These soft, fluffy caramel doughnuts are filled with a creamy brown sugar custard and topped with caramel icing. The yeasted dough is simple to make and creates a super fluffy donut.
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
FOR THE DOUGHNUTS
Warm the milk for about 15 seconds in the microwave. You don’t want it to be hot, just slightly warmer than room temp. Pour the milk into the bowl of a stand mixer with the sugar then sprinkle the yeast on top and stir it around. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
Add the flour, salt, eggs and egg yolk. Beat with a dough hook on low speed for a couple of minutes until the dough comes together. With the mixer on medium add the butter a spoonful at a time until it is all fully incorporated.
Grease a large bowl with a tiny bit of oil or oil spray. Place the doughnut dough into the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit for 1 - 1 ½ hours until doubled in size.
FOR THE CUSTARD
Pour 1 ¼ cups of milk into a heavy based saucepan, and add sugar and vanilla, then heat on low-medium heat until steaming, stirring regularly to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup milk, egg yolks and cornflour until smooth and fully combined.
While whisking, very slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture in a slow but steady stream. Don’t pour it too quickly or the heat will scramble the eggs.
Once everything is combined, return the mix to the saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring with a whisk constantly, until it gets very thick and no longer settles into itself when you move it around. This will happen quite quickly after about 5 minutes so it’s important to keep gently whisking increasing intensity as it gets very thick. You will end up with lumpy custard if you don’t.
swap to a silicone spatula and pass the custard through a strainer into a clean bowl, then press plastic wrap to the surface and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until required.
TO COOK THE DOUGHNUTS
Line a baking sheet with baking paper. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll out the dough to about 1cm thick (just under 1/2 inch) and make it about 28cm square (11 inch square). Use a 7.5cm (3 inch) round cookie cutter to cut out 11 rounds from the dough and lay them on your baking paper.
Put them aside in a warm place for about an hour until they are nearly doubled in size and puffy looking. You can re-knead any remaining dough to a small, smooth ball and let it rest for 1/2 an hour before rolling and cutting more doughnuts.
Lay out a couple of layers of paper towel on a plate or tray. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of a deep pan and pour in the oil. Heat the oil to 180C / 350F.
Gently place the doughnuts one at a time into the hot oil, in batches of 3-4 only (don't overcrowd the pan). Deep fry for 1-2 minutes, then flip over and fry the other side for 1-2 minutes. Remove them from the oil using a slotted scoop allowing the oil to drip off and transfer them to the paper towel until slightly cooled, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Repeat with the remaining doughnuts making sure the oil is at the right temperature before starting.
Once the doughnuts are cool, give the custard a good mix up to get it smooth, then transfer to a piping bag.
Cut a small slit in the side and place the tip of your piping back into the slit and gently squeeze in your filling until you feel the piping bag being pushed back. Gently pull out the piping nozzle but filling the doughnut right to the outside.
FOR THE CARAMEL ICING
Add the butter, sugar and milk to a small saucepan, stirring over medium heat. Once the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved, bring to the boil for 20 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 10 minutes. Add the icing sugar and whisk in until fully incorporated.
Place your doughnuts on a cooling rack, set over the top of a baking tray to catch any drips. Pour the icing over the top of the doughnuts while it is still a bit warm.
Please take a moment to rate this recipe. I really appreciate it and it helps me create more recipes.
Notes
I use a Australian standard 20ml Tablespoon
At step 3 you can place the dough in the fridge overnight. Take it out at least 2 hours before you want to roll it out.
Calories: 484kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Dessert, Snack, Sweets
Cuisine: American, World
Have you tried this recipe?Don't forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.