Nutella + Mochi + Donut Holes = Bomb! This combination makes a super delicious chewy gooey nutella mochi donut holes!

With the Easter holiday just around the corner (in fact, by the time you read this, the holiday would have just started) I am sharing a dessert recipe today. I don’t know why I often associate sweet food around this time but I know this Nutella filled donut holes would be perfect for the occasion.

Clearly, Nutella is not a Korean ingredient and you probably heard/read/tried many recipes with Nutella in it. But have you used it with sweet rice flour? If not, you must! This is so good. Seriously, it’s crunchy and soft and gooey at the same time. It’s quite addictive as well!

Ever since I shared my traditional Korean style donut holes recipe (Chapssal Donut) a few years ago, I wanted to make the donut holes with non-traditional Korean ingredients like Nutella or chocolate.

What’s So Special About Nutella Mochi Donut Holes

This is my fusion take on Korean traditional donut holes (Chapssal donut) recipe. The traditional version is filled with sweetened red bean paste.
They are super crispy and crunchy outside (you might even hear the crunch sound) and sticky and chewy inside (just like mochi rice cakes). Gooey runny Nutella is just an added bonus! (Even my husband who doesn’t like Nutella on its own loved these donut holes!)
Can be made with gluten and diary free diet in mind.
It’s made with easily accessible ingredients. You may have them all in your pantry already!

When you read the recipe, you will notice that I used up a whole small bottle of Nutella (220g / 7.7 ounces)! I was very surprised at it. So make sure you don’t hoard all these goodies all to yourself! You know what I mean.

P.S. Be sure to read though the note section as it contains some important storing information. (My short answer: If you can’t eat them all within a few hours of making it, share them with your family, friends and neighbours!)

Ingredients for Nutella Mochi Donut Holes (Makes 32 mini donut holes)

Dough

500g/1.1 pounds sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
80g/2.8 ounces self raising flour (*see note)
20g/0.7 ounces butter, melted
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
500ml/17 fluid ounces hot milk – (microwaved for 1 min 30 seconds)

Stuffing

about 220g/7.7 ounces Nutella

Others

Vegetable oil for deep-frying (I used rice bran oil)
50g/1.8 ounces castor sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

How to Make Nutella Mochi Donut Holes

1. Sieve through the sweet rice flour and self raising flour into a large bowl. Add the melted butter and salt. Gradually pour in hot milk. As you pour down mix all the ingredients well. Knead it to make one large dough.

2. Take the dough out onto a cutting board and divide it into smaller pieces to make mini round balls. (The size can be up to you but remember that larger donuts take longer to cook. Also make sure it is large enough to hold the stuffing inside.) While working through, cover the mini balls with glad wrap to stop them drying out.

3. Place a rolled donut ball on your palm and flatten it by pressing it with your thumbs. Add a spoonful of nutella and seal the dough. (I added 1/2 tsp worth stuffing in each ball. You could add more or less, just make sure you can close the dough without getting messy.) Set aside. Repeat this with the remaining ingredients.

4. Pour some oil for frying in a deep sauce pan and heat it for 6 to 8 mins (until boiling) on medium heat. Add the donut holes gently (about 5 at a time, depending on the size of your pan) and fry them until the outer dough is golden brown and the inside dough is cooked through. (It takes 5 to 6 mins for mini holes and 7 to 8 mins for medium holes.) While frying, continuously roll the donut balls around so they don’t stick to the base of the pan, and to shape them better. Place the cooked donuts onto a piece of oil absorbing paper and cool down for 10 to 15 mins. Repeat this with the remaining ingredients. Be sure to watch out for oil splash. You may want to wear a long apron.

5. In a medium or large sized food grade plastic bag, add the sugar and cinnamon powder. While holding the top of the bag with one hand, shake it so that the sugar and cinnamon gets mixed together. Add the donut holes (5 or 6 at a time, depending on the size of your bag) into the bag and shake it so that the donuts get coated with cinnamon flavoured sugar. Repeat this with the remaining donut holes. Serve. (It tastes best within the first hour of making them.)

Note:

This recipe can be modified to suit gluten free diet by substituting the self raising flour with other forms of flour (e.g. rice flour). In this case, you may need to increase the amount of milk as some flour absorbs moisture more than others. Otherwise, your dough will be quite dry and hard to manoeuvre around.
Milk also may be substituted with water or other types of milk (e.g. almond milk). – Though I tried it with water but not other types of milk.
It is best to consume all the donut holes within the first few hours of making them. (Tastes best within the first 30 mins.) Otherwise, outer layer of the donut holes get soft (not crunchy any more) and the inner layer gets hard. Also the sugar starts melting and runs on the donut holes, making them sticky.
If leftovers are unavoidable, you can put them into an air tight container and leave them at room temperature overnight. Donut holes can be microwaved for about 1 min. Just don’t expect the same texture as the first day. They are still edible but not as nice.
Some people might ask whether they can refrigerate pre-fried donut holes overnight and cook it the next day. My answer is Yes/No. Based on my experiment, it only worked on 50% of the donut holes. To make it work, they have to be warmed up at room temperature first. Then warm them up further by rolling individual donut holes between your palms. This is also an opportunity for re-shaping as some of the donut holes get flattened slightly. But you will notice that some of the donut holes have cracks where the Nutella leaks etc. So the choice is up to you whether you want to go this way.
If you want to try more traditional Korean style donut holes, check this recipe.

Nutella Mochi Donut Holes

What’s So Special About Nutella Mochi Donut Holes