One of my most popular reels on Instagram and Tiktok needed a recipe to accompany it. Apologies for the delay, but I’ve typed it all out below! HERE is a link to the video reel.

NOTES

I made the crème patissiere before I made the brioche dough. The pastry cream needs to chill for an hour or two, and your kitchen counter won’t get too overcrowded if you make the dough and cream at different times.

I use a 2-inch circular biscuit cutter from Target’s Magnolia collection to shape the doughnuts. I wouldn’t recommend using a wider diameter cutter, especially if this is your first time making doughnuts. The doughnuts are better sized, easier to handle, and easier to fry without overcooking/burning if you stick with a 2-inch cutter and 1/2 inch height. After their second round of proofing (see recipe instructions), the doughnuts will puff up while frying, giving the brioche its pillowed, aerated texture.

You need a deep-fry thermometer for this recipe as the oil must remain around 350 to 360 F. This means you may have to play around with the stove and lower the heat as the oil gets too hot (the temperature of the oil will change throughout the frying process, so keep a close eye on it). Moreover, if the oil gets too cool, the brioche will absorb more of it and need to fry for longer to be fully cooked, so your doughnuts will turn greasy and may even become over-browned. A well-proofed and perfectly fried doughnut will be golden brown with a “tan line” running through its center.

As the doughnuts are fried off, place them on a wire rack for excess oil to drip off before rolling them in sugar.

FOR THE DOUGH:

Ingredients

¾ cup plus 1 Tbsp whole milk (200 ml)
1 Tbsp instant yeast (14 g)
4 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (515 g)
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar (60 g)
1 ¼ tsp salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
7 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick minus 1 Tbsp), softened

Warm milk in a small saucepan over low heat until it reaches 120-130 F (lukewarm to the touch). Stir in the yeast until it is dissolved, then set aside to proof for 5 minutes.

While the yeast proofs, combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt) in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Pour the milk-yeast mixture in the bowl and mix on medium-low (I use 4 on my KitchenAid) until roughly combined. Then, add in the eggs, and mix for an additional 1-2 minutes until well combined. Set the mixer to medium (I use 6 on my KitchenAid) and let the dough knead for 5 minutes, until a rounded, smooth ball has formed around the base of the hook.

At this point, you want to start adding in the softened butter, 1 tbsp. at a time. Once all the butter has been incorporated, set the mixer speed to medium-high and lock in the head (I use 8 on my KitchenAid). Knead for another 5 minutes, until a dough ball is velvety and fully formed around the base. The stand mixer may start rocking as the dough is kneading.

Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough ball in it. There is no need to further handle the dough after it has kneaded in the stand mixer. Let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about an hour to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Once risen, punch it back down to deflate it. At this point, you can proceed to make the doughnuts, or place the dough in the refrigerator overnight to use later.

When you’re ready to fry the doughnuts, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to get it to a 1/2 inch thickness. Make sure the flattened dough is even from the top. Then, use the circular cutter to cut out doughnuts and place them on a baking sheet fitted with parchment paper. Cover the cut out dough circle with a light kitchen towel and place in a warm place to further proof for 20 minutes. Do not exceed this time or you will have over-proofed doughnuts.

While the dough circles are going through their last round of proofing, begin to heat the oil in a medium, heavy-set pot over medium heat. Use a deep fry thermometer to make sure the oil stays consistently between 350 and 360 F. Once the doughnuts have proofed, work in batches to fry them 1 minute per side (or until golden brown), and then transfer them to a wire rack to drip off excess oil. Then, roll them in sugar (while they’re still warm so the cane crystals stick), and fill with the pastry cream.

FOR THE VANILLA SUGAR:

Crush scraped vanilla pods in a food processor, then roll with granulated sugar until it’s speckled. Use this sugar to coat the donuts after they’ve cooled post-frying.

FOR THE PASTRY CREAM:

Ingredients

3 large egg yolks
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
⅓ cup (48 g) cornstarch
¼ tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
2 ¼ cups (about 530 ml) whole milk
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or ½ tsp vanilla extract)
4 Tbsp (57 g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Instructions

Whisk the base: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until smooth.
Heat the milk: In a medium saucepan, warm the milk with the vanilla over medium heat until steaming and just shy of simmering.
Temper the eggs: While whisking the yolk mixture constantly, slowly drizzle in about 1 cup of the hot milk. This gently raises the temperature of the eggs without scrambling.
Cook the custard: Pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking non-stop, until the mixture begins to bubble and thickens to a pudding-like consistency, 5–7 minutes.
Finish: Remove from heat and whisk in the cubed butter until fully melted and smooth.
Strain & cool: Press the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to catch any lumps. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface to prevent a skin, and chill until set.

To finish, sprinkle some crushed vanilla shortbread cookies on top.