Boston Cream Donuts Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 60 minutes plus 1-2 nights rising time
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 12
Ingredients Needed
For dough
- 80ml/2.7 fl oz water at 37C/98.6F
- 1 tablespoon/9g/0.3oz instant dried yeast
- 65g/2.3oz caster or superfine sugar
- 660g/1.5lbs bread flour
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 250ml/8.8fl oz milk
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 80g/2.7oz melted butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- Oil for deep frying
For Creme Patisserie
- 250ml/8.8 fl oz milk
- 45g/1.4oz sugar
- 13g/0.5oz cornflour/fine cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 30g/1oz butter
For Chocolate Glaze
- 125g/4oz dark chocolate bits
- 90g/3oz cream
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 ACTIVATE - In a small or medium bowl, add the water and stir in the sugar. Mix the yeast in with a fork and cover. Leave for 5-10 minutes and allow to foam.
Step 2 KNEAD - In a mixer bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Whisk the milk, eggs and butter together in a jug and add to the dry mixture. Add the foamed yeast mixture and vanilla and stir in. You will get a shaggy mixture. Knead for 15 minutes on low speed. The dough will be very sticky, pourable but smooth and you should be able to get the window pane effect where you pull the dough apart and it doesn't break but it becomes semi translucent. Place into a large 3 litre or 101oz container with lid (mine was 20X14x10cms/8x5.5x4inch) and refrigerate for 2 nights (up to 3 nights).
Step 3 CREME PATISSERIE - In a Thermomix add the milk, sugar, cornflour, egg, egg yolk, vanilla and butter and set to 7 minutes/90C/Speed #4. Scoop out into a bowl and cover with cling film directly on top of the custard. Or make it on the stovetop. Whisk the egg, egg yolk with the sugar and cornflour in a large jug until the mixture is pale and there are no lumps. Place the milk and vanilla in a saucepan and almost bring to a boil. Temper the mixture by slowly pouring a third of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking it in. Gradually add more milk and stir. Then return the whole mixture to the saucepan and cook on low-medium heat stirring until it is thickened and smooth ensuring that the custard doesn't catch on the base or in the corners. Once it can coat the back of a spoon well, place in a wide, shallow bowl and cover the top directly with cling film. Cool.
Step 4 CUT - Cover a bench well with flour and cut out 12 squares of parchment in 2 inch squares. Take dough out of fridge and spread out with greased hands until it is around 2cms/0.8inch thick. Take a 6cm/2.3inch round cutter and flour it well. Cut out 12 rounds dipping in the flour between each cut and place each on a square of parchment. Place on a tray at room temperature for 30 minutes for the final proof.
Step 5 FRY - When your donuts have 15-20 minutes to go on their final proof, heat up the oil. In a cast iron pot add 5cms/2inches of oil and heat it 175C/347F slowly. When the oil is ready, add 3 or 4 dough rounds lifting up the parchment and placing the dough on the parchment in the oil (the parchment will separate from the dough once fried). Fry for 2 minutes on each side. Place on double layer of paper towels and repeat with the remaining dough balls.
Step 6 FILL - Place some of the custard into a piping bag fitted with a Bismarck or #1 plain piping tip. Using a sharp small knife, cut a little hole in the side of the donut and then pipe custard into the donut. Repeat with the remaining donuts.
Step 7 CHOCOLATE - Place chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream until almost boiling and then pour on top of the chocolate. Cover and leave for 5-7 minutes. Stir the chocolate and cream together until smooth. If there are small lumps, microwave the mixture on 50% heat in 15 second bursts until the chocolate has softened so that it can be completely melted. Dip one half of a donut into the chocolate and place chocolate side up to set.
Substitution notes:
You can also use this donut dough to make strawberry jam donuts or bombolini/munkki donuts.
Personal Note
While testing this recipe I went through a lot of eggs - easily over a dozen eggs trying to get it juuust right. I wanted the dough to be delicious but I also wanted it to be light. Some donut doughs don't use eggs but in this, it gives it a richer flavour and a really nice texture.
Two boys that really loved me going through the eggs were Teddy and Milo. They both love eggs not only to eat but when I've finished with the carton I cut it in half and then drizzle it with peanut butter and give them one carton each as an enrichment toy.
But what each dog does with that carton is very different. Tiny Teddy either sleeps with the carton or gets it open and licks the peanut butter while more boisterous Milo rips the carton apart. Teddy is only about a kilo lighter than Milo but that's just his personality while Milo approaches life with enthusiasm and hunger!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like Boston Cream Donuts?