sarah
Boston Cream Donuts
These donuts are an American tradition—greasy, gooey, terrible for you, but absolutely delicious. Putting real vanilla bean in this donut adds lots of additional flavor.
Yields: Makes 18 Donuts.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of whole milk (warmed to 110º F)
- 2/3 cup of sugar (plus 1 tablespoon)
- 4 ½ teaspoons of instant yeast (2 packages)
- 2 large eggs, beaten (room temperature)
- 12 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 3 cups of bread flour
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of salt Oil, for frying
For the Filing
- 2 cups of whole milk
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- Scraped Salt, to taste
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 2 ½
- tablespoons of cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons of butter, softened
For the Glaze
- 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- ¼ cup of whole milk 1
- Tablespoon of light corn syrup
- 5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ confectioners’ sugar
Method of Preparation
- To make the filing, wet the surface and sides of a cookie sheet, and cover them with plastic wrap.
- Combine the milk, ½ cup of sugar, the pod and seeds of the vanilla bean, and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Remove the milk mixture from the heat when it comes to a low boil.
- Remove the pod of the vanilla bean.
- Whisk the ½ cup of sugar and cornstarch and set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg ingredients together for about 30 seconds. Add the cornstarch mixture and whisk until it is no longer lumpy. Add this mixture to the saucepan in portions. Continue stirring.
- Move the saucepan back over the heat and continue to stir until the mixture gets bubbly, then whisk an additional two minutes. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in the butter until it disappears.
- Set the filing in the lined pan and wrap the entire thing in plastic wrap, placing the plastic wrap directly on the filing. Allow the filing to chill for at least 2 hours before using.
- To make the donuts, pour the warmed milk into a medium bowl.
- Dissolve the yeast in the warmed milk. Add a tablespoon of sugar, cover, and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. The mixture should be foamy.
- Stir the eggs, vanilla, and butter in another bowl and set aside.
- Combine the flours, salt, and remaining sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Put the dough hook on the mixer, and add the milk mixture. Mix on low until the entire mixture is moist.
- Add the egg mixture and increase the speed to medium. Beat for about 10 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Coat a large bowl with cooking oil, and place the dough in the bowl. Dough should be stretchy, but not sticky (if it is sticky, add a little more flour). Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the dough overnight.
- Remove the dough and set it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to ½-inch thickness.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use biscuit cutters to cut out dough circles. Place the circles on the baking sheet and allow them to rise for 45 minutes to an hour.
- Heat oil to fry the donuts to 350º F. Fry the donuts one at time using a heat-resistant strainer. The donuts should be golden brown on each side (about 2 minutes per side).
- Let the donuts cool on a wire rack.
- Using a medium saucepan, combine the milk, corn syrup, and butter. Heat over medium heat until the butter melts.
- Decrease the heat to low, and add the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is fully combined.
- Remove from heat and add the sugar and vanilla. You may need to keep the glaze warm to keep it from hardening by setting it over a bowl of warm water.
- Whisk the filing before using it. Poke a hole in the side of the cooled donuts. Fill a pastry bag with the filing and press the filing into the donut.
- Dip the donut in the chocolate glaze and allow the glaze to set for about 30 minutes before serving.
