Simple, incredible cream - filled donuts. They are delicately crisp on the outside and fluffy inside. The cream filling is velvety and packed full of flavor.
Why you'll love it
These doughnuts are everything. The doughnuts have a nice crispy outside and a fluffy melt in your mouth interior. This doughnut is amazing on its own, but the pastry cream takes it to a new level. It's a wonderful balance of creamy vanilla and the sweet tang of the blood orange.
This is an easy donut dough to make and can be made a day in advance so you can have freshly made donuts first thing in the morning! In fact, making it ahead of time makes the dough taste even better!
The pastry cream can also be made in advance as well up to three days ahead of time. You can customize the pastry cream to match the flavors you are in the mood for making it an almost choose your adventure treat. The whole recipe is meant to be a relaxing and fun project to make and enjoy. Just like my jelly donuts, you will be tempted to make them every weekend!
Key ingredients
You only need basic kitchen staples to make this incredible cream- filled donut recipe. These are some of the key ingredients, you can find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below.
- Yeast - I prefer using active dry yeast, but you can also use instant yeast. Yeast usually comes off as an intimidating ingredient to use, but it is very beginner friendly. You can read my guide to using yeast. Once you proof the yeast and you see the foam on top, you know the yeast is good and you can keep going with your recipe with ease. If not, you know you need to get fresh yeast.
- Milk - Yeast likes to feed off sugars, so to feed it, I highly recommend using whole milk and no substitutions. The milk should be warm, but not hot. The warmth will help wake up the yeast, but if it is too hot, it can hurt the yeast.
- Flour - For the best texture, I recommend unbleached all-purpose flour. You can substitute with bread flour, but keep in mind it could make the doughnuts less fluffy.
How to make
These cream - filled donuts come together a lot easier than you'd think. Most of the time is allowing the yeast to do its job.
- Add the active dry yeast and warmed milk, plus a small pinch of granulated sugar into a bowl. Leave it somewhere warm for about 5 minutes. There should be a light foam on top of the milk to indicate the yeast is proofed and good to use. Otherwise you will need to start over with fresh yeast.
- Add the flour, sugar, and salt together in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
- Slowly stir the milk and yeast mixture into the flour and mix on low until a dough starts to form.
- Turn up the speed to medium speed. Add in the eggs one at a time beating well so each egg gets fully incorporated before adding another. Beat for an additional 1 - 2 minutes after the last egg is fully mixed in.
- Beat in the butter one tablespoon at a time, waiting until each tablespoon gets fully incorporated before adding another tablespoon.
- Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is shiny, soft, and pliable. You should be able to handle it easily without it sticking to your hands and it should be able to stretch well when pulled.
- Place the dough in a gently greased large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a dry, warm area for an hour, or until the dough is at least doubled in size.
- Deflate the dough and roll out until the dough is about half an inch thick. Cut out rounds that are 3 ½ inches wide. Place the rounds on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rise for half an hour.
- Heat your oil in a large heavy bottomed pot to 375F and fry your dough for a few minutes on each side until they are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel lined wire rack.
- While the dough does its two rises, you can mix together the syrup and the pastry cream.
- Toss the donuts in sugar and then fill with the pastry cream.
Recipe Card
Cream-Filled Doughnuts
Airy and soft doughnuts filled with blood orange cream and coated in a blood orange infused sugar
Ingredients
For the Doughnut
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ⅔ cups whole milk lightly warmed
- 3½ - 3¾ cups all-purpose flour plus extra for kneading
- ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter cut in cubes and room temperature
- ⅓ cup sugar and zest of one blood orange for coating
For the Blood Orange Syrup
- 1 cup blood orange juice
- ½ cup sugar
For the Pastry Cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon ground vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 6 large egg yolks room temperature
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut in cubes and chilled
Instructions
For the Doughnuts
- Proof the yeast by mixing it with the milk and a pinch or two of sugar and letting it rest for 10 minutes. It should form a frothy foam on the milk. If this does not happen, you may need fresher yeast.
- Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt together, then slowly mix the flour and milk mixture together until a dough forms. Add the eggs one at a time until completely incorporated. Add in the butter a tablespoon at a time in the same manner.
- Knead the dough for about 10 minutes using your hands or stand mixer. You will know the kneading is done when you can stretch out a portion of the dough thin enough that you can see through it without the dough ripping.
- Lightly grease a bowl and place the dough in. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1 hour. Punch down the dough and roll out until about ½ inch thick. Use a doughnut cutter or mouth of a cup to cut out doughnuts that are about 3 ½ inches in diameter. Re-roll any excess dough and cut. Place the doughnuts on a greased sheet of parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for another hour.
- Heat at least 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees F. Fry each doughnut until a deep golden brown - about 2 - 3 minutes on each side. You should be able to fit roughly three doughnuts in a pan or deep fryer depending on the size. Just make sure the doughnuts do not touch while frying. Allow the doughnuts to drain and cool completely on a wire rack covered in paper towels.
For the Blood Orange Syrup
- Add the ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced to ½ a cup. Set aside to cool.
For the Pastry Cream
- In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla until it begins to steam and simmers around the edges. Do not let it boil.
- Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, salt and egg yolks together and whisk until light in color. Slowly temper the eggs by adding ⅓ of the milk into the eggs slowly and whisking constantly as you drizzle in the milk. Repeat with another ⅓ of the milk. Slowly pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
- Whisk the mixture constantly until the mixture begins to boil. Turn down the heat and whisk quickly for another two minutes. The mixture should thicken as you whisk. Remove the mixture from the heat and slowly whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Pour the mixture into a pan and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes. Cover the top with plastic wrap so that the plastic touches the cream. Chill in the refrigerator.
Assembly
- Take out the chilled pastry cream and whisk in half the blood orange syrup until completely combined. Swirl in another couple of tablespoons, but do not mix in entirely. Fit a pastry bag with a small round tip and brush the insides with more of the blood orange syrup before adding in the pastry cream.
- Mix the sugar and blood orange zest together. Rub the mixture between your fingers to help release the oils from the zest into the sugar.
- Use a skewer or small rod to poke a hole through the side of the doughnuts. (I used the end of a wooden spoon). Fill the doughnut with some of the pastry cream so that the doughnut feels heavier, but not bursting. Roll the doughnuts in the blood orange sugar. If the sugar is having a tough time sticking to the doughnuts, lightly brush the doughnuts with a bit of melted butter and re-roll.
Notes
Pastry cream recipe from Johnny Iuzzini's book Sugar Rush
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 348kcalCarbohydrates: 75gProtein: 26gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 177mgFiber: 5gSugar: 37g
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Lindi says
Oooh !!!! My LordieThese blood orange doughnuts, sound amaaaaazing, I too love blood oranges we had none for almost the whole season, then around mid November last year we had a huge glut, I made many Jars Blood Orange Curd, Marmalade,Rhubarb and blood Orange jam, Juiced froze, a number of Orange and Poppy Seed cakes to freeze I even made a quadruple batch if cranberry and orange butter cookies and froze in logs raw, what ever rind was left over I made bench cleaner. Almost forgot I did a couple jars of chocolate dipped candied orange peel. I just made your creme pastrerire the first recipe on here, it's cooling down at the moment, I am making little donuts tomorrow, before I go to bed I will stir some homemade Baileys thru the creme, not sure if you have Bailey's up there, it i really really delish.. I must go to bed now just gone midnight and have a huge baking day tomorrow, getting ready for Easter...
Elizabeth @ SugarHero.com says
Amanda, stop it right now. These look so freaking good! This must be why blood oranges were invented. BRB, off to heat up the deep fryer...
Amanda says
Oh my gosh, you don't even know. I couldn't stop with the doughnuts. And the zest in the sugar was the best thing to happen to me. It's what my happiness is made of!
Jennifer Farley says
These are epic!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
I probably would have purchased 3 bags too!! uh yes, these doughnuts are everything!! oh my gawd, brilliant!!! blood orange cream filled doughnuts and the zest on the outside?! these are a blood orange lover's dream! delicious!
Lauren @ Wicked Spatula says
Absolute brilliant idea! I'm off to find a Paleo donut recipe so I can recreate these.
Christina @ Bake with Christina says
Holy crap those doughnuts look AMAZING! I love the sugar texture on the outside, and that blood orange cream in the middle looks so yummy!! Pinned 🙂
Angela {Mind Over Batter} says
Yep - That would have been me. Buy bags upon bags of blood oranges with no shame. I love a good yeasted doughnut. These are just BEYOND!!
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says
Pinning this now and hoping the entire world sees it! The doughnuts, that syrup, and your photos?!?! Perfect. Again. Awesome job Amanda!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
These are just beyond beautiful! Pinning of COURSE! love the photography so much 🙂
Meg @ The Housewife in Training Files says
Girl, these are perfection! I would have bought the whole bag of blood oranges too. No shame.
So now you are stock piled...I am excited to see a whole bunch of blood orange recipes!
Matt says
These look amazing! LOVE blood oranges, so creative
Miranda @ Cookie Dough & Oven Mitt says
These doughnuts look amazing! I'm a sucker for any kind of filled doughnuts. I can't believe you bought three bags of blood oranges. hehe Sounds like we'll be seeing a lot more blood orange recipes!
Marye Audet says
These look delish! I love making homemade donuts. 🙂