Chocolate-filled donuts

I think donuts are best examples of oxymoron . It's very easy yet quite tedious to make; no baking needed but there are tons of steps to follow. And mind you, you have to follow the exact estimates (read: steps) to the letter lest you end up crying after all the hard work. But please, you have to try this recipe out, the final product is so delish! Don't get intimidated by the many steps. I did it; its easy peasy! So can you. :)

Let me digress a little bit - I think home-made donuts are made by people with free time on their hands, I think home-made donuts should be made on a Saturday night in time for your lazy Sunday's morning and afternoon snacks. I think.

Ingredients:

7g sachet dried yeast

3 tbsp caster sugar

1/2 cup warm water

Melted butter, for greasing

3 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 cup warm milk

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/4 tsp salt

Extra 60g butter, softened

Extra plain flour, for dusting, kneading, sprinkling

Vegetable oil for deep frying

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as nutella)

1. Put yeast, 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar and warm water in a small bowl and whisk until the yeast is dissolved. Cover with plastic wrap and stands for 10 minutes or until bubbles appear on surface.

2. Grease a large bowl with melted butter. Put flour, milk, egg, egg yolk, salt, yeast mixture and remaining caster sugar in a food processor and process until well combined.

Add extra butter, and process until well combined (Or, by hand, put ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon). The dough should be soft and sticky. Transfer dough to prepared bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, then a tea towel and refrigerate overnight.

3. Dust 2 oven trays with extra flour. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1.5cm-thick. Using a 6 cm round cutter, cut rounds from dough, Put rounds, 5 cm apart, on prepared trays. Press the unused dough together and repeat. Sprinkle top of each round with extra flour and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Leave for 30 minutes or until dough almost doubles in size.

4. Half-fill a large saucepan or work with oil and heat on medium until hot. Put sugar in a shallow medium dish and set aside. Spoon chocolate hazelnut spread into a pastry bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle. Set aside.

5. Put rounds, 2-3 at a time, in the hot oil and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through. Remove doughnuts, one at a time, using a slotted spoon. Transfer to the dish with the sugar and toss to coat on each side. Put doughnuts on a wire rack while cooking the remaining rounds.

6. Holding 1 doughnut (with tongs if necessary), use a piece of dowel, chopstick or end of a round handled wooden spoon to pierce a hole in 1 side of doughnut. Pipe chocolate-hazelnut spread into the hole. Repeat on the opposite side of the doughnut. Repeat with the remaining dough nuts. Serve warm.