Mini cinnamon doughnuts with chilli chocolate dipping sauce
As these mini doughnuts are made without yeast, there's no waiting around for the dough to rise. Thanks to the ricotta, they're golden and crunchy on the outside but light and pillowy inside.
vegetable oil, for deep-frying 250g ricotta
2 eggs
60g caster sugar, plus 2-3 tbsp
for dusting
125g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder few drops of vanilla extract 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 orange, zested
FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE
50g dark chocolate
30g butter
100ml double cream
100g caster sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp chipotle paste
1 Pour a 6-8cm depth of vegetable oil into a wide saucepan and place over a mediumhigh heat until it reaches 180C. A clever way to work out when the oil is hot enough is to drop a popcorn kernel into the pan – when it pops, you are ready to fry. If you don’t have any popcorn, use a cube of bread; you know the right temperature has been reached when the bread turns golden brown in about 30 seconds.
2 Put the ricotta in a food mixer or bowl and add the eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder and vanilla extract. Beat until everything is combined. Using two clean tablespoons, form the dough into eight walnut-sized balls. 3 Make the dipping sauce by breaking the chocolate into small pieces and putting into a small saucepan. Add the remaining sauce ingredients plus ½ tsp sea salt, then place over a low-medium heat and allow everything to melt, stirring regularly.
Don't let it get too hot or the sauce will split. 4 When the oil is up to temperature, add half the dough balls to the pan and cook for 2-3 mins, turning occasionally, until golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Cook the remaining balls in the same way.
5 Put the dusting sugar and cinnamon into a large bowl and mix together. Add the doughnuts and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle over the orange zest and serve with the warm chocolate sauce.