BRIOCHE DONUTS WITH CHERRY VANILLA CREAM & CHOCOLATE GANACHE
Notes: I’ve made brioche donuts several times now. I have come to realize in the course of making them that the recipe I was originally using had too much flour yielding denser, breadier donuts, which tasted great, but did not have the pillowy texture I really wanted. This updated recipe remedies that. Almost everyone likes a classic brioche donut filled with vanilla pastry cream (or custard) and topped with chocolate ganache. I wanted to take it up a notch by incorporating real cherries in the cream (and on top) because I knew it would taste just as good if not better. So this recipe is a delightful twist on that classic Boston cream style donut, and if you follow the recipe and preferably weigh all your ingredients you too will get these pillowy gems.
They taste as good as they look.
Ingredients for the brioche. Sunflower and canola oils are good high smoke point and neutral oils for frying.
Special equipment:
Stand mixer with hook attachment
Digital kitchen scale. As I say in many of my recipes, I personally use and have tested the OXO Good Grips 11 lb Digital Kitchen Scale for precision and accuracy. It is worth the price at ~$55 on Amazon.
Large sauce pan
Piping bag and tips
Candy thermometer and large stainless steel pot (for frying)
*Optional: Better than a pot and thermometer, buy a small fryer so you don’t have to fuss with regulating the temperature of the oil and keeping it well contained. I have the Hamilton Beach Electric Deep Fryer (4.5 L), which is ~$60.
Time:
Brioche Donuts: 3 hrs 30 mins
Cherry vanilla pastry cream: 30 mins
Filling and topping the donuts: 35 mins
Total time: 4 hours and 35 mins
Ingredients:
Brioche:
Bread flour: 485 g (3 and 1/2 cups)
Pink Himalayan salt: 1 tsp
Granulated sugar (for brioche): 2 tbsp
Warm milk: 240 mL (1 cup)
Active dry yeast: 2 tsp
Granulated sugar (for yeast): 1 tsp
Unsalted butter 8 tbsp or 1 stick (114 g)
Eggs: 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
A neutral, high smoke point oil: Enough that the oil will have a height of ~2 inches from the bottom of the pot. *If you’re using a fryer you will most likely need 3-4L of oil, but the oil can be used many times since we’re not frying at a high temperature.
Vanilla pastry cream:
480 g (2 cups) full-fat, whole milk
Vanilla bean paste: 2 tsp (if using vanilla extract use 4 tsp)
Egg yolks: 6 yolks (room temperature, from large eggs)
Granulated sugar: 100 g
Salt: 1/4 tsp (I used pink Himalayan)
Corn starch: 45 g (4 tbsp)
Unsalted butter: 57 g (1/2 of one stick), cubed
Cherry puree sauce:
Cornstarch: 1 tbsp
Water: 1 tbsp
Frozen dark sweet cherries: 285 g (~2.5 cups)
Granulated sugar: 3 tbsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
Almond extract: 1 tsp
Salt: 1/8 tsp
Chocolate glaze (Ganache):
Dark chocolate: 100 g (I used 70% dark chocolate)
Heavy whipping cream: 100 mL
Optional topper:
Fresh cherries: 12 cherries (cut in half and pitted)
Directions:
Brioche:
Combine Dry Ingredients: In a stand mixer bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt.
Activate the yeast: Warm the milk (microwave for 50-60 seconds) then add 1 tsp of sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top and mix together. Let stand for ~5-6 minutes until foamy on top, and now it’s ready.
Add Wet Ingredients: With the mixer running on low speed (with hook attachment), add the warm yeasty milk, eggs and softened butter (~1 tbsp at a time) to the dry ingredients. Incorporating the butter and making sure each piece is fully incorporated before the next is added until you have a fully incorporated, soft pliable, and just barely sticky dough will take 10-15 mins in total. If you find the dough is still too sticky after incorporating all the butter, add 1 tbsp more of flour and incorporate to see if the desired consistency is reached, if not add another. Remember, the dough should be just slightly sticky, but can be handled.
First Rise: Lightly oil the dough and the bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Place the dough in a warm spot (ideally ~85 F) and let it rise for at least 1.5 hours (it’s okay to go a little longer). This bulk fermentation stage allows the yeast to develop flavor and aerate and develop the gluten structure.
Shape the Dough: Punch down the dough (very satisfying) and divide it into 12 equal pieces. I like to weigh all of the dough to start and divide by 12 so each donut will end up weighing in the range of 80-85 grams depending on the total dough weight . Shape each piece into a ball by pulling up and pinching the edges together, then flipping it over (seam side down) and rolling it gently on a hard surface until you get a round ball.
Proofing the Dough: Place each shaped donut on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a towel, and let rise for 40-50 minutes (I suggest going closer to 50 mins unless you’re able to proof around 85 F). This second rise, the proofing stage, allows the shaped dough to develop volume and yield a pillowy texture.
Frying the Donuts: Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot to 345-355 F (174-179 C). Use a candy thermometer to maintain the temperature. Or, if you have a fryer then definitely use it. Carefully and gently (don’t squeeze or deflate them) add three donuts to the hot oil at a time, ensuring they have space to expand. *Using a thin, flat spatula to help lift the donuts up can be helpful. Fry for ~2 minutes per side.
Draining and Finishing: For each group of donuts remove from the oil using a slotted spoon (or tongs) and place them on a wire rack or paper towels to drain excess oil.
Just enough flour has been added to get the dough to the point where it can be handled and is only a little sticky. The dough is then lightly oiled, covered, and bulk fermented for at least 1.5 hours.
The bulk fermented dough is punched down and is ready for shaping.
To shape the dough flatten out a weighed piece in your hands, place it on the counter, pull the edges in, pinch them shut, flip the dough ball over and gently roll it against the counter to further seal the pinched edges and you get a nice round shape.
The shaped donuts are covered with a towel and allowed to proof for ~50 mins so that they become pillowy and light before frying.
Perfectly fried pillowy donuts. Fry for 1.5-2 mins on each side at ~345 F.
Vanilla pastry cream:
Separate 6 egg yolks from 6 large eggs, and save the egg whites for another recipe or breakfast.
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt together in a large bowl until the yellow color lightens and they look a bit aerated and smooth.
Add the cornstarch to the yolk/sugar mixture and whisk well until combined and no lumps are visible.
In a large metal saucepan or metal pot (not nonstick coated as we will be using a whisk), stir the milk and vanilla over medium heat until the mixture just comes to a boil.
Pour the hot milk in a slow stream into the yolk mixture to temper the yolks, whisking constantly. *I like to pour the stream of milk in stages rather than in a constant stream and use a hand electric mixer.
Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, with constant whisking, until thickened and it comes to a boil. This will take about 2-3 minutes. Once the mixture comes to a boil, cook for about 1 minute more, which will allow the cornstarch to reach full thickening capacity. Don’t stop whisking or you will get some lumps.
Remove the pastry cream from heat and add the cubed butter. Stir until the butter has melted and fully incorporated.
Transfer the finished pastry cream back to a large bowl. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap, and make sure that the wrap is in direct contact with the surface of the pastry cream, which will help prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool completely at least to room temperature. *If you’re not using the pastry cream right away you can refrigerate it.
Once you’re ready to use the pastry cream, give it a good whisk to smooth it again. After chilling it will firm up and may look a bit rubbery, but whisking it will make it smooth again.
Tempering the yolk mixture for the pastry cream with hot vanilla milk.
Cherry puree sauce:
Combine frozen cherries granulated sugar, salt, and lemon juice in the sauce pan and turn on the heat to medium.
In a small bowl whisk cornstarch and cold water together until the cornstarch is fully dispersed and then add it to the sauce pan and mix in.
Bring to a soft rolling boil for ~3 mins and stir as the mixture begins to thicken up and the cornstarch starts to gel.
Add vanilla and almond extracts right before taking off the heat.
Set aside to cool.
Once cooled blend thoroughly in a blender, until you have a smooth puree.
The frozen pitted cherries are sweetened with a touch of sugar, and flavor is enhanced with both vanilla and almond extracts.
The cherry mixture is then pureed to a fine consistency.
Cherry vanilla pastry cream:
Combine approximately 1 and 1/3 cups of the cooled cherry puree sauce with the finished vanilla pastry cream and whisk it in thoroughly.
A portion of the cherry puree is added to the vanilla pastry cream.
Thoroughly whisk the cherry puree into the vanilla pastry cream.
Filling the Donuts:
Once the donuts are cooled insert a butter or dinner knife to make a hole in the side of each donut; insert three-quarters of the way through, and rotate it 360 degrees and side-to-side to create a cavity.
Transfer the cherry cream filling to a piping bag fitted with a small piping tip.
Insert the tip into the cavity and pipe the filling into each donut, gently squeezing the bag to fill the cavity. Fill the donuts until the filling slightly peaks out.
The donuts are filled with the cherry vanilla pastry cream until it just peaks out.
Chocolate glaze (Ganache):
Place chocolate (in pieces) in a small mixing bowl.
Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until it starts simmering (not boiling). Pour over the chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes to allow it to slowly melt. Then, stir until shiny and homogenous in consistency.
Dip the top of each donut in the the glaze and shake the excess off. Let the ganache set for 10 minutes.
*Optional: Slice 12 fresh cherries in half and remove the pits. Place two cherry halves on the middle of each donut with the bottoms touching to make the donuts look extra delectable. You can do this while the ganache is setting.
Try not to eat them all at once :)
The chocolate ganache is equal weight of 70% dark chocolate to equal volume of heated heavy whipping cream.
Swirl the top of each donut in the ganche and let the excess drip off before flipping over and allowing to set.
Dreamy donuts.