Air Fryer Nutella Doughnuts

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Air frying just went to the next level with these air fryer Nutella doughnuts. 

Make them for snacks or even for a birthday. These yummy, fluffy doughnuts are so simple to make and even fun for the kids.

Also a great healthier alternative to the deep fried doughnuts, but still come out just as soft and airy.

How to make air fryer Nutella doughnuts step by step.

Doughnuts are simple to make, but you need a bit of time on your hands, like most doughs, you need to prove it.

This recipe can make between 9 to 16 doughnuts depending on your cutter size.

Equipment:

Firstly you need an air fryer. You don’t need a top of the line air fryer, so if you don’t have one, get one within your budget. But I use the Philips XXL Air fryer, in case you are wondering.

Doughnut cutter, approx 7.5 cm or you can use two cookie cutters, so long as the cookie-cutter for cutting the doughnut hole is a lot smaller than the larger one.

A rolling pin for this, so you can roll out your dough evenly and reroll as required.

And if you have one, a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. But you can do the dough by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer.

Ingredients:

• Tap Water
• Whole Milk
• Unsalted Butter
• Yeast
• Caster Sugar, plus extra for if you have to activate the yeast
• Egg
• Egg yolk
• Vanilla Extract
• Plain Flour
• Salt
• Cooking Spray
• Nutella

Method:

In a small saucepan, add the water, milk and butter. Melt the butter in the milk and water over low heat until the butter is melted, then put aside to cool.

If you are using yeast, the needs to be activated. Once the butter has melted, add the sugar and yeast and whisk until well combined. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes till the yeast froths up.

Suppose this does not happen; discard what you just did and start again. Also, check the used by date on your yeast. 

While the liquid is set aside, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Then add the caster sugar, vanilla extract, salt and yeast (if you are using the instant dry yeast).

Mix with a spoon to combine.

Whisk the egg and egg yolk, add to the dry ingredients and lightly mix through using the dough hook on your stand mixer using a low speed or a spoon.

Now it’s time to add the liquid ingredients.

If you use a stand mixer like me, turn onto the low speed and slowly pour in the liquid. Once the liquid starts to combine with the dry ingredients and eggs, turn the speed up to a medium to combine fully.

*NOTE: If you are using a stand mixer don’t forget to scrap down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

By hand, you can use your spoon for this step.

Once everything is combined, it is time to knead the dough. 

Turn your stand mixer up to a medium-high speed and knead until the dough starts to come together.

However, if you need to do this by hand, turn the mixture out onto a dry, lightly floured surface and knead the dough until it becomes soft, springing and does not stick to your hands any more.

If you find the dough is too sticky, add some more flour. A little at a time, I do about a tablespoon and then knead a little. And add another tablespoon if needed.
It is always easier to add than take away, so only add small amounts and knead it through after each addition. This can be done either using the stand mixer or by hand.

No matter if you are using a stand mixer or your hands, be careful not to over-knead the dough.

Grease a bowl with oil, form a ball out of your dough and place it in the bowl. Cover with glad wrap and a tea towel.

Let the dough prove for one hour in a warm, dry area. If your location is cold, you can preheat your oven no higher than 150 C or F for 5 to 10 minutes, turn it off and place the bowl in the warm oven to prove.

Proving time may vary depending on how warm your cooking area is.

Once the dough has doubled in size, we need to “punch the dough” by gently pressing your fit down into the dough. Doing this will allow air that is trapped inside the dough to release so that you can roll it out and shape it. 

Turn the dough out to a dry, lightly floured surface and roll out the dough using a rolling pin.

The dough needs to be about 1 cm in thickness.

Using a doughnut cutter or two different sized cookie cutters, press them into the dough firmly.

If you find the cutter is sticking to the dough, dip the cutter into some flour between cuts.

Place the doughnuts onto a lined baking tray along with the doughnut holes. Reform the scrap dough into a ball and roll out again to cut out more doughnut. Repeat this step if you need to.

Loosely cover with glad wrap and a tea towel, and prove for 30 minutes.

Cooking the doughnuts:

Preheat your air fryer for 2 minutes at 175 on the bake setting. If you don’t have a bake setting, use manual mode instead.

Spray the bottom of the basket with non-stick cooking spray. Place a few doughnuts into the air fryer, ensuring they are not touching and have room to rise. I get four doughnuts at a time in mine.

Spray the tops of the doughnuts with cooking spray and air fry for 4 minutes.

Once cooked, transfer to a cooling rack and repeat with the rest of the doughnuts.

Now I like to also air fry the doughnut holes. Follow the same steps for these also, but air fry for around 3 minutes. As they are smaller, they do not need as long.

But if you do not want to make the doughnut holes, you can add them back into the dough to make more doughnuts. 

Decorating With Nutella:

Add a generous amount of Nutella to a heat proof bowl. Place in the microwave on high for 20 seconds. Then do at 10 second intervals until the Nutella is the consistency of melted chocolate.

Place the doughnuts upside down into the Nutella, lift and let it dip for a second, then turn the right way up and smooth the Nutella with the back of a small spoon.

Then decorate with sprinkles or keep plain.

What more Air Fryer recipes!

Some of our favourite air fryer recipes:

• Simple Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Crispy Air Fryer Chinese Honey Chicken
• No Mess Cheesy Air Fryer Ham and Egg Pockets