Yep, you read that right – baked donuts with NUTELLA chocolate gravy. Chocolate gravy is a Southern classic and it’s great with donuts!
I love baked donuts. I waffled for a little bit on whether or not to buy a donut pan (<–affiliate link), but I’m so glad I did. I certainly don’t have anything against fried donuts – why would I? They’re delicious! Frying, however, is messy and uses a lot of oil, so baking donuts seems to be the right way to go for an average night around my house.
Usually, doughnuts have glaze. Or maybe a powdered sugar (or cinnamon sugar) coating. You don’t usually see doughnuts served with a dipping sauce. We don’t always do things the traditional way around here; you guys know that by now. When we ate our anniversary dinner at Hennen’s last summer, we ordered beignets that were served with a mocha creme, which was delicious. However, I was a little disappointed because they were not served with a chocolate dipping sauce, which is how they were served to a friend of ours when we ate there once. I have dreamed about those beignets since.
What better way, then, to put a Southern spin on that idea than to serve my vanilla bean baked donuts (adapted from a recipe in Laura Ferroni’s book Real Snacks <–affiliate link) with chocolate gravy? Apparently, some people think that the term “chocolate gravy” sounds gross, but those people have obviously not eaten it before. It’s not like we’re stirring chocolate into sawmill gravy, people. But I digress. I started my chocolate gravy using my friend Christy Jordan‘s recipe from her book Southern Plate (<–affiliate link), but to give it an extra special touch I stirred some Nutella in. I did not regret this decision.
If you’ve never had chocolate gravy, try my recipe with these baked donuts ASAP!
Mary
Yield: 12 donuts and about 2 cups Nutella chocolate gravy
10 minPrep Time:
20 minCook Time:
30 minTotal Time:
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Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (like I did, you can use up to half whole wheat flour - I use King Arthur White Whole Wheat)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup milk or buttermilk
- seeds scraped from one vanilla bean, or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for buttering the pan
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup Nutella or other hazelnut-chocolate spread
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush a 12-cup mini donut pan with melted butter or spray it with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Set aside.In a measuring cup, whisk together the milk/buttermilk, vanilla beans or vanilla, and the egg.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the butter. Stir together until all ingredients are just moistened. It's okay if some lump remains.
- Carefully portion the donut batter into the prepared pan. You can use a spoon or a piping bag for this; I used a small cookie scoop, placing one scoop into each cup then repeating to make sure that I evenly divided the mixture.
- Bake the donuts for 6-10 minutes, until they bounce back when touched. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
- When you are ready to serve, make the Nutella chocolate gravy. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour, and cocoa powder. Set over medium heat and gradually whisk in the milk to reduce lumps. Cook, whisking constantly, until bubbly and thickened. Whisk in the tablespoon of butter and the Nutella. Pour into a bowl and serve on the side with the donuts.
Notes
The recipe for donuts is adapted from the book Real Snacks by Lara Ferroni. The Nutella chocolate gravy is adapted from the book Southern Plate by Christy Jordan.
For other great recipes, check out the Meal Plan Monday Link-up on Southern Plate!
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