Happy National Donut Day - Boston Cream Doughnut Recipe

Homemade Boston Cream Doughnuts are a bit of a project but believe it or not, they are not difficult to master. Once you do, you will love the outcome-guaranteed! These doughnuts are an incredibly soft and filled with Boston Cream and glazed with a chocolate ganache. This recipe for homemade Boston Cream Doughnuts will show you hot to make them step by step so don't worry!

I prefer homemade Boston Cream Doughnuts over store bought because store bought doughnuts are way too sweet for me. In fact, it's been years since I've had a store bough doughnut. Making them at home, on the other hand, that's a different story. I do like to make homemade doughnuts every now and then and this recipe never fails me. This recipe for homemade Boston Cream Doughnuts is very detailed but easy to follow so don't feel intimidated. I can assure you that once you make these once, you will find satisfaction in making them as well as indulging in them because they are just so scrumptious!

Homemade Boston Cream DoughnutsIna Eats In

Remember, one step at a time and you cam add "Boston Cream Doughnuts Maker" to your resume. :)

Making Homemade Boston Cream Doughnuts.

The steps in making these doughnuts at home requires 3 components:

• The doughnuts
• Boston Cream
• chocolate ganache

This might seem like a lot but please trust me. Once you read through the steps carefully, you WILL have successfully made homemade Boston Cream Doughnuts. Now lets get to it, shall we?!

First, Make your Boston Cream - it needs to cool while you make your doughnuts.

Boston Cream is essentially pastry cream. This is made of

• egg yolks, for deep flavor and also helps thicken the cream
• whole milk, don't use skim milk
• corn starch, makes the mixture thick
• vanilla extract for flavor
• salt to balance out the sweetness
• butter for smooth texture

1. Bring whole milk to a boil and remove from heat.
2. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and corn starch until no lumps are present.
3. Whisk in half of hot milk until incorporated then add in the remainder of the hot milk and whisk until smooth.
4. Run the cream through a strainer and back into the pot. Over medium high heat, cook the Boston cream until thick, making sure to whisk constantly. Once thick, add vanilla and cook for one more minute and remove from heat.
5. Add in the butter and mix until evenly incorporated.
6. Allow the cream to cool slightly. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the doughnuts are ready.

• You can make the Boston Cream one day ahead to lighten up the load for the next day!
• Make sure you whisk vigorously while the Boston Cream cooks. As it thickens, it will stick to the bottom of your sauce pan and whisking will prevent that.
• Be patient, your cream will thicken.

Homemade Boston Cream DoughnutsIna Eats In

Homemade Boston Cream DoughnutsIna Eats In

Homemade Boston Cream DoughnutsIna Eats In

Homemade Boston Cream DoughnutsIna Eats In

Homemade Boston Cream DoughnutsIna Eats In

Second, Make the Doughnuts - yes, they are from scratch but so easy. Take a look..

Homemade doughnuts require just a handful of ingredients:

• all purpose flour
• sugar
• warm whole milk
• active dry yeast
• melted butter
• egg
• salt

1. The first step in making the dough is activating the yeast. To do so, warm up milk so that it is 90F-110F. Anything more or less will either kill the yeast or it will not activate it. Pour warm milk into a large bowl and sprinkle in the yeast, whisk lightly. Set aside to rest for about 5 minutes until a foam layer forms on the top of the milk.
2. When the yeast is active, add in the melted butter and egg.
3. Add in about 2 1/4 cups of the dry ingredients in the bowl and using a spoon, mix the ingredients together until they form a ball. Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead the dough until it is no longer sticking to your fingers but it is still soft and springs back when pushed in with a finger.
4. Place dough back in the bowl, lightly oil to prevent from drying, and cover with a kitchen towel to rise until double in size. This will take about 1 hour, depending on your room temperature.
5. Roll out the dough about 1/2 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter or a lid from a jar, cut out circles. Re-roll dough scraps but do not over work them. You should be able to get 12 doughnuts.
6. Place the circles on a floured surface and let them rest for another 45 minutes until puffed up and delicate to touch. Don't worry if they don't puff up because they will in the hot oil.
7. About 10-15 minutes before frying the doughnuts, add oil to a heavy bottom pot and heat oil to 375F.
8. Add doughnuts in heated oil a few at a time without over crowding because this will cool down the oil. Transfer onto a plate lined with paper towel and allow to cool slightly before filling with pastry cream. You don't want them too hot because they will melt the cream but you also don't want the doughnuts to be sitting out for more than 15 minutes.

• I like to dust surface with all purpose flour a little bit at a time so that when I knead the dough, I pick up the flour and that way, I can tell when I have enough flour. Doing it this way will prevent you from adding too much four to the dough. Too much flour will result in a more dense and doughy doughnut that will not cook properly. We want a lightly and fluffy doughnut.
• Don't step away while the doughnuts are frying. They need about 2-3 minutes per side and if you have a large pot, you can fit more in and the process will go quick.

The last component to making Homemade Boston Cream Doughnuts is the chocolate ganache. This requires only two ingredient:

• semi sweet chocolate chips
• heavy cream

1. Heat the heavy cream until very hot but not boiling.
2. Pour it over the chocolate chips and let it melt the chocolate for about 1 minute. After 1 minute, mix until smooth and set aside.

Homemade Boston Cream DoughnutsIna Eats In

Time to assemble the Homemade Boston Cream Doughnuts.

1. Poke a whole in one end of each doughnut.
2. Fill piping bag fitting with a round tip with Boston cream.
3. Pipe each doughnut with the Boston cream.
4. Brush or dip top of each doughnut into the chocolate ganache.
5. Enjoy!!!!

Homemade Boston Cream DoughnutsIna Eats In

How to store Boston Cream Doughnuts.

Well, if these delicious doughnuts make it that far, they can be refrigerated for up to 5 days in an air tight container.

DOUGHNUTS:

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• ⅔ cups warm milk 90°F-110°F
• 2 ¼ tsps active dry yeast
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2 quarts neutral oil for frying

BOSTON CREAM FILLING:

• 6 egg yolks
• ½ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• ¼ cups corn starch
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp butter

CHOCOLATE GANACHE:

• 4 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• ⅓ cup heavy cream

Instructions

BOSTON CREAM FILLING:

1. Pour the milk into a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until it begins to boil. Once milk begins to boil, turn off the heat and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and thickened. Then, sift in the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk in ½ of hot milk until incorporated, then whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture until smooth.
3. Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the pot. Over medium-high heat whisking constantly, cook the cream until thickened. After it thickens, cook for an additional minute or two while whisking constantly.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and butter. Let cool slightly then cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator until the doughnuts are ready.

DOUGHNUTS:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 ¼ cup flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the milk until it is warm but not hot. It should be at least about 90°F but no more than 110°F. In a large bowl, add warm milk and sprinkle in yeast. Stir lightly, and let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
3. Once the yeast is active (has a foamy top layer) add in melted butter and egg. Whisk until mixed then add dry ingredients. Mix with a spoon until ingredients are combined. At this point, the dough should be sticky. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead dough until soft but not sticky. Sprinkle flour onto the surface as needed.
4. Grease a large bowl with a little oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, about 45 mins to 1 hour.
5. When the dough has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and roll it to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut circles using a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter. Re-roll any scraps together, being careful not to overwork. You should be able to get about 12 donuts total. Place donuts on prepared baking sheet, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until they are slightly puffed and delicate touch, about 45 minutes.
6. About 10-15 minutes before the doughnuts are done rising, put the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. *Heat the oil to 375°F.
7. Carefully add the doughnuts to the oil about 3-4 at a time. When the bottoms are deep golden, after 45 seconds to a minute, flip and continue to fry them until they are a deep golden color all over. Transfer the doughnuts to a rack lined with paper towel underneath.
8. Using a knife, make a whole in the ends of each doughnut. Using a piping bag fitted with a round tip, pipe pastry cream in each doughnut. While the doughnuts cool down, make the chocolate ganache.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE:

1. To make the chocolate ganache, warm heavy cream until hot but not boiling. Pour hot heavy cream over chocolate and let it sit for about 1-2 minutes to allow chocolate to melt. Mix the chocolate smooth. Brush the chocolate ganache over the top of each doughnut.

Notes

* As doughnuts fry, the temperature of the oil will change. Try to keep the oil temperature to 375F, adjusting the heat as needed.