Bavarian Cream Donut (Better Than Dunkin)
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!
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!
Notes
Make-Ahead Instructions: make the dough ahead of time and let it raise in the refrigerator overnight but do not fry and stuff ahead of time (the donuts will dry up this way). 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).
Storing Instructions: fried donuts are best eaten as they're made, I recommend cutting the recipe in half instead of making too many and then storing. If you do have leftovers, store in an air-tight container at room temperature for 1 day. If your kitchen is hot, store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Please keep in mind that the donuts will dry up overtime, especially when refrigerated. However, the filling is very sensitive to high temperatures and does need to be chilled so use your best judgement when storing them.
Variations: jelly, dulce de leche, condensed milk, curd, ganache.
Nutrition
Calories: 376kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 8gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 118mgSodium: 49mgPotassium: 160mgFiber: 1gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 588IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 2mg
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