Italian ricotta, raisin and chocolate doughnuts are lovely little pillows of fried dough which are difficult not to eat straight out of the pan!
My doughnut recipes are some of the most popular posts on my site, and it’s really not surprising.
Who doesn’t love light and airy, deep fried puffs of dough, especially when there’s chocolate, jam, cream or some sort of liqueur involved? Well, dear readers, I have another incredibly delicious doughnut recipe for you, and this one is made with ricotta, chocolate, and Grand Marnier soaked raisins! As you can see from the photos, they’re rather spectacular.
I found the recipe on one of my favorite sites, La Cucina Italiana, however I would recommend not mixing in the chocolate chips or chunks because although it tasted fabulous, the chocolate melted and oozed out into the hot oil. Instead, put a few pieces of chocolate hidden inside each doughnut. I also found the dough to be a bit too dry.
I also did a slightly naughty thing, and made some of the doughnuts with a chocolate truffle hidden inside of some of the dough! Truffle-filled-doughnuts? Oh yes, talk about a nice surprise!
A chocolate truffle filled doughnut!
Here’s my adaptation of the recipe~
Italian Ricotta, Raisin and Chocolate Doughnuts
(Frittelle Ricotta, Uvette e Cioccolato)
my version of a La Cucina Italiana recipe
Ingredients
1 cup (250g) ricotta
3 eggs
grated rind of an orange and lemon, preferably organic, washed and dried
2 tbsp buttermilk, or milk
1 1/2 cups (220g) flour
2 tsp baking powder (or if you are able to find it, Paneangeli “Pane degli Angeli” -an Italian raising agent)
1/3 cup (70g) raisins, soaked in Grand Marnier for at least 4 hours
1/3 cup (70g) chocolate chips or chunks, good quality
oil for frying (I used grape seed oil)
sugar, to coat the doughnuts
Mix the ricotta and eggs together until well combined. Add the citrus rind, buttermilk or milk, flour, baking powder (or Pane deli Angeli) and mix well. Stir in the soaked raisins; the dough will look like this~
Heat the oil over medium high heat, and test a little piece of dough to see if it is hot enough, without burning the dough, before frying the rest of the doughnuts. If you are using the chocolate chips, I’d recommend putting about 4 or 5 in the center of the doughnut dough, just before dropping it into the oil. It’s messy, but it’s much better than having all the chocolate chips melt and burn in the oil as it does if you follow the original recipe.
When brown, remove the doughnuts and place on a paper-towel-lined plate. Roll in sugar before they are completely cool.
These Italian chocolate doughnuts are best served rather soon after they are made; I would recommend at least eating them the same day, but I can assure you, this won’t be a problem.
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- 1 cup (250g) ricotta
- 3 eggs
- grated rind of an orange and lemon, preferably organic, washed and dried
- 2 tbsp buttermilk, or milk
- 1½ cups (220g) flour
- 2 tsp baking powder (or if you are able to find it, Paneangeli “Pane degli Angeli” -an Italian raising agent)
- ⅓ cup (70g) raisins, soaked in Grand Marnier for at least 4 hours
- ⅓ cup (70g) chocolate chips or chunks, good quality
- oil for frying (I used grape seed oil)
- sugar, to coat the doughnuts
- Mix the ricotta and eggs together until well combined.
- Add the citrus rind, buttermilk or milk, flour, baking powder (or Pane deli Angeli) and mix well.
- Stir in the soaked raisins.
- Heat the oil over medium high heat, and test a little piece of dough to see if it is hot enough, without burning the dough, before frying the rest of the doughnuts.
- When brown, remove the doughnuts and place on a paper-towel-lined plate. Roll in sugar before they are completely cool.
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Doris Vella
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Hi Christina I’m Doris from Malta and I love cooking ,can I ask you please if these Italian doughnuts instead of trying them I use the oven ,I know that by trying them they come out delicious, but asking you this to avoid the frying.Thanks beforehand.
Christina
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Hi Doris! I’ve always wanted to go to Malta; your country looks beautiful! Regarding the Italian doughnuts, I honestly don’t think they would turn out properly if they were baked as the recipe is meant for the dough to be fried. However, I have never tried baking them, so I can’t say with 100% certainty that they wouldn’t turn out. Please do let me know how they turn out if you do try. Thank you and good luck! CC
Thalia @ butter and brioche
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These italian doughnuts look incredible and I bet they tasted even better too. All that oozy chocolate is just making me swoon!
Christina
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They did taste pretty darn awesome, Thalia! :) CC
Cathy | She Paused 4 Thought
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Oh My!!!! Those look amazing!
sue|theviewfromgreatisland
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Oh gosh Christina you put me to shame, I’ve only ever made the baked version of doughnuts. These are pretty spectacular, especially that truffle centered one :)
Christina
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That’s funny, Sue! I’ve never made baked doughnuts as I’ve never had a baked one that I liked, before! If it’d be any doughnuts that’d convert me, I’m sure it’d be yours! :)
Del's cooking twist
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Wow, this looks so incredibly good! I would die for it! I really need to try your beautiful recipe, Christina. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Debbie
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Did I miss it? Do you add the chocolate when you add the raisins? These look scrumptious!
Christina
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Sorry, Debbie! I just edited the recipe. I place the chocolate chips in the center of each doughnut just before dropping them in the oil. It keeps the oil free from burnt, melted chocolate which happens if you follow the original recipe (I found out the hard way)! :)
Debbie
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That’s what I was thinking! We made the other Italian doughnuts last year and we are looking forward to making these this year!!
Christina
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Wonderful! You can omit the chocolate, but if you’re like me, those words are almost blasphemous! :) Merry Christmas, Debbie!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet
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These look sooooooo unbelievably good!! I’ve done the same thing with sneaking truffles into muffins, but this is ten times better! Fantastic job on the mouth-watering photos, too. Wish so much I had a whole plate of these right now! :)
Christina
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Thanks so much, Kimberly! Yes, the truffles inside doughnuts was a rather naughty thing to do, but they were incredible! :) CC
Suzanne
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Wow Christina, those are really wonderful fritters. I imagine the ricotta makes them very fluffy. They are just beautiful. A very Merry Christmas to you and your family and good health and prosperity in the New Year.
Christina
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They are really light and wonderful, Suzanne! Merry Christmas to you, too! Thank you for following along on my site so loyally! :) CC
Dottie Sauchelli Balin
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Dear Christina,
OMG! I am on the next plane to LA. Please save one for me…You are amazing! I love these, with chocolate, raisins, ricotta, and Grand Marnier. You just gave me a Christmas present. I will have to print this one out and definitely make this maybe for New Years. Your photos are so inviting and such a wonderful presentation. Doesn’t look too hard to make. Thanks for the tip on the chocolate. Love the truffle inside. Thanks for sharing this one…Hope that your Christmas is simply delicious!
Dottie :)
Christina
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So happy that you like the recipe, Dottie! They are actually super easy to make, and much less frustrating if you leave the chocolate for the inside. :) Merry Christmas!