Sweet Danube, simple recipe with Nutella using a few easily available ingredients. This recipe was taught to me by a dear friend about twenty years ago, and I bring it to all family gatherings because it is always a hit. It is a brioche-like leavened dough that remains very soft and can be enjoyed plain or filled. There are many versions of Danube, both sweet and savory, all very scenic due to their characteristic shape made up of many rolls that can also be easily enjoyed as finger food.
The recipe I describe today is to prepare a Sweet Danube that I love to fill with a bit of Nutella, but for the filling, you can choose between jam, creams, chocolate pieces, and fruit chunks. Just today on a famous TV show, I saw the Danube being filled by cutting it in half after cooking and filling it as if it were a cake; but the characteristic of the Danube is precisely the filling of each dough ball before baking. This way, you will have a dessert that you can portion with your hands, roll by roll, and everyone will have their nice stuffed roll.
I leave you with other recipes for convenient leavened goods to enrich your buffets like
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 3 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 12 rolls
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 375.46 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 50.31 (g) of which sugars 21.23 (g)
- Proteins 8.71 (g)
- Fat 16.40 (g) of which saturated 11.50 (g)of which unsaturated 4.47 (g)
- Fibers 2.13 (g)
- Sodium 38.14 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 0.88 oz fresh yeast
- 2/3 cup butter (softened)
- 7/8 cup Nutella®
Tools
- 1 Stand Mixer howork
Preparation
The preparation of the Danube is very simple, it’s important to respect the rising of the dough and the rolls when they are in the pan.
Place the flour, crumbled yeast, and sugar in the stand mixer bowl and start at low speed using the dough hook. Add one egg at a time while the mixer is running, and once all eggs are incorporated, add the butter in pieces. The butter should be soft, so I recommend taking it out of the fridge at least 30′ before starting the dough.
When the dough is homogeneous, turn off the mixer and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface to create a ball of dough with your hands, which you will let rise in a covered container. I use these plastic boxes and find them very useful, but you can use a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap.
Let the dough rise for about 3 hours; it should more than double in size. Once the dough has risen, pour it again onto the floured work surface and divide it into pieces of about 3 oz.
Fill each piece of Danube with about a teaspoon of Nutella and roll it into a ball with rotational movements on the table, performing the so-called “pirlatura”
Place each stuffed roll on the baking tray where you want to bake the Danube. I divided it into two trays, but you can make a single Danube and bake all the rolls in the same tray. The rolls should be close but not touching because they will grow during rising and baking. Cover the rolls with a cloth and let them rise for another 30′ or so.
Once the Danube has risen, bake it in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 20′, or until the surface is golden brown.
NOTES
The Sweet Danube is perfect for enriching your buffets, taking on a trip or to work because it portions easily and the filling stays inside the roll; however, if you want my advice, I would consume it the day you bake it or at most the next day and freeze any excess to maintain its great softness. In any case, keep it covered to preserve it at room temperature.
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