Doughnuts are a big weakness of mine. And nothing beats a fried one. Sure, baked doughnuts are delicious but a fried doughnut is so special. And those vanilla cream brioche doughnuts are very very SPECIAL.
I absolutely love brioche bread. It’s fluffy, incredibly moist and just so dreamy. My go to choice of bread for French toast or bread pudding. And these doughnuts are my absolute favorite. They are incredibly moist and filled with a rich vanilla cream that is both light and decadent at the same time.
The brioche dough starts off like most bread recipes. Yeast, warm milk and sugar are added to a bowl. I allow this mixture to sit for 10 minutes so it becomes nice and bubbly. This step is necessary to ensure your yeast is still active. It’s like little wake up call for the yeast.
The rest of the ingredients are simple. Eggs, flour, salt and butter. The important part is the way it’s all incorporated and when. After the flour is throughly mixed in, I add soft butter 1 tablespoon at a time. This will make the dough very wet and sticky. And that’s what you want.
Like all good things, patience is KEY! After the first rise, the dough rests in the fridge over-night. This makes it much easier to work with and shape your doughnuts out, as the butter will have solidified at this point and the dough will in turn be less sticky and more manageable. I always make these the night before if I want fresh brioche doughnuts the next morning. If you’re making them the same day, refrigerate the dough at least 3 hours.
The vanilla custard is so delicious! It’s light and rich at the same time. The ingredients are also very simple!
How to make vanilla cream
- Simmer whole milk on low. In another bowl mix egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch & salt until smooth.
- Slowly add in the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk continuously. Then pour it back into the pan with the rest of the milk and continue mixing on low heat until thickened. Stir in the vanilla. Pour into a heat-proof bowl through a fine mesh strainer to remove any clumps. Cover the top closely with parchment paper and refrigerate until thickened. At least 2-3 hours or overnight.
You can fill these doughnuts with whatever you’d like. I love using jelly or Nutella. SO GOOD!
Vanilla Cream Brioche Doughnuts
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with dough hook
- Mixing Bowls
- Saucepan
- Whisk
- Baking sheets
Ingredients
Brioche Doughnuts
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbs sugar
- 2¼ tsp instant yeast
- 2 eggs + 1 Yolk
- 3 cups flour spooned and leveled
- 1 vanilla bean sub 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
- 6 tbs softened butter
- oil for frying vegetable or peanut
Vanilla Cream
- 1 cup milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 1½ tbs corn starch
- ¼ cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Brioche Doughnuts
- In a saucepan, heat your milk on low heat. Do not boil. Cut your vanilla bean down the middle and scrape the seeds out with the back of your knife. Add them to the pan along with the bean. Turn the heat off and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes until warm.
- Discard the vanilla bean, and add the milk to your mixing bowl along with the yeast and sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes until the yeast bubbles. Add in the eggs and turn the mixture on low. Slowly add in your flour one cup at a time along with the salt. Turn the mixture on medium and mix for 3 minutes. Next add in softened butter 1 tbs at a time. Continue to mix for another 3 minutes. The mixture will be very wet and a bit sticky. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl and cover. Let it rise for 45 min or until doubled in size. Punch the dough down, cover and transfer it to your fridge to rest overnight.
The Next Day
- Remove the dough from the fridge and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Working quickly, Shape out 10-12 even balls. About 2.5 ounces each. Place them onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover. Let them rise for 3-3.5 hours until doubled in size.
- Heat 2-3 inches of oil to 360°-365° Using a spatula, carefully place each doughnut into the oil and fry in batches. Fry them for 1.5-2 minutes on each side, flipping once. Transfer them to a sheet pan with a wire rack to drain any excess oil. Coat them in sugar (optional). Allow them to cool before filling.
- Using a knife, Make a small slit into the doughnut. Add your vanilla cream to a piping bag and pipe the cream into each doughnut. Enjoy!
Vanilla Cream
- Simmer the milk in a small saucepan on low heat. In a bowl, add your yolks, sugar, cornstarch & salt.
- Slowly add a bit of hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk continuously so you don't cook the eggs. Then transfer the mixture to the saucepan with the rest of the milk and continue to cook until thickened. 3-5 minutes. Once thickened, turn the heat off and stir in the vanilla. Pour into a heat-proof bowl through a fine mesh strainer and cover closely with parchment. Cool the mixture in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight. When ready to use, stir well with with a spatula or whisk and transfer to a piping bag.
Notes
- If you plan on making these the same day, refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours after the first rise.
- If you don’t have any vanilla beans, use 1 tsp of vanilla extract or paste instead.
- This recipe makes 10-12 doughnuts.
- You can use whatever fillings you’d like. Nutella & jelly are so delicious!
