Bavarian Cream Donuts are pillow-soft, fluffy doughnuts filled with rich and luscious vanilla cream filling.For best flavour, start this recipe the day before so the dough can rest in the fridge overnight. If you want to make them all on one day, let the dough rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours before proceeding.The pastry cream can be made 1-2 days ahead of time.
1cupcaster sugar (superfine sugar), for coating(200g / 7oz)
FOR THE PASTRY CREAM
1 ½cupswhole milk(375ml)
⅓cupcaster sugar (superfine sugar)(66g / 2.3oz)
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
¼cupcornflour (cornstarch)(30g / 1oz)
2egg yolks from large eggs
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
Stand mixer (recommended)
mixing bowl
Saucepan
Slotted spoon
Piping bag with cream puff piping nozzle (recommended)
Instructions
FOR THE DOUGHNUT DOUGH: 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, nutmeg, eggs and egg yolk. Beat with a dough hook on low speed for for 4-5 minutes until starting to smooth out.
With the stand mixer, with a dough hook attachment, on low-medium add the butter a couple of cubes at a time letting it mix until it is all fully incorporated. This takes a little time but be patient.
Once all the butter is incorporated, knead on low for a further 5-10 minutes. When done, it will be smooth, soft and elastic and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
Grease a large bowl with a tiny bit of oil or oil spray. Place the doughnut dough into the bowl and flip to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and sit in the fridge overnight for 12 or up to a maximum of 24 hours.
SHAPE THE DOUGHNUTS: Take the dough out of the bowl and give it 3-4 quick kneads. Weigh the dough (this helps to get even sized doughnuts which in turn helps them cook evenly). Whatever the total weight is, divide it by 9 to make 9 doughnuts (mine are normally close to 100g / 3.5oz each).
Once you have your 9 pieces of dough, start by holding it in one hand and with the other, pull and pinch the dough from the edges towards the centre until the part in your palm is fairly smooth.
Place the ball pinched side down on your work surface. Cup it either side with your hands and gently drag it towards you against the work surface. Turn it 90° and repeat another 2-3 times until you have a nice smooth little ball.
Cut 9 small squares of baking paper and place each of your dough balls onto one of the squares of paper on a baking tray. Cover with a light tea towel and let them rise until doubled in size - 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
Go on with the pastry cream.
FOR THE PASTRY CREAM: 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 ¼ 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 low-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.
TO COOK THE DOUGHNUTS: Lay out a couple of layers of paper towel on a plate or tray. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of a dutch oven or large saucepan and pour in the oil. Heat the oil to 180C / 350F.
Once the oil is at temperature you can start adding the doughnuts. Cook in batches of 2-3 - don't overcrowd the pan. To transfer the dough balls to the oil, hold the baking paper with one hand and gently hold the other side as you turn it over close to the oil - don't drop it from a height or you will get splashed with hot oil. Once you have the doughnut in the oil, peel away the baking paper.
Deep fry for 3-4 minutes and deep golden brown underneath. Flip over using a slotted spoon and fry the other side for 3-4 minutes. Always keep an eye on the temperature - if it drops too low they won't cook through quickly enough and will become oily. If it goes too high they may cook too quickly and burn while the inside won't be cooked.
Remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon allowing the oil to drip off and transfer them to the paper towel for 30 seconds.
Roll in the caster sugar (you need to do this while they're still hot so that it sticks) then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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 with a cream puff piping nozzle.
Cut a small slit in the side of the donut and place the piping nozzle into the slit roughly to the centre. 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.
Serve immediately. Best eaten the same day as they're made.
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Notes
Activating the yeast: Technically, this step is not required with instant yeast, however it is required for active dry yeast. The reason I always take this step, even with instant yeast, is to make sure the yeast is alive. If I were to put it straight into the dough, there is potential to waste a lot of time and ingredients if it turns out the yeast is no good.
Use scales: For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
Yield: This recipe yields 9 donuts but you can make them smaller. Keep in mind the cooking time will change depending on size. Test one from your first batch but cutting it open to see if the inside is cooked.
Resting time: The extended resting time in this recipe gives both a more complex flavour and a better texture, though you can speed it up. Just make sure the dough rises to double it's size on each resting period.
Don’t be tempted to add more flour: This dough should remain soft and just a little sticky but it will be manageable. The kneading process develops gluten which will help the dough to become less sticky so just be patient and let it come together naturally. Adding more flour will only make your doughnuts dry and dense.
When cooking with hot oil be extremely careful. Don’t drop the doughnuts in from a height. Lower them to the surface. If you don’t want your hand to get too close, use some tongs or the slotted spoon to help.
Don’t overcrowd the pan: The doughnuts need a little space so they can puff up nice and big. Also, the more dough balls you add to the pan the more the temperature of the oil will drop.
Calories: 453kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Bavarian, German
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.