Ingredients
- ⅔ cup whole milk, warmed to 100℉ (150ml)
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest from 1 orange
- ⅓ cup granulated white sugar (66g)
- 207 g 00 flour (you can replace this with all purpose flour)
- 207 g bread flour (you can replace with all purpose flour)
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened and cubed* (74g)
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
Italian Pastry Cream
- 1 ⅔ cup whole milk 365g – 354ml
- 3 large egg yolks
- 20 g cornstarch
- 6 tablespoon granulated white sugar 75g
- pinch of salt
- ½ to 1 vanilla bean ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of half an orange (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the warm milk, a pinch of sugar and yeast. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes or until foamy (if there’s no reaction at all, the yeast is most likely dead or the milk is too hot)
- Whisk in the egg, sugar, vanilla extract and the orange zest.
- Add in the flour and salt, and scatter the cubed butter over the mixture and knead until the dough is smooth, elastic and tacky. It’s a bit of a sticky dough so don’t be tempted to add more flour. To see if the dough is kneaded enough, take a bit of the dough and stretch it out until you can see light pass through, without tearing. If it tears, knead it some more.
- Place in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover. Rest and let it rise until tripled in size, about 2-3 hours. I turn on my oven for a few minutes and then turn it off and make sure it’s just kind of warm – then place the dough in there to rise. Make sure it’s OFF.
Pastry Cream
- Whisk together the yolks and sugar until light and pale. Add in the cornstarch and mix until completely smooth.
- Combine the milk and vanilla in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until small bubbles start to form. Don’t boil. Take off the heat.
- Slowly pour in the hot milk into the egg mixture to temper, while constantly whisking to prevent the yolks from scrambling. Add in the salt and orange zest if using.
- Pour the mixture back into the pan and and place over low heat. Cook for 4-6 minutes while whisking constantly. Make sure to not boil it. It’ll begin to thicken up and once it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon without dripping much, it’s done.
- Take off the heat and pass through a strainer, into a container. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until completely chilled.
Shape, fry & assemble the donuts
- Punch down the dough and turn over onto a clean work surface. Knead it a few times into a smooth dough. You don’t want any air bubbles in it.
- Roll the dough out until it’s ½” thick. Using a cookie cutter or a cup, cut them to about 3.5 inches wide circles. Knead together the dough scraps and repeat until all the dough is used up.
- Place on a large tray lined with parchment paper and let it rest for 1-2 hours, or until the donuts are tripled in size.
- Once doubled, cut the parchment paper so each donut is on it’s own little square.
- Add enough oil to a large heavy bottomed pot or a wok, so it’s about 3 inches in depth.
- Heat the oil to 350F, or 176.6℃
- Pick up the donuts with the parchment, making sure not to touch them so they don’t deflate. Place 2-3 in the oil and fry for a few minutes until they’re golden brown and flip. Take out the parchment paper.
- Once golden brown on both sides, take them out and place on a paper towel lined tray to absorb the excess oil.
- While they’re still hot, roll them in the sugar and evenly coat them. Place on a wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the donuts.
- Once the donuts have cooled down, cut a small slit or hole on the side with a small knife.
- Whisk the pastry cream a bit until smooth and put in a piping back with a narrow tip (like the bismark tip) or just cut a small hole after filling the pastry bag.
- Insert the tip in the donut and fill with pastry cream or desired filling.
- Serve immediately or place in an airtight container and refrigerate for 1-3 days.
Notes
*you can use either salted or unsalted butter