Makes 12 to 15 doughnuts
YouTube instructional video is at the bottom.
What you’ll need
Bread flour or All purpose flour
Sugar
Brown sugar
Salt
Unsweetened cocoa powder
Instant decafe coffee
Rapid rise Instant yeast
Whole milk (Room temp)
Buttermilk (Room temp)
Large eggs (Room temp)
Unsalted butter
Vanilla extract
Butter extract
Cake batter extract
Almond extract
Vegetable or Canola oil
Confectioners sugar
Tools you’ll need
Parchment paper
Rolling pin (Optional)
Cooling rack
11 by 17 inch baking pan
Doughnut cutter (3 1/2 inches diameter)
Thermometer
Preparation of ingredients
Dry ingredients
Step 1-Add 3 2/3 cups Bread flour or All purpose flour, 2 tablespoons Sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 or 3 teaspoons instant yeast and 1/4 teaspoon salt into stand mixer bowl. Stir all ingredients together and set aside.
Wet ingredients
Step 2- Add 1 cup whole milk, 1/4 cup buttermilk, (Both milks heated to a temp of 120 degrees F), 1 stick melted unsalted butter, 2 large eggs (Room temp), 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons butter extract, 2 teaspoons cake batter extract, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1/2 teaspoon instant decaf coffee into a medium sized bowl. Stir all ingredients together and set aside.
Mixing the dough
Step 3- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix on a medium low speed for 8 to 10 minutes. When you first stop mixing give the dough 1 or 2 minutes to settle. Dough should not stick to your hands after mixing.
Step 4- Lightly flour surface of table and add chocolate dough on the table. Knead for 2 minutes and form dough into a ball. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
Step 5- While the dough is resting, cut parchment paper into 4 inch long by 4 inch wide squares. You should have 12 to 15 squares altogether. You will place pieces of the dough onto these pieces of parchment paper.
Shaping and cutting the dough
Step 6- Press the dough down with your hands. Once done, shape the dough into a 10 wide by 13 inch long rectangle using either the rolling pin or you can use your hands. Dough should have a thickness of 1/2 of a inch.
Step 7- Cut 12 to 15 pieces of dough using the 3 1/2 inch diameter doughnut cutter. After you cut out a few pieces of dough, you may have to take the leftover dough, bring it together again with you hands and form it into another smaller rectangle. Dough should have a thickness of 1/2 of an inch.
Step 8- After you cut out each piece of dough, place the dough pieces on to the 4 inch wide by 4 inch long square pieces of parchment paper and add each piece on to two separate 11 by 17 inch baking pans. Cover both pans with a towel and let sit in a warm spot (80 degrees F) for 45 minutes.
Frying the doughnuts
Preheat fire to medium high heat
Note- Heating and frying times vary depending on your stove and size doughnuts.
Step 9- While the doughnuts are rising, add 48 fluid ounces vegetable or canola oil into a large sauce pan (10 quart size) and insert thermometer. Temp of the oil should be 360 or 375 degrees. Can take several minutes (12 to 15 minutes or more).
Note- Monitor the temperature of the doughnuts as they are frying. If the temperature of the oil is too low, oil will seep into the doughnuts. Make sure when the doughnut is added into the oil, the parchment paper is removed.
Step 10- Pick up the doughnut with a large flat spatula and add the doughnuts into the hot oil. You can add 3 at a time depending on the size of your skillet. You can add them with the parchment paper still attached at the bottom. The doughnut should slide into the oil. If not you can flip the doughnut into the oil using the parchment paper. Let the doughnuts fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side.
Step 11- Remove doughnuts from hot oil and place on a cooling rack with a pan underneath it. Let the doughnuts cool for 15 minutes.
Making the mild chocolate glaze
Note- If you want a thicker glaze you can add more confectioners sugar or let the glaze cool for a few minutes and it will thicken.
Milk/chocolate mixture
Step 12- Add 4 tablespoons whole milk into a small bowl. Heat in microwave until mixture reaches a temperature of 120 degrees F. From there add 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1/8 teaspoon instant decafe coffee. Stir and set aside.
Final preparation of glaze
Step 13- Add 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, 4 tablespoons milk/chocolate mixture, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon butter extract, 1/4 or 1/8 teaspoon almond extract (Optional). Stir all ingredients together with a whisk until creamy and smooth with no lumps in the icing.
Dipping chocolate doughnuts
Step 14- Add each doughnut upside down into the chocolate glaze. Move doughnut around in the chocolate glaze and carefully remove the doughnut from the glaze. Shake the doughnut to remove some of the glaze as you want a thin coating. If you want a thicker coating of glaze, leave the doughnut as is. From there place doughnut back on the cooling rack with a pan underneath it. Let the doughnuts and icing set for 15 minutes before serving.
Note- Flavors will settle and increase and the doughnuts will have more of a mild chocolate flavor after cooling and the next day after making.
YouTube instructional video
