Vanilla Bean Custard Doughnuts

Vanilla Bean Custard Doughnuts are a great way to start the day. Find out how easy it is to make a fresh batch by scrolling down to the recipe below.

The Classic Doughnut

I thought we’d all be in agreement about what the “classic” doughnut looked like. To me it’s a plump, round, golden doughy ball, with sugar coated crust, filled to bursting with raspberry jam and initially, that’s what my twitter poll said too with 100% of voters in the first 5 days choosing raspberry jam over custard. But, it would seem there are an awful lot of custard doughnut lovers out there and almost as soon as I launched the twitter poll I had comments across social media telling me that nothing could beat a fresh vanilla custard doughnut. With just 2 days of the poll left #teamcustard started gaining ground…

Quick question for a new post – what’s the TRUE “classic” doughnut? Raspberry jam or custard? Feel free to share!

— SupperInTheSuburbs (@KitchenGoddess3) April 10, 2016

As I was making these doughnuts for my Dad’s birthday (I’m nice like that) I thought I’d run it by him. And whilst he too loves a raspberry jam doughnut, his all time favourite is custard!

If I’d have known before starting this post what a can of worms I would have opened just by asking what makes a true, classic doughnut I might have opted to just fill mine with Nutella instead! Nonetheless, I decided to make an extra large batch and fill half with jam and the other half with a fresh vanilla bean custard and today I’m sharing the recipe.

How do you make doughnuts? Baked or fried?

In recent years there’s been a bit of a craze for baked doughnuts. As we become increasingly conscious about our ever expanding waistlines deep fried doughnuts seemed to have fallen out of favour and baked doughnuts feature on blogs everywhere. (Mine included: Baked Cinnamon Doughnuts). But, if you want a traditional, classic doughnut you have to forget your Wilton pan and instead invest in a deep fat fryer. The only way to get that distinctive light fluffy dough and crisp sugary crust is to get frying! The clue is really in the (original) name; with the first doughnuts being called olykoeks meaning oil cakes.

I’d been a bit apprehensive at first about making deep fried doughnuts, not because they were unhealthy (I’m all for a bit of everything in moderation, including moderation), but because it involves heating oil to incredibly high heats. But trust me, if you want to start making fresh doughnuts at home you’re going to need invest in a deep fat fryer. And the first bite of a fresh, warm doughnut is enough to convert anyone to deep fat frying.

Once you’ve got your fryer you’ll next need a light and fluffy fool-proof doughnut dough. That’s where my recipe comes in! I’ve tried this recipe plenty of times and know that it works every time. As with most doughnut recipes its a mix of strong bread flour, yeast, sugar, eggs and butter. It’s a rich dough that can get quite sticky but creates beautifully light, cakey doughnuts.

How do you fill yours?

Once you’ve mastered the dough you really can fill them with anything. I’ve got grand plans for a zesty blueberry recipe (watch this space) as well as some over the top chocolate creations. The first batch of doughnuts we ever made we filled with a sticky, sweet salted caramel sauce. They were to die for.

Today we’re sticking with custard. I make a mean fresh custard and I figure if you’re going out of your way to make a batch of fresh doughnuts, you should only fill them with the most decadent, rich, freshest fillings possible. And so the Vanilla Bean Custard Doughnut was born.

To get the filling all the way through the doughnut you’ll want to invest in a bismark nozzle (like this one). You can fill doughnuts with a normal piping bag and nozzle but you’ll find it easier to get a good fill with a longer nozzle. No one wants to feel short changed on filling – especially with this delicious recipe!

Vanilla Bean Custard Doughnuts – The Recipe

I know it sounds like A LOT of oil but it doesn’t get used up in the cooking process at all. In fact, you can re-use the oil over and over again. I think after 5 times it’s recommended you change it but up until that point it’s still perfectly safe and edible.

This recipe also makes A LOT of doughnuts. You can easily reduce it down to make just 5 doughnuts which I have done on many an occasion. It still works just as well!

Unfortunately doughnuts don’t keep as well as some other treats and they are best served fresh. They will still be tasty after 2 or 3 days but with the fresh custard I wouldn’t recommend eating them much past this. (Not that I expect them to last that long anyway! How could you resist!)

More deep fried delights

If these tasty treats weren’t enough to satisfy you then why not try one of these fried delicacies from some of my favourite bloggers.

• Faworki / Chruściki (also known as Angel Wings) from Coffee and Vanilla
• Heart shaped churros from Supergolden Bakes
• Pączki Wiedeńskie (also known as Vienna Doughnuts) from Coffee and Vanilla
• Cronuts from Supergolden Bakes

Not yet invested in a deep fat fryer? Try one of these shallow fried snacks in the meantime:

• Funnel Cakes from Little Sunny Kitchen
• Banana and Chocolate Quesadillas from Fab Food For All

Have I convinced you that it’s worth deep fat frying? Let me know in the comments below!