These Easy Crème Brûlée Donut Rolls are made using King's Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls instead of donuts, filled with a delicious silky smooth crème patisserie (custard) and topped off with a crunchy thin layer of caramel. The result is absolutely mind-blowing: incredible flavor and texture just like gourmet donuts without any of the extra effort needed!
Read the full blog post below for detailed notes, tips, tricks, photos and videos.
THE STORY BEHIND THIS RECIPE
I am a big fan of crème brûlée myself, and know you guys are too. My Crème Brûlée Donuts are one of my most popular recipes on the blog, and I recently made a delicious classic Vanilla Crème Brûlée too. Similarly, I love making easy dessert recipes using King's Hawaiian rolls, like this Vanilla Bread Pudding or my easy Shahi Tukray. So I wanted to put the two together, and out came these crème brûlée donut rolls!
To be very honest with you guys, I was skeptical if this recipe would work. I thought they would taste more like bread rolls than donuts, but somehow, with the filling and the crunch, they tasted just like crème brûlée donuts! And I am a big fan of the smaller size - sometimes people struggle to finish one large donut in one sitting, and they go dry if left unfinished.
I could not stop eating them, so after gulping down more than I care to admit, I sent some with my husband to his soccer match, and apparently his teammates went crazy for these. I have asked him to record the reactions next time!
HOW TO MAKE EASY CREME BRULEE DONUT ROLLS
First, check out this short video in which I demonstrate the recipe:
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Now, let's go over the steps quickly (don't worry, all details are provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post as always):
- Make the crème patisserie, or a custard. Boiling milk and cream are mixed with a mixture of egg yolks and sugar to temper the eggs, then the whole mixture is cooked on low heat until it reaches a custard like consistency. Then butter is mixed in. The key to get the creme patisserie right is to cook low and slow, and keep stirring, so the mixture does not overcook or curdle. Cover and refrigerate until chilled
- Prepare the "donuts". This is really easy!! Separate the Hawaiian rolls, dip each in melted butter, and bake until golden. While they're still hot, coat the rolls in granulated sugar, and the result is eerily similar to actual donuts
- Fill the donuts. Transfer the crème patisserie to a piping bag with a bismarck tip (this is the one I use), and generously fill each roll with it. You will know the rolls are filled when they feel swollen (or some of the custard starts to ooze out)
- Make the caramel. For the brulee part, we are going to make a simple wet caramel. For this, combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook on medium low heat until the sugar melts and dissolves, and the mixture reaches a deep golden color. The caramel will go through a phase where it seems crystallized, but don't worry, just keep cooking it until the sugar melts!
- Coat the donuts. Now, this step requires care as you can easily burn your fingers (I did, oops). But while the caramel is still hot, carefully dip the top of each donut roll into the caramel to get a thin coating. As the caramel cools, it will solidify into a crispy crust
And that's it! Now you can enjoy the most divine crème brûlée donut rolls. Yum.
VARIATIONS
This is just the beginning! Now that you have learned this incredible hack to make donuts using rolls, you can make many different variations. Here are a few ideas:
- Cinnamon sugar donut rolls by coating the rolls in cinnamon sugar
- Nutella donut rolls by filling with Nutella instead of the creme pat
- Boston creme donut rolls if you replace the caramel coating with a ganache coating instead
- Fill with jam instead of creme pat
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This is not a good recipe to make in advance, because the thin caramel layer loses its crunch and becomes more chewy with time. If you need to, you can fill the donut rolls with the crème patisserie and refrigerate them for up to 1 day, then coat in caramel when you're ready to serve.
Due to the custard inside, these donut rolls need to be refrigerated in an airtight container. However, please note that they are best eaten within a few hours, as the caramel starts to become chewy.
You can substitute Hawaiian rolls with any small sized brioche rolls you have easy access to. I cannot guarantee how good the results will be, though.
This means you have overcooked the eggs, causing them to scramble. Make sure to use low heat and keep stirring. If some lumps form, you can try to strain them out with a fine sieve mesh.
In my experience, when people think caramel has crystallized, they actually just need to cook it a bit more! This happens when the water has evaporated but the sugar has not yet melted. Increase the heat a bit and gently stir the sugar, encouraging it to melt.
As you coat the donut rolls, the caramel will start to cool down and become thicker, making this harder and more sticky. Don't worry, return to the stove for just a few seconds until the caramel becomes warm and runny again.
You need to make sure the caramel is hot, and get a very thin coat on the rolls, wiping off the excess.
MORE EASY DESSERT RECIPES
If you're new here, we love easy dessert recipes! Here are a few popular ones you should check out:
Note: This recipe has been updated as some people were having trouble getting the creme patisserie filling to set.
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EASY CREME BRULEE DONUT ROLLS RECIPE
- Total Time: 3 hours with cooling
- Yield: 12 donut rolls
Description
Delicious Crème Brûlée Donut Rolls made using Hawaiian rolls instead of donuts, filled with a delicious silky smooth crème patisserie (custard) and topped off with a crunchy thin layer of caramel
Ingredients
Crème patisserie:
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream (360g)
- ⅓ cup milk (80g)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 egg yolks
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (55g)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter (28g)
Donut rolls:
- 1 pack King's Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (12 rolls)
- ½ cup melted butter (113g); there will be some excess
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (70g); there will be some excess
Caramel:
- 1 cup granulated sugar (220g)
- 4 tbsp water
Instructions
Crème patisserie:
- Add the milk, cream and vanilla to a saucepan, and heat on medium-low flame until the mixture starts to simmer (it should not be a full on boil)
- In the meanwhile, add the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt to a bowl and whisk to combine
- When the cream mixture is hot, slowly pour about a third of it into the egg mixture while quickly whisking. This will temper the eggs. Then pour back the egg mixture into the saucepan and return to heat
- Cook and stir continuously on low heat until the mixture reaches a thick custard like consistency. It will thicken more as it cools. Avoid overcooking as that can cause the custard to curdle
- Remove from heat and stir in the butter until combined
- Strain the custard through a fine sieve mesh to remove any lumps. Then pour into a large plate, cover with cling wrap (it should touch the custard), and place into the fridge for 1-2 hours until fully cooled down
Donut rolls:
- Start this step when the creme patisserie is cooled down
- Preheat oven to 350F (conventional) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
- Separate the Hawaiian rolls, and dunk each roll in the melted butter to properly coat all sides. Place onto the sheet
- Bake the rolls for ~8 minutes or so until the look golden
- Remove from the oven and quickly coat the rolls in the sugar on all sides
- Set aside and let them cool down
Filling donuts:
- Transfer the creme patisserie to a piping bag fit with a Bismarck piping tip
- Working one donut hole at a time, puncture from the side with the tip and fill with the custard. I like to angle the tip in different directions from the same hole to fill it properly. You can fill with as much or as little custard as you like. I like to fill quite generously, until the rolls feel heavy and the custard starts to ooze out
- Place the rolls sideways (with the hole facing up) and rest while you make the caramel. You can also clean up any excess custard with your fingers
Caramel & coating:
- Add the sugar and water to a wide bottomed saucepan and place on the stove on medium low heat. Avoid stirring and let the mixture come to a thorough boil
- Over time, the water will evaporate and the sugar will start to melt. If the mixture starts to crystallize (i.e., become solid and opaque), increase the heat slightly and try to gently stir to encourage the sugar to melt
- Keep cooking until the sugar is fully melted, and the caramel reaches a deep golden color
- Remove from heat, and while the caramel is still hot, very carefully dip the top of each donut roll inside the caramel (wear gloves or use tongs so you don't burn your fingers). You want a thin layer of caramel. Wipe off any excess
- If the caramel starts to thicken up, return to the heat until it is runny again. Continue until all rolls are dipped
- Wait 10 minutes for the caramel to harden, then serve & enjoy!
Notes
- Store these creme brulee donut rolls in the fridge in an airtight container, and don't stack them
- These donut rolls are best consumed within 2 hours, as after that the caramel starts to soften and become chewy. They're still delicious, though!
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
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Moureen says
The filling did not set properly. I had to re-heat and add cornstarch for consistency. With cornstarch added you dont need to wait 2 hours.
Zoha says
Hi Moureen! It sounds to me like you needed to cook the custard a bit longer. It's also not meant to be fully set, it's supposed to be a thick custard consistency once cooled. However, I am glad you were able to make it work with cornstarch.
Anonymous says
Yeah dude wtf me too. And I’ve reheated TWICE. Let’s write a 45 min story, that no one reads or cares about but sucky directions, this is what turns people off from recipes… waste of my time money and effort.
Zoha says
This custard is not meant to set solid, it will be like a custard. I don't see any reason why it will not thicken up if all measurements are followed accurately as I have never had any issue with that
Zee says
I can't believe how good these turned out!! You're right that they do taste like donuts even though they are so much easier to make. Wow.
Zoha says
Right? It's such a great hack.
Lily says
This was an easy hack. If I make it again I would skip the butter, sugar and baking step. it wasn't necessary. The caramel topping was sweet enough. the additional sugar made it too sweet. I would do one or the other, not both. Also the baking does nothing to enhance the roll. They were a nice treat, but doesn't taste like a doughnut.
Zoha says
Thank you for your feedback, Lily!
Calisson says
The custard was problematic. I cooked it until it coated the back of a spoon, but that merely left a thick sauce when cool, nothing like a custard. It would be helpful if you said cook it until X degrees rather than something vague like "till coats the back of a spoon." I added cornstarch and re-cooked it, but that definitely did not enhance the flavor.
Zoha says
Hi Calisson! Sorry it did not work out for you. I will make that update