Boston Cream Donuts

A fantastic recipe for doughnuts straight from the United States.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 250 ml milk
• 1 packet (7 g) instant yeast
• 2 eggs
• 100 g butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups (640 g) all-purpose flour

For the pastry cream:

• 125 ml milk
• 125 ml heavy cream (30% fat)
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 3 large or 4 medium egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter

For the chocolate glaze:

• 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• About 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Also:

• 1 and 1/2 liters of oil or lard for frying

Instructions

Dough:

1. Gently heat the milk until warm, then add instant yeast, stir, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine melted and cooled butter, eggs, sugar, and salt. Mix with a spoon.
3. Add the milk with yeast to the mixture and stir. Gradually add the flour and mix until combined. Once the dough is uniform, knead it thoroughly (by hand or using a dough hook) for about 15 minutes until smooth, elastic, and springy.
4. Leave the dough in the bowl, cover with a cloth, and let it rise for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
5. Once risen, transfer the dough onto a floured surface, knead it, and form a ball. Roll it out into a thick sheet and cut out 20 circles using a small glass or cutter. Set aside for about 45 minutes to rise (you can cover them with a light cloth).

Frying:

1. Heat the oil or lard in a wide pot to about 175°C (350°F). Fry 5 donut circles at a time over low heat for about 2.5 minutes until golden brown. Flip and fry the other side. Maintain the frying temperature throughout.
2. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil. Fry the rest of the donuts.

Pastry Cream:

1. In a saucepan, heat (almost to boiling) milk, heavy cream, and scraped seeds from half of the vanilla bean.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar and salt, then add flour and whisk again.
3. Gradually pour about half a cup of hot milk with cream into the egg mixture while stirring continuously with a whisk. After mixing, pour it back into the same saucepan and heat while stirring continuously with a whisk until the mixture thickens (about 5-7 minutes). Finally, gently bring it to a boil.
4. Transfer to a bowl, add butter after about 5 minutes, and mix with a whisk.

Assembly:

1. Fill the donuts with the pastry cream using a pastry bag fitted with a long, thin tip, filling each with about 2 teaspoons of cream.

Chocolate Glaze:

1. In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add hot milk while stirring continuously with a whisk until you achieve the desired glaze consistency.
2. Dip the filled donuts into the glaze, wait until excess drips off, then turn them over and arrange on a platter.