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    Boston Cream Doughnuts

    List of Ingredients




    Preparation is long but not difficult.
    Vanilla Pastry Cream:
    1/3 C granulated Sugar
    1 1/2 C whole Milk, divided
    3 T Cornstarch
    4 large Egg yolks
    2 T unsalted Butter, softened
    1 t Vanilla extract or 1/2 Vanilla Bean split and scraped

    Yeast dough:
    3/4 cup warm Milk, about 110 degrees F
    2 1/4 t (1 package) active dry Yeast
    1/3 C granulated Sugar, divided
    3 1/4 C all-purpose Flour, divided
    5 T unsalted Butter, at room temperature, divided
    4 large Egg Yolks
    1/2 t Ground Cardamom
    1/4 t freshly Ground Nutmeg
    3/4 t Salt
    Oil for frying

    Chocolate Glaze:
    3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
    2 tablespoons coffee (or can substitute water)
    1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
    1/3 cup granulated sugar
    1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
    To make the vanilla pastry cream:

    Recipe



    Combine the sugar with 1 cup of the milk in a heavy bottomed, medium saucepan (if using a vanilla bean split and scrape the seeds out and add it to the milk mixture). Cook, over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat and bring to a boil.
    Place the cornstarch in a medium bowl. Using a wire whisk, gradually whisk in the remaining milk and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Add the yolks and whisk until well blended.
    Slowly pour 1/3 cup of the hot milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in the rest of the hot milk. Return the milk-yolk mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil gently for one minute, stirring constantly.
    Remove from the heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract if using (at this point you can flavor the cream with any other flavoring or extract you desire). If the pastry cream is lumpy pass it through a sieve or whip in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a dry, non-reactive bowl, placing a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until cool.

    The Yeast Dough:
    Place the tepid milk, yeast and 1 teaspoon of the granulated sugar in the 4 1/2 quart bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer. Using a wire whisk stir until the yeast is evenly dispersed. Let stand for 3 minutes until the mixture is foamy indicating that the yeast is alive.
    Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture. Using an electric standing mixer and paddle attachment beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Remove the paddle and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature for 45 minutes. The sponge will have increased in volume.
    Thoroughly grease a large bowl with one tablespoon of the room temperature butter. To the sponge, add the remaining butter and sugar, the yolks, cardamom, nutmeg and salt. Mix on low speed until blended. Add the 1 1/2 cups of the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat the dough at medium speed for 5 minutes. The dough will not form a ball. It will be soft and part of it will wrap itself around the paddle. If the dough is very sticky, add the remaining flour, one tablespoon at a time, as necessary.
    Scrape dough into the prepared bowl and turn it on all sides to grease it with butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 1 hour and 45 minutes until it has slightly more than doubled in volume. (The rising time will depend upon the temperature of the room.)
    Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper and lightly dust with flour. Dust a work surface with flour. Turn out the risen dough onto the work surface. Gently press down on the dough to deflate it. With your hands, flatten the dough into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
    Using a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out about 12-14 rounds of dough. With a floured spatula gently transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheet reshaping them if necessary. Leave at least one inch between the doughnuts to allow for expansion. Let them rise for 20-30 minutes or until doubled in size. While doughnuts are rising heat the oil.

    To Fry Doughnuts:
    Pour enough oil in a deep-fat fryer or large, straight-sided saucepan to come halfway up the sides. The oil should come to a depth of 2 to 3-inches. Heat oil to 365 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
    Fry doughnuts 3 or 4 at a time, for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, until golden brown. Turn the doughnuts and fry the second side for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove doughnuts from the hot oil and transfer them to paper towels to drain. Set the doughnuts on a wire rack to cool. As soon as the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, use a long, thin, plain pastry tip to poke a hole through the midline of each doughnut. Let cool completely before filling.

    Chocolate Glaze:
    Place chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl and set aside.
    Combine the water, corn syrup and sugar in a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Raise the heat and bring to a boil.
    Pour the hot syrup over the chopped chocolate, let stand for 2 minutes to melt chocolate, then whisk in the butter until smooth.

    To assemble the doughnuts:
    Fill pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip with the pastry cream.
    Pipe the pastry cream into the hold in the middle of each of the doughnuts until the pastry cream begins to bulge out and the doughnut feels fill. Wipe off any excess cream.
    Dip the top of each of the filled doughnuts into the bowl of warm chocolate glaze, letting the excess glaze drip back into the bowl. Place the glazed doughnuts back onto the rack to set. The doughnuts are best served within a few hours of being assembled but will keep, at room temperature, for the entire day they are made.


 

 

 


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