Tiramisu doughnuts

Exclusively on MW – Tiramisu Doughnuts! This is my carnival treat for lovers of the famous Italian dessert. Light and fluffy doughnuts filled with a mascarpone and Amaretto cream, glazed with coffee icing and finished with a dusting of cocoa. They are absolutely heavenly (my husband says they’re the best doughnuts in the world!), so be sure to save this recipe or add it to your favourites right away :).

Makes 15 doughnuts.

Ingredients for the dough:

• 550 g strong white bread flour
• 14 g dried yeast or 30 g fresh yeast
• 250 ml lukewarm milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks, from large eggs
• 70 g caster sugar
• a generous pinch of salt
• 100 g butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur

For frying:

• rapeseed oil, lard or coconut oil, approximately 1.5 litres

Sift the flour into a large bowl and mix with the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast, prepare a starter first). Add the remaining dough ingredients and knead, incorporating the melted butter towards the end of kneading. Continue kneading for several minutes until the dough becomes smooth and soft. Try not to add extra flour, even though the dough may feel slightly sticky. A stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or a bread machine works particularly well.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured bowl, cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in size, approximately 1½ hours. Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Shape the doughnuts by tearing off pieces of dough and weighing approximately 70 g per doughnut. Roll into smooth balls and place them on a floured tea towel or work surface. Cover and leave to rise again until doubled in size, approximately 25–40 minutes, depending on room temperature. The doughnuts should be light and puffy, but not overproved.

Heat the oil to 175°C. Fry the doughnuts for approximately 2–3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Do not allow the oil temperature to become too high, as the doughnuts will brown too quickly on the outside while remaining undercooked inside. Transfer to kitchen paper immediately after frying to drain excess oil.

Ingredients for the mascarpone cream:

• 3 egg yolks, from large eggs
• 70 g caster sugar
• 40 ml Amaretto liqueur
• 300 g mascarpone, chilled

Place the egg yolks and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until pale, thick and fluffy. Slowly pour in the Amaretto while continuing to whisk. Add the mascarpone in three additions, whisking continuously until a thick, airy cream forms. Do not overwhip.

Ingredients for the coffee icing:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons freshly brewed coffee

Mix the icing sugar and coffee together until smooth. If the icing is too thin, add a little more icing sugar. If it is too thick, add a small amount of water.

To finish:

• cappuccino powder, for dusting (optional)
• cocoa powder, for dusting

Once the doughnuts have cooled completely, fill them with the mascarpone cream using a piping bag fitted with a filling nozzle. Dip or drizzle the doughnuts with the coffee icing. Immediately dust with cappuccino powder, if using. Once the icing has set, finish with a generous dusting of cocoa powder.

Method for bread machine users:

Place all the yeast dough ingredients into the bread machine in the following order: liquid ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and finally the yeast. Select the ‘dough’ programme (kneading and first rise). Once the programme has finished, remove the dough, knead it lightly, and continue according to the main recipe above.

Enjoy!