How exciting, my first Carnival dessert on the blog: ricotta doughnuts made in the air fryer! Yes, I’ve been wanting to try making them fried but not fried using my beloved air fryer for years, and I finally did it: the result for me is amazing!
They turned out so soft, lemon-scented, and I think they could even be filled. The inside is really soft, so you can easily use a piping bag to insert a cream, like my Eggless Custard Cream. They are a little laborious to prepare, not because of the cooking, but because the ricotta dough tends to be a bit sticky, but once you get the hang of it and follow my instructions below, you can make them quickly without making a mess, trust me.
I used the recipe from Giallo Zafferano as a base but made some changes and, of course, didn’t fry them. But I ended up with ricotta doughnuts that are simply out of this world! They can also be baked in the oven; the information is in the Notes at the end of the recipe. Let’s go see the step-by-step recipe but first, here’s some other sweets suitable for this period:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 27 doughnuts
- Cooking methods: Air Fry
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Carnival, All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups flour (About 1 cup for the dough and about 1 tbsp for working the dough, the rest will remain on the work surface)
- 1 egg (medium)
- 1 cup g ricotta
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 packet baking powder (I used vanilla-flavored)
- 1 lemon (or an orange, you'll need the grated zest, so preferably organic)
- 1 tsp g powdered sugar
- Total points = 31 WW points
- Points per doughnut = 1 WW point
Tools
- Food scale
- Sieve
- Flour Sifter
- Bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Lemon grater
- Spatula
- Air fryer paper
- Silicone mat
- Air fryer
- Cooling rack
Preparation
First, drain the ricotta in a sieve in the fridge for at least an hour so that it becomes drier. Then, prepare flour and baking powder by sifting them well together.
In a bowl, combine the egg and sugar and mix well.
Take the drained ricotta and add it to the egg and sugar, mixing carefully to obtain a smooth, lump-free mixture.
Add the grated zest of a lemon (or an orange) and mix. Even at this stage, the aroma is pure bliss!
Start adding the flour one tablespoon at a time, incorporating it slowly to avoid creating lumps. At the end, the dough will be soft and sticky, which is why I avoided handling it too much, or I would have had to use a lot more flour. Now I’ll explain how I did it…
I measured out about 1 tbsp of flour and sprinkled it into a bowl on the scale. I measured out pieces of dough (taken with the silicone spatula and a teaspoon) of about 0.6 oz each and placed them in the floured bowl.
I floured my hands and took one piece at a time, rolling it quickly between my palms to form balls, then placed them one by one on a floured silicone mat. Once all the doughnuts were formed, I moved on to cooking and placed a few at a time on a piece of parchment paper the size of the basket in my air fryer.
As you can see, there’s a lot of unused flour, which we don’t need to calculate for WW points.
Preheat the air fryer to 338°F for 2 minutes, then insert the basket with the doughnuts: cook for exactly 8 minutes. Remove the basket and place the doughnuts on a cooling rack to cool. I have a Philips Airfryer XXL which is quite powerful: if your model is different, it might be necessary to cook them at 356°F for a couple more minutes. Cook all the doughnuts this way, and once they’re cold, sprinkle them with a bit of powdered sugar.
If you want to bake them, read the Notes at the end of the recipe.
And now our ricotta doughnuts in the air fryer are ready to be enjoyed. Believe me: as I’m writing the recipe, I’m drawn to the plate I left in the oven away from the cats…
So we can enjoy a light treat even during Carnival and still stay on a diet. But not only that: no fried smell in the kitchen, it’s just fragrant with sweets and lemon here now, you can’t imagine.
The Dutchman tried one too, and he liked it; I’m waiting for my son’s opinion and, of course, yours in my Eat Without a Belly Club on Facebook.
Happy Carnival!
by Giovanna Buono
Notes
My super friend Loredana Berto tried baking them in the oven, here’s what she writes:
“I baked them in a fan oven, on a tray covered with parchment paper, at 356°F for 15 minutes. They deflate a bit during cooking and don’t color much. But the house smells amazing and they’re so good!”
Here are her oven-baked doughnuts:
Thanks a lot to Loredana!
Well, after Carnival, there’s Father’s Day, so try this recipe too: Baked Saint Joseph’s Cream Puffs. They’re delicious and very light!
