Nutella Bomboloni is a soft delicious fried Italian donut filled with Nutella (or with a filling of our choice). One of the best parts of NYC is eating such delicious treats. I tried these twice in 2020 (in different restaurants) and I had to recreate it because it was SO good! A soft donut covered with sugar filled with nutella- how can you go wrong with such a delicious experience? I even like to pipe some nutella over it- can you have too much nutella? You can fill them with any pastry cream or even whipped cream. They do take patience to make so that they can rest but so worth it!
Happy Baking!

Servings: 7-9 medium donuts

Prep Time: 20 mins

Rest time: 3-4 hours

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 4-5 hours

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp -103 g lukewarm milk- Not hot

• 1 tsp-3g dry active yeast

• 2.5 tbsp -35g granulated sugar + sugar for rolling donut

• 3 tbsp - 39g melted butter/vegetable oil

• 1 -50g large egg

• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

• 2 cups- 265g all purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• A pinch of salt

• Oil for frying

• About 1-1.5 cup of Nutella ( or another filling like pastry cream or whipped cream)

Directions: 

1. In a stand mixer add lukewarm milk. Add the yeast over it. Whisk and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.

2. Add the sugar, egg, vanilla and oil/butter and whisk them till combined.

3. Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the mixture.

4. Attach dough hook and combine the dough together on a low speed.Do not exceed the speed of 3 and let it knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. The dough should be smooth nd elastic. Do not worry about some stretching on the dough,

5. Knead the dough by hand on a counter for 1-2 minutes. Knead and shape it to a ball and place it in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it proof for 2-3 hours. Check notes for proofing.

6. After the dough has proofed, it should atlas double in size. Knead the dough and roll it into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Cut it in the shape you like. Check notes for resting dough.

7. Place the cut shaped on a parchment lined tray and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest in a for an hour. The donuts will rise

8. Warm oil and bring it to about 340-360F. Fry the donuts on both sides flipping it in between a couple of times.

9. Once fried take the donuts out and let it dry on a paper towel for 1-2 mins.

10. Roll them immediately after in fine granulated sugar to cover them all over.

11. Make a hole at the side of the donuts with a knife. Using a piping bag, fill with Nutella or a filling of your choice. You can even pipe some Nutella on top of the donut if you like.

12. Serve warm.

Notes/Tips:

• Use lukewarm milk, hot milk will kill the yeast.

• Make sure the dough proofs before rolling it out and even after cutting the shapes to get the soft texture.

• Do not overheat while frying or fry for too long as it will harden and won’t rise.

• Once fried, dab the excess oil off on a paper towel. Roll in sugar immediately after. Do it roll it in sugar directly as the oil will clump the sugar and will be a mess.

• You can bake these, but they are not as soft as fried unfortunately- Bake in a preheated oven at 350F, let them cool and then fill. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, as granulated sugar will not stick.

• They do not store too well as they harden up.

• Proofing and resting options-

  • If it is hot & humid, keep the dough covered in a greased bowl in a draft free area and it will rise well.

  • If the weather conditions are not favourable, turn the oven on to the lowest temp, around 150F. Turn it off when it comes to temperature. Leave the oven door a little opened for 10-15 minutes so the temp comes down to 90-100F which is ideal for proofing bread. Place the dough covered along with a jug of hot water in the oven and keep the oven closed.

  • You can even leave it in the oven with the oven light on.