Description
This recipe brings together the best of two incredible desserts: soft, fluffy and light donuts filled with a silky smooth creme patisserie filling and topped with a thin, crispy caramel coating!
Ingredients
Dough ingredients:
- Tangzhong: 4 tbsp milk (50g), 1 tbsp flour (10g)
- 3/4 cup milk (180g)
- 1.5 tsp yeast
- 3 cups all purpose flour (400g)
- 2 tbsp milk powder (15g)
- 1/4 cup sugar (50g)
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 5 tbsp softened butter, in 2 parts (70g)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Creme patisserie:
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar (110g)
- 2 tbsp corn starch (20g)
- 2 cups milk (460g)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Caramel:
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tbsp water
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Donuts
- Make the tangzhong by stirring the flour and milk in a nonstick pan over medium heat until they form a thick paste
- Mix the tangzhong with cold milk and yeast in the bowl of your standing mixer and let sit for 5 min. The heat of the tangzhong will bring theoverall temperature to a luke-warm ideal for the yeast
- Add all the other ingredients for the dough, leaving out half of the butter. Knead at medium-high speed using a dough hook for 5 min until the dough starts to come together
- Add the remaining butter and knead again for 5-8 minutes until a smooth and stretchy dough has formed. It should pull away from the edges of the bowl
- Cover and let the dough rise for about 1 hour until it doubles in size (or overnight in the fridge, but don't rise at room temperature and then leave the dough in the fridge)
- Roll the dough into a 1/2 inch thick sheet. Cut out 4” circles. Repeat until all the dough is used up
- Place the circles donuts onto small pieces of parchment paper, and transfer them to a tray. Rest for about 30-45 min at room temperature
- Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a wok over medium heat. Once it has reached 350F, carefully drop in a test donut, removing the parchment paper, and fry for about 2 min per side. Test for doneness and adjust timing as needed. Fry all donuts, and keep the raw donuts in a cool place as you fry so they don’t overproof
- Let the donuts cool down on a wire rack at room temperature while you make the creme patisserie
- Creme Patisserie:
- For the creme patisserie, whisk the eggs, corn starch, salt and sugar in a bowl
- Place the milk and vanilla in a nonstick pan and bring to a boil
- Carefully pour the milk mix into the egg mix while whisking continuously, then pour back the whole mixture into the pan
- Cook on low heat while stirring constantly until you get a custard like consistency. Add the butter and mix it in
- Remove from heat and pass through a strainer to make sure there are no lumps. If the cream feels lumpy, blend it for 30 seconds to make it smooth
- Place in the fridge for at least 15 min to cool down
- Transfer the crème patisserie into a piping bag with a Bismarck tip. Carefully puncture the donuts and fill them with the custard until they feel heavy
- Caramel coating
- For the caramel, mix the sugar, salt and water in a nonstick pan and place on low heat. This will take some time, try not to stir
- Slowly the sugar will dissolve and start to caramelize. Once your caramel reaches a deep golden color, take it off the heat
- While the caramel is still hot, carefully dip your donuts on one side so they get a thin caramel coating. If the caramel starts to harden, reheat it until it becomes runny again
- The donuts should form a crispy coating once they cool
- Serve & enjoy!
Notes
- These are best consumed within a few hours
- Keep the donuts uncovered at room temperature. If you cover them, the humidity will cause the caramel to become soggy
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 4 min per donuts
- Category: Donuts