Boston Cream Doughnuts Recipe (2024)

  • Doughnuts
  • Frying
  • Chocolate

By

Alexandra Penfold

Alexandra Penfold

Alexandra Penfold is a literary agent, author, blogger, and recipe developer who has contributed an extensive number of baking and candy recipes to Serious Eats.

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Updated May 07, 2020

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Boston Cream Doughnuts Recipe (1)

Say no to waxy brown, chocolate-esque frosting and cloying, gloppy, fake-y vanilla flavored goo. Making everything from scratch is time commitment and a labor of love, but if you count yourself as a doughnut enthusiast, this is well worth trying.

Why this recipe works:

  • The dark chocolate glaze adds a needed note of bitterness to the pastry
  • The pastry cream packs a ton of flavor thanks to the addition of real vanilla bean

The dough recipe was adapted from this Yeast-Raised Doughnuts recipe. The glaze is adapted from Alton Brown's chocolate glaze recipe.

Recipe Details

Boston Cream Doughnuts Recipe

Active2 hrs

Total14 hrs

Serves18 doughnuts

Ingredients

For the Doughnuts:

  • 1 cup whole milk, warmed to between 110°F and 115°F (43°C and 46°C)

  • 2/3 cup plus1 tablespoon sugar

  • 4 1/2 teaspoons (two packages) instant yeast

  • 2 large eggs, beaten, at room temperature

  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  • 3 cups (12.75 ounces)bread flour

  • 1 cup (4.5 ounces)all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 2 quarts oil

For the Filling:

  • 4 cups vanilla pastry cream

For the Glaze:

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1/4 cup whole milk

  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

  • 5 ounces high quality (70% cacao) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

  1. Pour warmed milk into medium bowl. Dissolve yeast in milk. Add one tablespoon sugar. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand for 5 minutes or until mixture is foamy.

  2. In a separate bowl, stir together the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flours, remaining sugar, and salt. Fit mixer with a dough hook. Add the milk mixture, mixing on low until the flour is moistened, Add the egg mixture increasing the speed to medium. Once ingredients are thoroughly combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat for approximately 10 minutes, stopping to scrape the dough off the hook and edges of the bowl as needed. As it mixes, the dough will make a slapping sound against the edge of the bowl. The dough will be smooth, stretchy and tacky (not sticky) once finished. Coat a large bowl with cooking oil or cooking spray and place the dough inside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

  3. Prepare your favorite vanilla pastry cream recipe as directed (I used this recipe). Transfer warm pastry cream into a bowl, place plastic wrap directly over the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill overnight.

  4. Remove dough from the refrigerator and turn it out on to a lightly floured work surface. Dust the surface of the dough with flour use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Line two sheet trays with parchment paper. Use a 3 inch round cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out the doughnut rounds, combine and reroll any scraps. Place doughnuts on prepared baking sheets. Place trays in a warm, moist environment to proof until they have puffed up, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

  5. Fill a Dutch oven or deep fryer with frying oil. Heat oil over medium high heat to 350°F. Doughnuts will be fragile. Carefully transfer, one at a time to a shallow, heat resistant strainer. Use the strainer to gently drop doughnuts in the oil and fry until a deep golden brown on both sides (about 2 minutes per side, use the color as your guide as the oil temperature can very with time). Use wooden chopsticks to turn the doughnuts. Be careful not to crowd the doughnuts in the pan (no more than 2 doughnuts at a time). Remove doughnuts immediately from the pan using a heat resistant strainer or tongs. Let doughnut cool for 5 minutes then tear apart your first doughnut to test for doneness and adjust your cooking time as needed. Set on wire baking racks to cool.

  6. While doughnuts are cooling, prepare your glaze. In a medium saucepan combine butter, milk, and corn syrup. Heat over medium until butter has just melted. Decrease the heat to low, then whisk in chocolate until fully incorporated. Remove pan from heat and whisk in vanilla and confectioners sugar until smooth. Set mixture over a bowl of warm water, stir as needed to keep it from hardening.

  7. Transfer chilled pastry cream to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip the cream until smooth.

  8. Once the doughnuts have completely cooled, use the chopsticks to poke a hole in the center of the side of each doughnut. Fit a pastry bag with a small round tip and fill the bag with the filling. Squirt about a few tablespoons of filling into each doughnut. Dip in chocolate glaze and return to your wired racks to let the glaze set for approximately 30 minutes before serving. Eat within a day.

Special equipment

Dutch oven or electric fryer, 3-inch doughnut cutter or round biscuit or cookie cutter, wooden chopsticks, heat resistant spatula, frying thermometer, wire racks for cooling, parchment paper, electric stand mixer

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
435Calories
23g Fat
49g Carbs
7g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 18
Amount per serving
Calories435
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 23g30%
Saturated Fat 9g47%
Cholesterol 88mg29%
Sodium 262mg11%
Total Carbohydrate 49g18%
Dietary Fiber 1g4%
Total Sugars 24g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 0mg2%
Calcium 89mg7%
Iron 1mg5%
Potassium 153mg3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Boston Cream Doughnuts Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Boston cream donut filling made of? ›

Boston cream donuts are always topped with chocolate and filled with pastry cream, just like a Boston cream pie or my Boston cream cupcakes.

What is the difference between a Bavarian cream donut and a Boston cream donut? ›

The doughnut adaptation of the pie is popular not only in Massachusetts but throughout the United States and Canada. Also filled with the same cream, the Bavarian cream doughnut differs from the Boston cream doughnut in that, instead of a chocolate glaze topping, the Bavarian cream doughnut is tossed in powdered sugar.

Why are Boston cream donuts so good? ›

The combination of textures and flavors creates a delightful indulgence that is loved by donut enthusiasts around the world. The creamy filling along with the fluffy and melt in your mouth dough that is dipped in chocolate ganache creates the most delicious bite that will make it hard to stop at one donut!

Do you have to refrigerate Boston cream donuts? ›

How should you store Boston cream doughnuts? If you have any left, store your Boston cream doughnuts in an airtight container in the fridge.

What's the difference between Bavarian cream and Boston cream? ›

Bavarian cream involves milk, eggs, sugar, and often vanilla extract, the same as Boston cream. But then the two ingredient lists diverge: Bavarian cream includes heavy cream and gelatin, while Boston cream involves cornstarch.

Is Bavarian cream the same as custard? ›

The richest ice creams are made with a custard base; the egg whites in this case are sometimes beaten stiffly and the custard folded into them. Bavarian creams are custards stiffened with gelatin.

Is a Bismark the same as a Boston cream donut? ›

Short answer: All Boston cream donuts are Bismarcks, but not all Bismarck donuts are Boston creams.

What is the cream called in Boston cream donuts? ›

Food stylist: Claudia Ficca. This is a recipe for a popular riff on the classic Boston Cream Pie, with a crisp, flaky doughnut as the vessel for silky pastry cream.

What is a Boston cream donut from Dunkin donuts? ›

Keep reading to learn more. This classic donut is a yeast shell, with Bavarian Kreme filling, topped with chocolate icing. It's a delicious donut variety that's not just popular here in America, but also around the world at Dunkin'.

What is the most unhealthy donut in the world? ›

Honey Dew Donuts Coconut Jelly Stick

The Honey Dew Coconut Jelly Stick is the most calorie and sugar-heavy donut on our list with 590 calories and 40 grams of sugar per stick. Not only that, but it has a whopping 680 milligrams of sodium, which is almost a third of the recommended daily limit.

Who makes the best Boston cream donut? ›

America's Greatest Donuts presented by The Underground Donut Tour selected Sweetwater's Donut Mill's Boston Cream as the best Boston cream donut in the country. Out of the more than 40 different kinds of donuts Sweetwater's serves, its Boston cream donuts are the most popular.

Can you leave Boston cream donuts out overnight? ›

Do not leave creme-filled donuts at room temperature for more than two hours.

Can I eat a donut left out overnight? ›

Keeping Donuts at Room Temperature

If you plan on eating your donuts within 1-2 days, you can just keep them at room temperature. Definitely put them in airtight bags or containers though so they stay fresh! The only time this isn't a good idea is when your donuts are cream-filled.

Is Boston cream the same as custard? ›

Both Boston cream and Bavarian cream are egg custards with a smooth consistency, and both are made by mixing all their ingredients together and whisking like mad, then cooking them on medium heat while stirring continuously.

Is Bavarian filled the same as Boston cream? ›

The texture is the biggest difference

Bavarian cream involves milk, eggs, sugar, and often vanilla extract, the same as Boston cream. But then the two ingredient lists diverge: Bavarian cream includes heavy cream and gelatin, while Boston cream involves cornstarch.

What is the cream filling in donuts made of? ›

Bavarian cream doughnuts are rolled in (powdered) sugar and made with pastry cream that has been mixed with whipped cream. Boston cream doughnuts are filled with vanilla pastry cream and dipped in chocolate.

Do Boston cream donuts have Bavarian cream? ›

Boston cream donuts are filled with pastry cream made with eggs,cream,sugar butter & cornstarch cooked until thickened. Bavarian cream is made in a similar way but lightened up by folding in whipped heavy cream.

What does Boston cream have in it? ›

A Boston cream doughnut is a Berliner filled with vanilla custard or crème pâtissière and topped with icing made from chocolate. The Taiwanese version of the Boston cream pie is a chiffon cake which does not include chocolate.

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