to go stale. If you do have some leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. When you want to eat one, give it a zap in the microwave for 15 seconds. This will fluff it up again and make that filling all gooey again.
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Ingredients
THE DOUGHNUT DOUGH
- 180 ml whole milk luke warm (¾ cup)
- 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar (notes 1)
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 2 ½ cups bread flour (325g/~11 ½oz)
- 57 g unsalted butter half-melted (¼ cup/2oz)
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- vegetable oil, for frying
CHOCOLATE SUGAR COATING
- ¼ cup caster sugar (50g / 1.8oz)
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
CHOCOLATE GANACHE FILLING
- 125 ml thickened cream (heavy cream) 35% fat (½ cup)
- 14 g butter (½ oz / 1 tablespoon)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt
- 180 g good quality dark chocolate (50% cocoa solids) (~6.4oz)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- stand mixer helpful but not essential
- Piping bag / pastry bag
- Small saucepan
- Large, deep saucepan
- Slotted spoon
Instructions
- FOR THE DOUGHNUT DOUGH:Warm the milk for 30-35 seconds in the microwave (if cold, or 15 seconds if room temp). You don’t want it to be hot, just slightly warmer to the touch.
- Pour the milk into the bowl of a stand mixer with the sugar then sprinkle the yeast on top and stir it around. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy (this is so you know the yeast is active and not expired).
- Add the flour, butter, egg, and salt and use the dough hook with your hand to give it a stir together.
- Attach the dough hook and knead on the low setting for about 7-10 minutes until it looks elastic and quite smooth. You can also knead by hand for 12-15 minutes but try not to add too much flour or you’ll end up with dry donuts. You should end up with a soft dough that’s slightly tacky but able to be handled with light hands.
- Grease a large bowl with a little oil. Place the doughnut dough into the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm (not hot) spot for 1 – 1 ½ hours until doubled in size.
- SHAPE THE DOUGHNUTS: Tip the dough out onto clean surface and knead just a couple of times (only add flour if you absolutely have to). Divide the dough into 9 equal portions (see notes for tips) and shape each portion into a ball.
- Place the balls onto a lightly floured baking tray, and press down lightly to flatten slightly, then cover lightly with a piece of plastic wrap or a light tea towel and let them rise another 45-60 minutes.
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE SUGAR COATING: While the donuts are rising, combine caster sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon in a bowl large enough to roll the donuts in. Set aside.
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE: Make sure your chocolate is finely chopped and in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, butter, vanilla and salt. Heat, swirling the pan to melt the butter, until fully melted and combined and the mixture is steaming heavily. Don't boil it.
- Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute, before stirring together to a smooth ganache. Chill in the fridge until cool.
- If the ganache is in the fridge for a while, take it out so that it gets to room temp by the time you need to fill the donuts.
- COOKING THE DOUGHNUTS:DEEP FRYING METHOD: Heat 1 ½ inches of oil large saucepan to no more than 180C (350F). Gently place 2-3 donuts into the hot oil being careful not to drop them or the oil will splash. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook for 2 minutes each side, keeping the oil temperature between 170-180C (340-350F) the entire time by adjusting the heat under it. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towel to drain for a few minutes. You can test they’re done by inserting a thermometer – it should read 88C (190F) for a properly cooked donut.OVEN METHOD: Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F. Brush the donuts with a little melted butter. Bake donuts right on the baking sheet they proved on for 15 minutes. They will just be starting to turn golden. You can test they’re done but inserting a thermometer – it should read 88C (190F) for a properly cooked donut
- If your doughnuts were baked in the oven, melt another tablespoon of butter then brush it over the top of each donut and roll it in the sugar coating. If your doughnuts were fried, just let them drain and cool for a few minutes then roll in the sugar coating.
- Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool for another 5-10 minutes or so before filling. If they're too hot, the filling may melt immediately and run straight out – still delicious though.
- While they cool, beat your ganache for one minute with an electric mixer until it lightens and gets a bit fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag with a small open tip and use immediately or it may sieze and you’ll need to beat it again.
- Use the handle end of a teaspoon to poke a hole into the donuts and work it around in the middle gently to make plenty of space for ganache.
- Press the tip of the piping bag deep into the hole in the donut and squeeze to fill with ganache – let the pressure of the ganache push the piping bag out so you know it’s nice and full.
- Serve immediately. If serving later, make sure to give them a 10-15 second zap in the microwave to fluff them up and make the filling gooey again.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Dividing the dough: There are two ways to divide your dough into 9. The most precise way and the way you’ll get the most even doughnuts is to weigh the whole dough ball, then divide that by 9 and weigh out 9 portions. If you just want to eyeball it, roll the dough into a log as evenly as possible and cut into 3 even pieces, then cut each of those into 3 pieces to give you 9 pieces total.
- Shaping the dough balls: There are 2 ways to shape the dough balls nicley. The first is to hold a portion of dough in your non-dominant hand, then use the fingers of your dominate hand to pinch the sides into the middle until the part on the palm of your hand is smooth and round. The second is to just place a portion of dough onto a clean (not floured) surface and cup your hands around it so your little fingers are wrapped around it at the base. Pull it towards you along the surface 4-5 times until smooth and round.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
FAQs
A filled donut is one where a cream or fruit filling has been piped into the centre so rather than just being dough all the way through, the donut has a filling inside it.Add image
It’s actually very simple to poke a little hole in the side or even the top of a round donut, then poke a piping bag in to pipe in the filling.
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2 Comments on “Chocolate Filled Donuts”
Made these today! Very easy recipe to follow! Did the oven method and they worked out great. Some went slightly deflated but still a great result and not overly sweet very delicious!
I’m so happy you love them, Ally. Often, deflation is caused by overproofing the donuts before baking.