Easy Crème Brûlée Donuts Recipe

Name: Easy Crème Brûlée Donuts Recipe
Prep time: 26 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 115 min
Ingredients: 390 g Flour (3 cups loosely packed); 165 ml Milk/Water (3/4 cup- 1 tbsp); 4.5 g Salt (3/4 tsp); 50 g Sugar (1/4 cup); 3 g Yeast (1 tsp); 50 g Butter (3.5 tbsp); 1 Egg; 3 Egg yolk; 1 Whole Egg; 30 g Corn Flour (3 tbsp); 6 g Vanilla Sugar/Vanilla Extract (1.5 tsp); 472 ml Milk (2 cups); 1.5 g Salt (1/4 tsp); 100 g Sugar (1/2 cup); 45 g Butter (3 tbsp); 200 g Sugar (1 cup); 118 ml Water (1/2 cup)

Recipe Video

This Crème Brûlée Donuts Recipe will help you make the best Crème Brûlée Donuts and indulge you in the delightful fusion of two beloved treats. Soft, airy yeast donuts brimming with velvety vanilla pastry cream and adorned with a caramel sugar shell.

Every mouthful is a symphony of flavors, capturing the essence of creme brulee in the form of a donut. Treat yourself to the ultimate dessert experience with this irresistibly delicious recipe!

Why you will love this Crème Brûlée Donuts Recipe

In this Creme Brûlée donuts recipe you don’t need to do double proofing and so you can make the donuts part in less than 2 hours!
To make the pastry cream, we use only a single pot (no tempering needed) and so you will find it easy to make.
You don’t need any special equipments to make this Creme Brulee doughnuts
The resulting creme brûlée donuts are light and airy and is filled with smooth creamy pastry cream and to add contrast, it is topped with crispy caramel coating!

Crème Brûlée Donuts Recipe: Ingredients needed

For the donuts

All purpose flour/Bread flour:390g or 3 cups (loosely packed)
Milk/Water : 165 ml or 3/4 Cup-1 tbsp
Unsalted Butter (softened) : 50 g or 3.5 tbsp
1 Egg(at Room Temperature)
Sugar:50 g or 1/4 cup
Salt :4.5 g or 3/4 tsp
Yeast (Instant /Active dried yeast) 3g or 1tsp

To make the Pastry Cream

Milk :472 ml or 2 cups
Sugar :100 g or 1/2 cup
Egg:1 whole egg + 3 egg yolks
Corn flour/Corn starch:30 g or 3 tbsp
Salt:1/4 tsp
Vanilla sugar or Vanille extract :1.5 tsp
Butter: 45 g or 3 tbsp

For the Brûlée

Sugar : 200 g or 1 cup
Water 1/2 cup or 118 ml

How to make Custard Cream for Crème Brûlée Donuts

In this easy method of making Custard cream, add in all our ingredients, three egg yolks and one whole egg, sugar, salt, corn flour, vanilla sugar and mix them all together.

how to make custard cream for creme brulee donuts

Add milk into this. I have used cold milk which I took it out from fridge. Just mix and combine them all together.

Take the sauce pan onto the stove and heat on medium heat, whisking continuously. Initially, the pastry cream will appear thin and frothy, but it will gradually thicken after a few minutes.

Take care to whisk continuously. Once it gets thickened, reduce the heat – if large bubbles emerge, whisk briefly and remove the pan from heat.

Add butter into the custard while it’s still warm and whisk together until it is been melted and blended.

Let the cream, cool down and meanwhile stir it occasionally to prevent any skin forming on top.

When it is cooled, transfer to a bowl. Cover the custard cream with a plastic wrap pressed right up against the surface of the cream and chill completely.

How to make Donuts

We can make this donuts in FOUR SIMPLE STEPS.

Prepare the dough
Divide and Shape the doughnuts
Proof the doughnuts
Fry the doughnuts

If you want to skip frying and instead want to bake these doughnuts, you will love this quick and easy Baked Yeast Doughnuts Recipe

1.Prepare the Dough

Into a bowl, add in the milk, sugar, salt, yeast, egg.

Give it a good mix.

Then add in the softened unsalted butter and then the flour. Mix everything together, until we get a shaggy mass of dough.

Place the dough onto a clean work surface and begin kneading.

This dough for doughnuts isn’t overly sticky, making it easy to work with by hand.

The dough may seem little sticky in the beginning of kneading; just continue to knead without adding extra flour. You will see the extra moisture will get absorbed in a few minutes.

After about six minutes of kneading, you should achieve a soft and smooth dough.

Our doughnut dough should strike a balance: it needs to be well hydrated, soft, and smooth, yet it should still retain the ability to hold the shape of doughnuts once formed.

Next, cover the dough with a bowl and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

This resting period is essential as it allows the gluten strands to relax. As a result, the dough’s elasticity decreases, reducing its tendency to rebound while shaping.

It will be so much easier if you are using a stand mixer to prepare the dough.In a stand mixer, just knead the dough for 8-10 minutes using the dough hook attachment.

2.Divide and Shape The Donut Dough

After 15 minutes of resting, our dough is ready for the next step.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.

For more precision,I weighed each of them and they were 59-60 g in weight.

Take each portion of the dough.

Degas the dough.Then tuck in the edges towards the centre and roll it into small round balls.

Once the twelve balls are formed, take the first one that we shaped.

Dust the surface of the ball with some flour, so that they will not stick to the hands.

Pat the surface and flatten the balls (half inch thick) one by one.

Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Cover the baking sheet with a plastic film.

3. Proof The Doughnuts

Let the shaped doughnuts sit and rise in a warm environment for around 55-60 minutes or until they are light and puffy.

4. Fry The Doughnuts

After 55 minutes, they have puffed up and they are ready for frying.

To fry yeast doughnuts to perfection, meticulous attention to detail and adherence to key steps are essential for achieving the desired golden-brown exterior and soft, fluffy interior.

Heat the Oil: Start by pouring enough vegetable oil into your pot or deep fryer, ensuring there’s ample oil for the doughnuts to float while frying. Heat the oil to a consistent temperature of 350°F (175°C). It’s crucial to monitor the temperature using a candy thermometer to maintain a steady heat for an even fry.

Fry in Batches: Place a few doughnuts into the hot oil carefully, avoiding overcrowding the pot. The number of doughnuts fried at once depends on the size of your pot or fryer. Overcrowding can cause the oil temperature to drop, leading to uneven frying and potentially soggy doughnuts.

Monitor and Flip: Fry the doughnuts for approximately 1.5 minutes on each side or until they achieve a beautiful golden-brown color. Gently flip them using a slotted spoon and keep an eye on the temperature to ensure consistency.

Drain Excess Oil: Once fried, use the slotted spoon to lift the doughnuts out of the oil and onto a tray lined with paper towels. This helps absorb any excess oil, preventing greasiness and maintaining the doughnuts’ texture.

Allow the fried doughnuts to cool on a cooling rack.

Fill the Doughnuts with Pastry cream

Transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag.

Using a skewer or using rear end of a spoon, make a small hole for filling it with cream.

Insert the tip of piping bag in to the donut and fill it with custard cream.

Repeat until you finish all of them.

How to make Caramel Coating for Crème Brûlée Donuts

Into a sauce pan add the sugar and water.

Place it on medium high heat and then reduce the temperature when you see thick bubbles forming.

When you start to see slight change of color, remove the pan from heat and swirl it. It will turn golden brown as the pan is still hot and the caramelization still continue to occur.

We don’t want the caramel to be deep brown in color and it will have a strong bitter taste to it.

So, stop cooking when it is light golden in color.

Dip the Donuts in Brulee

While the caramel is still hot and thin, carefully dip the top of doughnuts one by one so that they form thin layer of caramel coating.

The caramel will harden quickly so work fast and carefully. Caramel will loosen when it is reheated but it’s not a quick process. So try to coat all the doughnuts with caramel in one go.

Be very careful: *Caramel is very hot and can cause burns.

Once the doughnuts are coated with caramel, they are ready to enjoy. So enjoy them while they are fresh!

It is the combination of contrast of texture and flavors. Thin crackly caramel crust , rich and velvety custard cream and soft and fluffy donuts!

Tips For Making The Best Creme Brulee Doughnuts

To make the best donuts, we need to fry the donuts at right temperature.

Heat the oil to a consistent temperature of 350°F (175°C). If the temperature of oil is higher or lower than needed, our donuts will not be golden in color, and it will not get the white rim in the center.

Take care not to overcrowd the pan while frying.

If the temperature of oil is low, the donuts will absorb more oil and our donuts will be oily.

If the temperature of oil is too high, the dough nuts will be dark brown and the center will not get cooked enough and will be doughy.

Be very careful while working with caramel as it is very hot.

The caramel can turn its color from light golden brown to dark brown in a few seconds. So take care to monitor carefully.

The taste of light golden and deep golden caramel is very different. We don’t want to have any unpleasant bitter taste to our caramel.

If you like desserts made with custard, you will love this simple, Easy Flan Recipe

Why are my creme brûlée donuts dense and heavy

Using Too Much Flour: Adding too much flour can make the dough too dense. Make sure to measure your ingredients accurately, and if the dough feels too dry, consider adding a bit more liquid.
Oil Temperature: Frying the donuts at the wrong temperature can lead to uneven cooking and a heavy texture. Ensure that the oil is at the correct temperature (usually around 350 or 175 C) before adding the donuts.
Old Yeast: If the yeast used in the dough is expired or inactive, the donuts may not rise properly, resulting in a denser texture. Always use fresh yeast and ensure it’s activated properly before incorporating it into the dough.
Inadequate Rising Time: If the dough doesn’t rise sufficiently during proofing, the resulting donuts may be dense. Ensure that the dough is placed in a warm, draft-free environment for optimal rising.
Thick Dough: Rolling the dough too thickly before cutting and frying can result in dense donuts. Aim for an even thickness, and don’t roll the dough too thick.

Why are my creme brûlée donuts are doughy in the center
Doughy centers in your creme brulee donuts can happen due to a few reasons:

Undercooked: The most common reason is that the donuts haven’t been cooked through long enough. When frying, the outside might get golden brown before the inside fully cooks. Adjusting the frying time or temperature might help.
Temperature: If your oil is too hot, the outside can cook too quickly, leaving the inside doughy. Similarly, if the oil is too cold, the donuts might absorb too much oil before they cook through.
Thickness: If the donuts are too thick, it might take longer for the heat to penetrate through the center, leaving it doughy. Try rolling out the dough to a more even thickness.

How to store left over Crème Brûlée Donuts

Creme Brulee Donuts are best to have while they are fresh. You can store them at room temperature in an airtight container for one day or in refrigerator for two days.