Best ever chocolatey doughnut balls

I’ve found a recipe for the softest, fluffiest doughnuts ever and it’s so good it’d be rude not to share! Bear in mind these are cake doughnuts; the melt-in-your-mouth cousins of standard bread-y doughnuts. 

The recipe with full weights and measurements are over on Joe Pastry’s blog, and being the magical doughnut wizard he is, it’s well worth having a browse through his other tasty creations.

I’ve tweaked the method slightly and added a million chocolatey toppings but the original recipe is golden as it is.

Now let me show you how easy these are to make.

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LET’S COOK

It starts with all-purpose flour, sieved into a large mixing bowl.

Sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg are added and the whole thing is given a good whisk.

I’m not usually the biggest fan of nutmeg but it adds a delicious little somethin’ to these doughnuts. 

Softened butter is rubbed into the mixture.

In a separate bowl, sour cream, vanilla extract and milk are combined.

Then added to the dry ingredients, along with a whisked egg.

The batter is given a thorough beating and if you’re whisking by hand like me, you’re in for a workout! Using a spatula, the sides of the bowl are scraped down halfway through then the whisking continues till it’s smooth, thick and spoonable. 

This is set aside to rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, a deep frying pan is half-filled with a flavourless oil (I used corn oil) and set over a medium heat. 

I kept another bowl of oil nearby to dip my measuring spoon into after each scoop of batter. This prevents it from sticking and gives the doughnut balls their lovely round shape. 

The batter is dropped into the hot oil by the spoonful (I used a tablespoon and a teaspoon to make two different sizes). The doughnuts are cooked till they’re golden on both sides and flipped halfway through using a slotted spoon.

If you’re frying without a thermometer, keep a watchful eye over how quickly the doughnuts brown. You want to give them enough time to cook through to the middle.

The timings will depend on the temperature of your oil and the size of the doughnuts so it’s best to check whether the first few are cooked in the middle and adjust the cooking time accordingly. If you can rope in a buddy to help at this stage, it’ll make life a lot easier!

When cooked, they’re transferred onto plates lined with paper towels to get rid of the excess oil. The longer you drain them, the less greasy they’ll be and that’s always a good thing.

And now the best part! The doughnuts are laid out onto parchment paper to be smothered in whatever takes your fancy. I chose milk and white chocolate, sprinkles, cinnamon sugar and fruit zest.

At this point, my kitchen was a very happy place to be!

I ended up with seven different varieties.

A dainty trio; the first drizzled in milk & white chocolate, the second dunked in in milk chocolate, and the third rolled in cinnamon sugar.

The large ones were extra special; smothered in white or dark chocolate and topped with more chocolate drizzle and a rainbow of sprinkles.

These beauties were the ones that surprised people the most. White chocolate paired with fresh lemon zest, and milk chocolate with orange zest. I absolutely loved them. They smelled so good!

The possibilities are endless when it comes to toppings and that makes cooking these so much fun. Next time, I’m trying a salted caramel glaze!

Do check out Joe Pastry’s blog for the original doughnut recipe and if you make these yourself, I hope you let me know how they turn out.

Happy cooking! x