Air Fryer Donuts With Chocolate Sauce Food

AIR FRYER DONUTS

Steps:

• Grease a large bowl with cooking spray. In a small, microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup, add milk. Microwave until lukewarm, 40 seconds. Add a teaspoon of sugar and stir to dissolve, then sprinkle over yeast and let sit until frothy, about 8 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining ¼ cup sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. Pour in yeast mixture, mix to combine, then add in dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
• Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until elastic and only slightly tacky, adding more flour a teaspoon at a time if needed, about 5 minutes. Form into a ball then place dough in oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. Let dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray. Punch down dough, then turn onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out into a ½" thick rectangle.
• Using a doughnut cutter or 3" and 1" biscuit cutters, punch out your doughnuts. Knead any scraps together and punch out more doughnuts or holes. Place doughnuts and holes onto baking sheets, cover with dish towel, and let rise again, 40 minutes to 1 hour more.
• Grease basket of air fryer with cooking spray and add 2 doughnuts and 2 doughnut holes at a time, making sure doughnuts don't touch. Cook at 375° for 6 minutes, until deeply golden. Place on cooling rack and repeat with remaining dough.
• Dip doughnuts in glaze (see below) or follow instructions for cinnamon sugar. Return to cooling rack and let set for 5 minutes before serving.
• In a medium bowl whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
• In a medium bowl whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and milk.
• In a large shallow bowl, whisk together cinnamon and sugar. Brush doughnuts with melted butter and toss in cinnamon sugar.

DONUT STICKS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a deep-fryer or heavy-bottomed pot, heat enough peanut oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 375 degrees F.
• Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
• Slice the seamless dough sheets into 1-inch strips from the shorter length of the dough. Make sure that the strips are not longer than your deep-fryer is wide. Twist each dough strip, and then drop, 3 at a time, into the fryer. Fry the donut sticks until golden brown and crisp, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, flipping with tongs about half way through. Remove the donuts from the fryer and dust with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve with the chocolate sauce.
• In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine the first 6 ingredients and bring to a simmer. Whisk in the chocolate, vanilla, and butter and stir until the sauce is smooth.

AIR-FRYER DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Combine the milk, melted butter, yeast, 1 tsp of the sugar and the vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer. Leave for 8-10 mins for the yeast to activate.
• In a separate bowl, combine the remaining sugar, flour, ½ tsp salt and the cinnamon, if using. Mix the beaten egg into the milk mixture, then fold in the dry ingredients. Knead with a dough hook on a medium speed for 5-8 mins until the dough is smooth and elastic. You can also knead by hand for 10-12 mins, until smooth. It's a very sticky dough, so be patient with it.
• Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hr 30 mins until the dough has doubled in size. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to around 1.5cm thick. Cut out your doughnuts using a doughnut cutter or two cutters (1 x 7.5cm and 1 x 2.5cm for the middle). Put the doughnuts on a lined baking sheet, along with the doughnut centres, if you like, and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to rise for 40 mins or overnight in the fridge (the doughnuts will hold their shape better if proved in the fridge).
• When ready to cook, place 2-3 doughnuts (and their centres, if keeping) in the air-fryer basket and cook at 180C for 5-6 mins, following manufacturer's instructions, until golden. (Bear in mind that some air fryers generate more intense heat, so keep checking to make sure the doughnuts don't burn.) Remove from the basket and leave to cool on a wire rack while you cook the remaining doughnuts. You can place a sheet of baking parchment at the bottom of your basket if you're worried about the doughnuts sticking and to prevent indents from the basket forming on the doughnuts.
• While the final batch is cooking, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the milk and vanilla extract. When the doughnuts have cooled, dip the top of each one in the glaze. Leave on the wire rack for the glaze to set. Best eaten on the day but will keep for up to 24 hours in an airtight container.