Gordon Ramsay's chocolate doughnuts recipe

Gordon Ramsay's chocolate doughnuts are an epic treat for anyone who wants to test their baking skills.

These doughnuts are made with comforting malt extract (we used Ovaltine) and pumped full of a sweet and delicious cream, chocolate and honey filling. They're deep fried in oil for the best texture - crisp and sugary on the outside, and soft and bouncy in the middle. Don't be daunted by the idea of deep frying - we've given this recipe a medium skill rating, but it's absolutely achievable, and our readers rate it highly, so they obviously get impressive results. Plus, once you master this recipe, you'll be confident to make any doughnuts.

Ingredients

• 50g caster sugar, plus 2–3 heaped tbsp for dusting
• 150ml whole milk
• 15g fresh yeast
• 50g unsalted butter
• 320g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• Pinch of sea salt
• 2 egg yolks
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 2–3 heaped tbsp malt powder, e.g. Ovaltine for dusting

For the filling:

• 250ml double cream
• 2–4 tbsp runny honey, to taste
• 250g dark chocolate, chopped
• 60g unsalted cold butter, cubed

Method

1. Heat the sugar and milk in a pan for about 5 minutes until the milk is warm and the sugar has dissolved.
2. Crumble the yeast into a bowl, pour in half the warm milk, then mix and leave to one side. Place the remaining milk back on the heat and add the butter. Heat gently for about 3 minutes (be careful not to let the milk boil).
3. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the egg yolks, yeasted milk and the hot milk. Mix together, drawing in the surrounding flour to make a dough.
4. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead with floured hands for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Dust with a little extra plain flour if the mix is too sticky. Place in a clean bowl dusted with flour. Cover with cling film to stop the dough forming a skin on top and leave to rise in a warm place for 1–1½ hours until doubled in size.
5. Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the cream in a pan and mix in the honey to taste. Put the chocolate and butter into a bowl. When the cream is almost boiling, pour it over the chocolate mixture and stir until well mixed, smooth and glossy.
6. When the dough has risen, knock it back by giving it a thump and knead lightly on a floured work surface. Roll out the dough with a floured rolling pin to a thickness of about 2cm and shape it into a rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 rectangular pillows, then place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and leave to rise again for 30–40 minutes until doubled in size. (This will make the doughnuts light and fluffy once cooked.)
7. Combine the remaining sugar with the malt powder in a bowl and set aside. Put the oil in a deep-fat fryer and heat in a bowl to 170°C, or fill a large saucepan one third full with the vegetable oil and heat until a cube of bread dropped in it sizzles and turns golden brown in 30 seconds.
8. Fry the doughnuts, in batches, for 3–4 minutes until evenly golden brown and cooked through. (You will need to moderate the heat between batches according to whether the doughnuts brown too quickly or too slowly.) Using a slotted spoon, remove the doughnuts from the hot oil and roll in the malt sugar to coat.
9. To fill the doughnuts, spoon the warm chocolate filling into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle. Make sure you pipe the chocolate filling while it’s still warm. If it cools down too much, it will set and be difficult to work with. Insert the nozzle into the doughnut and gently squeeze in the filling. Serve straight away.

Top tips for making Gordon Ramsay's chocolate doughnuts

Gordon says: You’ll need fresh yeast for this recipe, which you can buy from the bread section of most supermarkets.

You might also like...

• Apple doughnuts
• Cinnamon ring doughnuts
• Gordon Ramsay recipes