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stacked vegan Boston cream donuts

Vegan Boston Cream Donuts, Step-by-Step

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  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 40
  • Resting Time: 90
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes
  • Yield: 8-16 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Frying
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

These shockingly easy and undetectably vegan Boston cream donuts are the perfect homemade cream-filled donuts! In this recipe, I walk you through simple and straightforward steps for creating the perfect plant-based donuts. The recipe features a sweet doughnut dough filled with a lush, egg-free vanilla custard, topped with a rich chocolate coating! They’re the perfect indulgent treat for breakfast or mid-afternoon snack!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3/4 cup (184 g) dairy free milk, heated to 110F
  •  1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar or coconut sugar, divided
  • 4 cups (500 g)  bread flour or all purpose flour
  • 2.5 tsp (.25 oz) dry activated yeast
  • 12 tbsp (185 g) unsalted salted vegan butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (62.5 grams) dairy free yogurt, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cups avocado oil, for frying
  • 1 batch vegan vanilla pastry cream
  • 1 batch vegan ganache

Instructions

  1. Please read through all instructions before beginning.
  2. Prep: Grease a medium bowl with olive or coconut oil, and set aside.
  3. Bloom the yeast: In a separate large bowl, combine the dairy free milk, 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar, and activated yeast. Mix with a wooden spoon, and cover. Place in a warm area to activate for about 10 minutes. The yeast should begin to foam and smell yeast-like (similar to beer).
  4. Make the dough: Once the yeast is activated,  you’ll start the dough. In a large bowl or using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, add the bread flour and remaining sugar to the bowl. Mix just until the sugar is mixed throughout the flour. Then add in the dairy free yogurt, vanilla, and bloomed yeast mixture. Mix on medium speed until a very shaggy dough forms, about 3-4 minutes. Then add in the tablespoons of vegan butter, and begin to mix again on medium speed. Stop every so often to reincorporate the butter. Once the vegan butter is incorporated, turn the speed of the stand mixer onto high, and allow the dough to be kneaded in the bowl for about 10-15 minutes, or until soft and pliable. The dough might still be slightly tacky, but should not leave globs of dough on your finger tip. The trick is to knead the dough until it passes the windowpane test.
  5. First proof: Place the dough ball into the medium sized greased bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel and place in a warm area (ideally above 80F) to rest for about 60-120 minutes, or until doubled in size.
  6. While the dough is proofing: Follow the instructions for making the pastry cream. Cover the custard in the fridge until ready to use. Right before filling your piping bag, we’ll blend the pastry cream to get it smooth. Additionally, cut out 8 parchment paper squares (or more if you plan on dividing the dough into more doughnuts) and place them on a baking sheet.
  7. Shape the dough: Once the dough has doubled in size, lightly flour a clean surface, and place the dough onto the surface. Divide the dough into 8 even dough balls (or more for smaller doughnuts). Take one piece, and pinch the corners together to create a ball. Then gently roll the dough ball between your palms or on the lightly floured surface to smooth the seams until you get a smooth dough ball. Place the shaped dough onto the parchment paper, and repeat for the remaining dough.
  8. Rest: Cover the baking sheet of doughnuts and place in a warm area again to rest until almost doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes.
  9. While the doughnuts are resting: With 10-15 minutes remaining of resting time, pour the oil into a large saucepan with walls and heat the oil until it reaches about 350-365F, keeping it steady at that temperature for frying. Use a candy thermometer please. For the cooling, place paper towels onto a cooling rack or below to sop up any excess oil.
  10. Fry the doughnuts: When the doughnuts are ready, take one doughnut carrying it on its parchment paper and place it onto the slotted spoon, removing the parchment paper. Lower the doughnut into the oil and fry doughnut on onside for 2 minutes or until lightly golden the bottom. Then flip the doughnut using the slotted spoon to fry on the other side for 1:30 minutes. You can place more doughnuts in a time if your pan can hold it, as long as you keep the temperature between 350-365F. Remove the cooke doughnuts with the slotted spoon, and place them onto the cooling rack.
  11. While the donuts are cooling: Allow the donuts to cool for at least 10 minutes. While they’re cooling, you can blend the pastry cream here to get it super smooth before filling your piping bag. Additionally, you can make the chocolate ganache here following the instructions.
  12. Fill the doughnuts:  Use a knife or a long skewer to poke a hole in the seam of each doughnut, and use the skewer to create a pocket towards the middle of the donut. This will be where you fill the doughnuts. Then fill a pastry bag with piping nozzle with the pastry cream. Pipe the filling into each doughnut by inserting the tip into the hole made by the skewer. Be careful not to overfill, as the pastry cream will pool out of the donuts. 
  13. Top with ganache: Once filled, dip the top of each donut into the chocolate ganache, twisting the donut when you pull up to ensure any excess ganache drips off. 
  14. Serve and enjoy! Serve the doughnuts freshly baked or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Notes

See blog post for tips and tricks!

Find it online: https://thebananadiaries.com/easy-vegan-boston-cream-donut-recipe/