A better-than-Dunkin’ Bavarian Cream Donut: pillowy-soft fried dough, big enough to hold spoonfuls of creamy Bavarian filling, dunked in powdered sugar. Perfection.
These donuts are soft and fluffy and stuffed with luscious and sweet Bavarian cream. Easy to make – simply follow the 9 steps!
Bavarian Cream Donut
I have *THE BEST* Bavarian Cream Donut recipe for you guys today. I couldn’t wait to share it because they’re literally a piece of heaven.
And yes, they’re better than Dunkin’ (sorry Dunkin’, I love you).
Why you’ll love these donuts:
- Fluffy. These donuts are made with pillowy-soft brioche dough ⎯ it literally feels like biting into a cloud.
- Real Bavarian cream filling made from scratch: creamy and luscious vanilla custard mixed with fluffy whipped cream!
- Perfectly sweet. You won’t get a overwhelmed by the sugar which means that you’ll want to go back for more!
- Dunked in powdered sugar just like Dunkin’s but with all the flavor.
- Easy to make: these donuts come together in 9 steps and each step comes with very detailed instructions so you can make these at home right now, no matter your skill-set!
What is a Bavarian cream donut
A Bavarian cream donut is a donut made with soft and fluffy fried dough stuffed with Bavarian cream. They don’t gave the classic hole so there’s no need to use cookie cutters for this recipe.
What is a Bavarian cream donut filling
A Bavarian cream donut filling is made of custard and whipped cream mixed together. This type of filling is also referred to as “Diplomat Cream”.
It’s lighter than regular custard because of the whipped cream but still tastes like vanilla. The texture is so light it feels like eating a spoonful of clouds.
So if you’re wondering what’s the difference between custard and Bavarian cream, that’s it – the whipped cream, which is added to the custard once the custard has chilled.
Ingredients
You'll find the full recipe + ingredients in the recipe card down below but this is what you'll need:
All-purpose flour for the dough.
Instant yeast to make the dough rise. If you're new to baking with yeast, here's my "Beginner's Guide To Baking With Yeast" where I explain everything you need to know about yeast!
Sugar. You’ll need enough for the dough and the filling.
Salt. Just a pinch!
Egg. For the dough and the filling. For the filling, you’ll use the yolks only so I recommend saving the egg whites for an omelette or these Coconut Macaroons.
Milk. You'll need to heat it until warm so it can activate the yeast (max 110 F). Make sure it's *warm*, not hot or cold or the yeast won't activate. Again, feel free to take a look at my yeast guide if you have questions! You’ll also need extra milk for the filling.
Vanilla extract for the dough and the filling.
Butter, make sure you’re using room temperature unsalted butter.
Cornstarch to thicken up the custard for the Bavarian filling.
Heavy cream for the filling. Make sure it’s cold or it won’t whip.
Powdered sugar for the cream and for dunking the donuts after they’re done.
Oil for frying. I recommend vegetable, sunflower, or peanut.
How to make Bavarian Cream Donuts
You'll find the full recipe + ingredients in the recipe card down below but this is what you'll do:
STEP ONE: Make the dough. In a large bowl, add the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, egg, and milk. Mix until a dough starts forming, then knead or work with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook until the dough turns smooth and elastic.
Add in the butter and keep kneading until the dough doesn’t stick anymore and is smooth and elastic again. Once you add in the butter, the dough will get a bit messy, it’s okay, keep going, it will come together and you’ll have an extremely fluffy donut.
I recommend kneading on a sleek cold surface (like a marble countertop), in a glass bowl, or a silicone mat – not wood.
STEP TWO: Let rise. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap (tightly), and let rise until doubled in size.
STEP THREE: Prepare the custard for the filling. While the dough is raising, make the custard. Heat the milk until warm but not hot, then turn off the heat. Meanwhile, add the yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a medium bowl and beat until light and creamy.
Pour the prepared mixture into the warm milk, place the saucepan over medium heat and mix constantly using a wooden spoon until the liquid starts thickening.
Once the custard has thickened and begins to bubble, turn off the heat, mix in the vanilla extract, and cover with plastic wrap making sure the plastic wrap touches the custard (this prevents the custard from creating a skin).
STEP FOUR: Make the donuts. Divide the dough into equal parts and roll each piece of dough into a ball tucking under to create a perfectly smooth top. Make sure the donuts are well shaped and tightly tucked or they will open up when frying.
Place each shaped donut on a small piece of parchment paper to keep it from sticking to the surface and to the saucepan later on. Cover the donuts with a clean kitchen towel to prevent any drying.
STEP FIVE: Let rise again until puffy or doubled in size.
STEP SIX: Fry. Fill a pot with oil and heat to 325F -350 F (160C – 180C). Carefully lower the donuts into the oil along with the parchment paper and fry until golden, then flip and fry until golden again. Carefully remove the donuts from the oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels and allow to cool down.
STEP SEVEN: Make the Bavarian filling. Place the whipped cream in a medium bowl and beat until soft peaks start forming, add the powdered sugar and keep beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the custard until smooth. Transfer the Bavarian cream into a piping bag and cut off the tip.
Dunk in powdered sugar and tap the donut to make the sugar stick.
Stuff the donuts. Once the donuts are cool, poke a hole in the side of each donut and pipe the cream into each donut. Be careful when doing this because if you stuff it too much, the filling will come out from the sides.
Do donuts with Bavarian cream filling need to be refrigerated?
Technically, yes. Bavarian cream filling is very sensitive to high temperatures because of the ingredients used (eggs, milk, heavy cream). So, yes, you should store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can get away with storing them at room temperature for 1 day if your kitchen isn’t particularly hot (I do it because f a dry donut).
However, fried donuts tend to dry up pretty quickly and the refrigerator only speeds up the drying process. They’re truly best eaten as they’re made so I recommend cutting the recipe in half if you feel like you’ll have leftovers.
Can I make these ahead of time?
You can make the dough ahead of time and let it raise in the refrigerator overnight but you can’t fry and stuff ahead of time as they would dry up overtime. Donuts are best eaten as they’re made.
Simply follow the recipe through step 2 then place the covered bowl in the refrigerator and allow the dough to rise overnight. The next day, remove the bowl from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature before following the recipe (step 3).
Can I use another filling?
Yes! You can stuff them with simple custard without making the Bavarian filling or use something else. My favorite fillings are jelly (blackberry but any flavor works) and dulce de leche. You could also use citrus curd, condensed milk or ganache – the options are endless!
HAPPY FRYING!! I hope you'll love this Bavarian Cream Donut recipe as much as I do!
PS: Please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ⭐️ if you make it! Your comments make my day!! You can also tag me on Instagram @itsdamnspicy 🌈💘
HERE ARE MORE RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE:
- Caramel Apple Rose Tart Puff Pastry
- Italian Peach Cookies
- Vanilla Swiss Roll Recipe
- Coconut Macaroons (without condensed milk)
Bavarian Cream Donut (Better Than Dunkin)
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 2 cups + 5 tbsp (290 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp (30 g) white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp (3 g) instant yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) milk (warm – max 110F or 43C)
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 4 and 1/2 tbsp (60 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For The Bavarian Cream Filling
- 1 cup (250 ml) milk
- 2 egg yolks (room temperature)
- 1/3 cup (65 g) white granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp (15 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (80 g) heavy cream (cold)
- 2 tbsp (15 g) powdered sugar
For Dunking
- 1/2 cup (65 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Make the dough. In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, egg, milk, vanilla extract. Mix until a dough starts forming, then knead or work with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook until the dough turns smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Add in the butter and keep kneading until the dough doesn't stick anymore and is smooth and elastic again (about 4-5 minutes). Once you add in the butter, the dough will get a bit messy, it's okay, keep going and it will come together. I recommend kneading on a sleek cold surface (like a marble countertop), in a glass bowl, or a silicone mat – not wood.
- Let rise. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap (tightly), and let rise until doubled in size (about 60 minutes).
- Prepare the custard for the filling. While the dough is raising, make the custard. Place the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat until warm but not hot, then turn off the heat. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, add the yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt and beat until light and creamy. Pour the prepared mixture into the warm milk, set the heat to medium and mix constantly using a wooden spoon until the liquid starts thickening. Allow the custard to thicken and bubble, then turn off the heat, mix in the vanilla extract, and cover the curd with plastic wrap making sure the plastic wrap touches the custard (this prevents the custard from creating a skin).
- Make the donuts. Divide the dough into equal parts (I recommend about 2.5 oz or 70 g each) and roll each piece of dough into a ball tucking under to create a perfectly smooth top. Make sure the donuts are well shaped and tightly tucked or they will open up when frying. Place each shaped donut on a small piece of parchment paper to keep it from sticking to the surface and to the saucepan later on. Cover the donuts with a clean kitchen towel to prevent them from drying.
- Let rise again until puffy or doubled in size (about 20-40 minutes).
- Fry. Fill a pot with oil. You want enough oil for the donuts to float (I recommend about 4 inches or 10 cm). Place the pot over medium heat and allow the oil to heat until it reaches 325F -350 F (160C – 180C). Carefully lower the donuts into the oil along with the parchment paper and fry until golden (about 2 minutes), remove the parchment paper using a par of thongs, then flip the donuts and fry until golden again (about 2 minutes). Carefully remove the donuts from the oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels and allow to cool down. Do not dunk in powdered sugar or stuff when they're still warm.
- Make the Bavarian filling. While the donuts are cooling down, make the filling. Place the cold whipped cream in a medium bowl and beat until soft peaks start forming, add the powdered sugar and keep beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the custard until smooth. Transfer the Bavarian cream into a piping bag and cut off the tip.
- Dunk in powdered sugar. Once the donuts have cooled down to room temperature, place the powdered sugar for dunking in a shallow bowl or plate and dunk each donut into the sugar tapping the donut to make the sugar stick.
- Stuff the donuts. Poke a hole in the side of each donut using a knife or a chopstick and pipe the filling into each donut. Be careful when doing this because if stuffed too much, the filling will come out from the sides. Enjoy!
Debra Sprouse says
For the Bavarian cream, when is the vanilla added?
Bianka says
Hi Debra, you add the vanilla in the 3rd step, right after removing the custard from the heat! Hope that helps!