My guilty pleasure. So guilty I need to make a lot to share with others. These are my favourite doughnuts, made with recipe by the Bread Ahead bakery and baking school at Borough Market.

Mój mały grzeszek. Zawsze muszę zrobi wiele, aby dzieląc się rozmyć poczucie winy. To moje ulubione pączki, zrobione zgodnie z przepisem od Bread Ahead, piekarni i szkoły kulinarnej z Borough Market.

I’ve made them a couple times before, I even shared the dough recipe. This time I had an excuse to make the classic one – I had a bake-off at work.

As mentioned, I previously used this dough for jam filled doughnuts. This time I made them the way Justin Gellatly presented it in his book (sources).

Creme patissiere is a custard mixed with whipped cream. Custard is a thick vanilla pudding made with vanilla pods, milk, sugar, egg yolks and flour.

Empty fried doughnut – the crumb

Planning

Take the butter and eggs out in the evening to get soft for the morning mixing. Prepare the dough in the morning, let it rise (an hour), knock back and put in the fridge for the day (6-8 hours). Take it out, shape doughntus, let it double in volume (2-4 hours) then fry them.

You can make the custard at pretty much any point. I usually make it after I fry the doughnuts, but you can make it in the morning to fill the doughnuts in the evening. The key thing is that after making the custard, you need to let it cool down and then chill it for a couple hours before mixing with cream. In the recipe I stick with making it after frying.

In the morning make a hole in each doughnut using a knife, then use a piping bag with a rather large hole nozzle to inflate them with cream.

As you can see, it’s time consuming. I therefore strongly recommend for time’s and health’s sake, not to make them too often (you won’t stop at two of them).

You’ll need a large pan for making creme patissiere and another one for frying. A strainer, mixer, about two bowls – rather standard things. Trays for proofing the doughnuts. And a piping bag with a nozzle that has a round hole for filling.

Ready for frying

Ingredients

This is enough to make about 20 full sized or 40 smaller doughnuts.

Creme patissiere

• 500 g milk
• 1 vanilla pod
• 125 g caster sugar (plus 2 tablespoons for cream whipping)
• 6 egg yolks
• 80 g plain flour
• 200 g whipping cream

The dough

• 500 g strong white wheat flour

• 60 g caster sugar

• 10 g fine sea salt

• 15 g fresh yeast, crumbled

• 4 eggs

• zest of half lemon (get an organic lemon, make sure the skin is not waxed)

• 150 g water

• 125 g unsalted butter

• about 2 litres rapeseed oil for frying

• some caster sugar for coating

• rice flour for proofing

  

  Creme patissiere doughnuts

Preparation

Creme patissiere

1. In a large saucepan with a thick bottom,  start heating milk on a small heat

2. Split the vanilla lengthways, scrape the seeds out, put them in the milk, put the pod in the milk

3. Stir regularly to avoid getting it burned

4. Start whisking the egg yolks with sugar

5. After a couple seconds add sifted plain flour

6. Remember to stir regularly

7. Slowly bring milk to boiling and then gradually pour it over whisked  egg yolks. Make sure you don’t do it too fast so that you don’t get scrambled eggs

8. This part is important. It requires your focus and also your arm to fall off. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and put on a medium heat. Keep stirring all the time. If you don’t you may end up with sweet vanilla scrambled eggs on milk

9. After a couple minutes the mixture will gradually begin to thicken. KEEP STIRRING!

10. After it thickens into a stiff custard holding shape, push it through a strainer to leave the vanilla pods out, leave the custard in a bowl  and cover it with cling film so that the air doesn’t form a dried out surface

    

    Custard

11. Leave it to cool, then put in a fridge to chill. It will take a couple hours

12. After chilling, whisk the cream with two tablespoons sugar until it becomes thick

13. Fold the whipped cream gently into the custard and you’re ready to go

    

    Creme patissiere

The dough

1. Put all the ingredients apart from butter in the mixer bowl and mix on medium speed for about 8 minutes until they form a dough that forms a ball. I used a dough hook

2. Turn the mixer off and let the dough rest for about a minute

3. Start it again on medium speed and add butter in small portions, giving it a bit time to incorporate. Once it’s all nicely mixed in, mix on high speed for 5 minutes
   

   The dough is super stretchy, but it may also come out a bit rough and get so stretchy after the rise

4. Cover with cling film and let the dough double in volume

5. Knock back the dough, cover again and store in the fridge overnight

6. Next day, cut the dough in 50 g pieces (or 25 g for smaller ones), then round them. Use wheat flour for dusting the worktop for rounding as the dough is super sticky

7. Place on a dusted tray (rice flour!), with a lot of space between the doughnuts

8. Cover them lightly with clingfilm. I sprinkle a bit flour on top before covering (rice flour!). They will need about 4 hours to double in size (two hours in my case)

9. Heat up the oil – 180 C is what you want

10. Put doughnuts in the pan, enough to have the space to rotate. Picking up must be gentle. Make sure the doughnut does not tear or deflate. Fry for 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Keep monitoring the temperature – I keep the probe in the pan all the time
    

    Doughnuts in the oil

11. When taking out, place the doughnuts on a paper towel. It will help get rid of some of the excess fat. Next, toss them in a bowl of caster sugar to get them coated and put aside to cool down

    

    Coating in sugar

12. Take the creme patissiere and place it in a piping bag

13. Make a whole to the middle of the doughnut and fill it up with the creme. Leave a small dollop on the whole and put them in a container with the hole facing up

These doughnuts are irresistible. The dough is soft and the filling melts in mouth hitting your nose with the vanilla aroma. I cannot make them too often as I always eat too many. I highly recommend this recipe.

Creme patissiere doughnuts

I brought them to the bake-off and they disappeared very quickly. By quickly I mean 40 doughnuts eaten in 30 minutes or so. I haven’t won anything but I don’t care. My goal was to make a lot of easily shareable food that will go quickly. Mission accomplished.