How to make Boston Cream Donuts

Fluffy, yeast-risen fried donuts filled with lusciously smooth vanilla bean pastry cream and topped with a rich dark chocolate ganache. A Boston cream donut is a variation on the Boston cream pie, both have vanilla pastry cream and dark chocolate ganache but one is made with sponge cake and one with yeast dough.

So is it doughnut or donut? It doesn’t matter. They mean the same thing. Donut is just the Americanized spelling of doughnut. Is it a filled doughnut or a Berliner? The difference is all in the shaping of the dough. Berliners are rolled into balls and flattened slightly whereas, filled donuts are cut using round cutters without the hole in the center. I used three different-sized round cutters in case I wanted to eat a large, small, or mini doughnut…

Anyway, I made these Boston cream donuts because the Harris Teeter by my work has been out of them for days and my boyfriend wanted one. So I made him a whole batch. Cool story, right?

pro tips

• read the recipe: read the whole recipe before starting.
• mise en place: weigh and prep all your ingredients and supplies before starting.
• yeast dough: the dough will need to be bulk fermented, shaped, and proofed before frying. Give yourself and the dough the proper time to do its thing.
• frying oil: the oil must be 360°F. Any lower and your donuts will be greasy. Higher and your doughnuts will be brown outside and raw inside. Use a thermometer and adjust the heat level throughout the bake.
• chopsticks: I like to use chopsticks to flip the donuts in the oil. I find it easier to use one to hold the side of the donut down while the other chopstick flips. Go slow and don’t splash. Be safe out there. I also use a chopstick to poke the hole for the pastry cream, I don’t have the proper piping tip for filling yet. You can gently wiggle the chopstick inside the doughnut to make room for more pastry cream.

supplies

• stand mixer
• bowls, various sizes
• medium saucepan
• rolling pin
• circle cutters
• parchment paper
• large frying pan with tall sides
• chopsticks or large slotted spoon

ingredients

• flour: I always use King Arthur flour because they are the most consistent in quality.
• milk: I use whole milk but you can use whatever your favorite alternative is. The taste may differ a bit but I have used oat milk in pastry cream before and it was fine.
• chocolate: I use Callebaut dark chocolate. They have great quality and a consistent flavor profile.
• dry milk powder: the addition of milk powder to the dough gives it a richer flavor. If you don’t have milk powder on hand you can replace the water in the dough recipe with milk.

recipe instructions

Donuts – modified straight dough method

step one: Combine the yeast with the flour. Set aside.

step two: In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the shortening, sugar, salt, and milk powder and mix until well combined. Do not whip.

step three: Add the eggs gradually.

step four: Add the liquid, and mix briefly.

step five: Switch to the dough attachment. Add flour and yeast. Mix on speed one until most of the flour has been blended in. Mix on speed 2 for 6-8 minutes. The dough is developed when smooth. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour but not too much, and mix for another minute or two. You might not even need to add more flour, you may just need to mix it a little longer.

step six: Move the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough bulk ferment (double in size) for 1 1/2 hours.

**While you’re waiting for the dough to bulk ferment, you can make the pastry cream.

step seven: Punch down the dough and place it onto a floured surface. Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thick.

step eight: Cut out donuts with round cutters.

step nine: Place the cutout donuts onto a sheet pan with parchment paper. Cut out as close as possible to reduce scrap dough. If you want to make moving the donuts easier for frying, cut out squares of parchment paper so that each donut has its square. Combine the scrap dough and let it relax. Roll it out and let it relax again. Continue cutting donuts. Allow donuts to proof (double in size) for about 45 minutes.

step ten: In a large saute pan with high sides or a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat to 360°F. A lower oil temperature will make greasy donuts, higher temperature will burn the dough.

step eleven: Handle proofed donuts carefully, you don’t want them to deflate or deform. This is where those parchment squares come in handy. Gently place the donut in the oil with the parchment paper (you can remove the paper in a minute) and cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip the donut with the chopsticks or a slotted spoon, gently, being sure not to splash the oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes. Place the fried donut onto a sheet pan with a layer of paper towels. Allow the excess oil to dip off the donuts before placing them on paper towels. Continue with the rest of the donuts.

step twelve: Allow the donuts to cool completely before filling.

Pastry Cream

step one: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the milk and bring just to a boil.

step two: Combine the sugar and cornstarch with a whisk. Then add the eggs and whisk until smooth.

step three: Temper the egg mixture by slowly adding in the hot milk. Use about half the milk.

step four: Return the mixture to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. The mixture should boil for up to two minutes to cook out the starchy taste.

step five: Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla until the butter has melted and the cream is completely blended.

step six: Pour the cream into a shallow pan and cover with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap should come in direct contact with the cream to prevent a crust from forming. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Ganache

step one: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, scald the heavy cream.

step two: Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate and let stand for 3 minutes.

step three: Begin stirring the chocolate and heavy from the center until an emulsion forms. Slowly stir outward until all the cream has mixed in and the ganache is smooth. Set aside until ready to use. The workable temperature for ganache should be between 90°F and 105°F. If you need to reheat the ganache, do so in 30-second increments in the microwave.

Filling the donuts:

step one: Whip the pastry cream until smooth. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a round tip or if you have it, the special filling tip, with the cream.

step two: Using a chopstick, poke a hole into the side of each donut and gently wiggle it from side to side to open a space for the cream.

step three: Inject each donut with cream. Use slow pressure so the donut doesn’t blow out. You can go by feel for the amount of cream used. You will feel a gentle pushback when you can no longer add more cream. Also, the cream will ooze out of the hole a bit, depending on how much extra cream you inject.

Dipping the donuts:

step one: Stir the ganache to see the viscosity. If it is too thick, heat it up slowly in the microwave for about 10-30 seconds. You want the ganache to be less thick than the pastry cream but not liquidy.

step two: Grab the donut around the side and dip the top into the ganache. Gently lift the donut up and allow any excess ganache to drip off. Flip the donut ganache side up and place onto sheet pan. Repeat for remaining donuts.

step three: EAT! Enjoy your Boston Cream Donuts by yourself or share with friends. They’re so good!

Boston Cream Donuts

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Ingredients

  

Donuts

• 75 g shortening
• 105 g sugar
• 13 g salt
• 38 g dry milk powder
• 105 g eggs
• 750 g bread flour or ap flour
• 13 g instant yeast
• 410 g water

Pastry Cream

• 1 pint milk
• 63 g sugar
• 45 g yolks
• 63 g whole eggs
• 38 g cornstarch
• 63 g sugar
• 30 g butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Dark Chocolate Ganache

• 170 g dark chocolate chopped
• 152 g heavy cream

Instructions

 

Donuts-modified straight dough method

• Combine the yeast with the flour.
• In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the shortening, sugar, salt, and milk powder and mix until well combined. Do not whip until light.
• Add the eggs gradually.
• Add the water and mix briefly.
• Switch to the dough attachment and add the flour and yeast. Mix until fully developed, approximately 6-8 minutes on second speed.
• Move the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap. Bulk ferment for 1½ hours at 80℉.
• Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough to ½ inch thickness. Cut out with round cutters. Place the rounds onto squares of parchment paper and proof for about 45 minutes or until 1 in. tall.
• Fry the donuts at 360℉ for 1-2 minutes on each side. Lift them from the fat and let the excess fat drip off. Place the donuts in one layer on paper towels to cool completely.

Pastry Cream

• In a medium saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the milk and bring just to a boil.
• With a whisk, beat the egg yolks and whole eggs in a stainless steel bowl.
• Combine the cornstarch and sugar. Add to the eggs and whisk until smooth.
• Temper the egg mixture by slowly beating in hot milk.
• Return the mixture to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
• When the mixture comes to a boil, continue to stir constantly and boil for up to 2 minutes, until the cream has no raw starchy taste.
• Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Mix until butter is melted and completely blended in.
• Pour out into a clean shallow pan. Cover with plastic wrap placed directly in contact with the surface of the cream to prevent a crust from forming. Chill.
• For filling donuts, whip the chilled pastry cream until smooth before using.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

• In a medium saucepan, scald the heavy cream.
• Pour hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 3 minutes.
• Stir the mixture until cream is fully mixed in and the mixture is completely smooth.

storage tips

To store filled donuts, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to four days. For the best taste and texture, eat donuts within two days.

yeast-raised donut tips

1. The dough used for yeast donuts is similar to regular sweet dough, like the dough used for cinnamon rolls, just not as rich.
2. After bulk fermentation, bring the dough to the floured surface with sufficient makeup time. The dough continues to ferment during makeup. If it gets too old, the dough will require more time to fry, therefore getting too brown and greasy.
3. Watch the dough temperature, especially in warm weather. Try to keep the dough below 80°F.
4. Proof the donuts at a lower temperature than you do breads, about 70°F.
5. Handle proofed donuts carefully. You don’t want deflated or deformed donuts. Many bakers proof the donuts only three-quarters of the way. This will make a denser donut but one that is easier to handle.
6. Fry the donuts at the correct temperature. 360°F Check the temperature during the frying process and adjust the heat accordingly.
7. Lift the donuts from the frying oil and allow the excess oil to drip into the pan before placing them onto paper towels. You can also use brown paper to absorb excess fat.