Let’s show you how to make the most delicious air fryer doughnuts from scratch, topped with sugar, which melts in your mouth. You will see, step by step, how I made the doughnut dough and how I got these delicious sugar-powdered doughnuts.
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Recipe?
First, because we are doughnut lovers, just like you, I regularly cook a large portion of doughnuts, especially according to the family recipe, perfect yeast doughnuts.
But, because I fried the doughnuts in oil in the mentioned recipe, I tried this version in the air fryer and got tasty and healthier doughnuts.
So, the air fryer doughnuts are healthier because we don’t fry them in oil, and we won’t fill the kitchen with the smell of burnt oil, but they have a slightly different texture than usual.
Ingredients
To make a fluffy dough, I will use the following ingredients:
- self-rising flour, which will help the dough to grow more easily;
- milk, which must be warm but not hot;
- dry yeast, which I will activate in milk;
- eggs, of which I will use only the yolks;
- the melted butter will make the dough soft and bring in the necessary fat;
- sugar because doughnuts need to be a little sweet;
- and because I have to flavour the dough, I add lemon zest, vanilla essence and a little rum essence.
How to Make the Air Fryer Doughnuts From Scratch?
Because I will show you how to make air fryer doughnuts from scratch, we will have to go through how many steps you have: make the dough, let it rise, cut it into round shapes and then bake it in the air fryer.
Make the Dough
Before mixing the ingredients and making the dough, I usually activate the yeast, even if I use dry yeast. I usually do this because I suffered from making the dough, and it didn’t rise because the yeast wasn’t good or was too old. This way, I can see from the beginning if it is activated or not, and I can replace it if it is not good.
Mix a tablespoon of sugar and dry yeast in warm milk, then put them in a warm place for ten minutes until the yeast swells.
In a mixing bowl, I will sift the flour to make it more aerated and add the egg yolks, melted butter, the rest of the sugar, the milk with activated yeast, and the grated peel of a lemon and the vanilla and rum essences.
I will mix all these ingredients and knead by hand until the dough is smooth, comes off and does not stick to the mixing bowl wall.
I covered the mixing bowl with a kitchen towel and placed it in a warm place where I let it stand for 30-40 minutes until the dough doubled in volume.
After the doughnut dough has risen, turn it over on a work surface sprinkled with flour and spread it with a rolling pin until it reaches a thickness of 1.5-2 centimetres (0.6-0.8 inches).
Cut in Shapes
Using a cutter or a glass, as I did, we will cut from the dough round shapes about 12 cm in diameter, from which we will cut the middle to get a hole.
Cover the doughnut shapes with a kitchen towel and let them sit for another 10-15 minutes to rise again, after which we will start baking them in the air fryer.
Frying the Doughnuts in the Air Fryer
Until my doughnuts grow, I preheat my Cosori air fryer to 190 C (375F) and then place parchment paper on the bottom of the basket, which I spray with a bit of oil so it doesn’t stick.
I use parchment paper to make it easier to clean the air fryer, but you can also bake without paper but grease or spray a little oil in the basket.
Place the doughnut shapes on the parchment paper on a single level, as long as they fit in the basket, leaving the distance between them, considering that they will increase slightly.
Bake the doughnuts in the air fryer for four minutes, then turn them on the other side and bake for another four minutes until golden and slightly crispy outside.
Remove the doughnuts from the air fryer basket to a cooling rack and continue with the rest of the dough. While they are still hot, roll the doughnuts in powdered sugar that will stick better to them.
This was my recipe for air fryer doughnuts from scratch, delicious, slightly crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside; an absolute delight.
Serving the Air Fryer Doughnuts
These air fryer doughnuts can be served warm, only with powdered sugar or soaked in strawberry or peach jam.
If you are a lover of sweets like me, I recommend some delicious dessert recipes from our blog, such as:
- Noodle Kugel With Raisins
- Best Cottage Cheese Dumplings
- Floating Island Cake Recipe
- Easy Black Forest Cake Recipe
- Apple Shortcrust Pastry Recipe
- The Best Russian Cheesecake Recipe
- Easy Cinnamon Apple Pancakes Recipe
- Cream Cheese Filling Crepes Recipe
- Sweet Fried Semolina Pudding Recipe
- Best Raspberry Cheesecake Recipe
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Air Fryer Doughnuts From Scratch
Equipment
- 1 Cosori Air Fryer XXL or other air fryer
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 500 g wheat flour self-rising
- 250 ml milk warm
- 2 pieces egg yolks free range
- 4 tbsp butter melted
- 1 sachet yeast dried
- 40 g sugar
- 1 tsp rum aroma
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 piece lemon zest grated
Instructions
- In warm milk, mix a tablespoon of sugar and dry yeast, then put them in a warm place for ten minutes to activate the yeast.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour with the egg yolks, melted butter, the rest of the sugar, the milk with activated yeast, the lemon zest and the vanilla and rum essences.
- Knead by hand until the dough is smooth, comes off and does not stick to the mixing bowl wall.
- Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it in a warm place for 30-40 minutes until the dough has doubled in volume.
- Turn it over on a work surface sprinkled with flour and spread it with a rolling pin until it reaches a thickness of 1.5-2 centimetres (0.6-0.8 inches).
- Use a cutter or a glass, cut the dough into round shapes, and then cut the middle to get a hole.
- Cover the doughnut shapes with a kitchen towel and let them sit for another 10-15 minutes to rise again.
- Preheat the air fryer to 190 C (375F) and then place parchment paper on the bottom of the basket.
- Place the doughnut shapes on the parchment paper on a single level, leaving the distance between them.
- Bake the doughnuts for four minutes, turn them on the other side and bake for another four minutes until they become a golden colour.
- While they are still hot, roll the doughnuts in powdered sugar and continue with the rest of the dough.
- Serve the doughnuts warm, only with powdered sugar or soaked in strawberry or peach jam.