Raspberry custard heart donuts
These double-custard heart donuts are filled with lemon curd cream and topped with raspberry custard. They're the perfect treat to tell someone you love them!
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Hand or stand mixer
- 3 - 4 inch heart shaped cookie cutter
- Piping bags
- Pastry syringe or 5mm round piping tip
- 1/2 inch star piping tip
- Parchment paper
- Heavy bottom pot or deep fryer
- Food thermometer
Ingredients
Donut dough
- 1 cup (240g) milk
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp instant or active dry yeast
- 2 eggs
- 6 tbsp (86g) unsalted butter, melted
- 4 cups (490g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 quart vegetable oil, for frying
Raspberry custard
- 2/3 cup (160g) milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 4 tbsp (35g) granulated sugar
Lemon curd cream
- 1/4 cup (75g) lemon curd
For both raspberry custard and lemon curd cream
- 5/6 cup (200g) heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp raspberry jam
Instructions
Make the donut dough
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the warm milk, sugar, and yeast. Wait 5 - 10 minutes until the yeast is frothy. If the yeast does not bubble up, it may be dead. Throw it out and try with a new batch.
- Add the eggs, melted butter, flour, vanilla extract, and salt. If using a stand mixer, fit with a dough hook attachment and knead on low-medium speed for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and passes the window pane test. You can also mix and knead by hand.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and place in a warm area to rise for 1 - 2 hours until doubled in size.
While the dough is rising, make the pastry cream for the raspberry custard
- Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until pale, light, and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Whisk in corn starch until fully incorporated.
- Mix milk, salt, and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer.
- Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture is thick and the whisk marks hold. This should take about 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the surface of the custard touches the wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill.
Shape and fry the donuts
- When the dough has doubled in size, turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Knead a few times to release the air bubbles. Roll out until it is 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. Using your heart cookie cutter, cut donuts out and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Reroll the scraps to cut out more donuts. If the dough is shrinking as you reroll, let it sit for 5 - 10 minutes to relax.
- Cover donuts lightly and let rest for 30 minutes as you heat up the oil.
- Pour the oil into a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat. Heat to 375°F. Add 2 - 3 donuts at a time and fry for 1 minute on each side. Carefully remove with a metal or wooden spatula. Place donuts back on the parchment paper or on a wire cooling rack. Periodically recheck the temperature of the oil and try to maintain the temperature.
- Let donuts cool before filling and topping.
While donuts cool, finish preparing the raspberry custard and lemon curd cream.
- Pour cold heavy whipping cream into a medium mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat on medium high speed until stiff peaks form. On low speed, stir in raspberry jam.
- Take half the raspberry whipped cream and fold it in with your pastry cream.
- Take the remaining half of the raspberry whipped cream and fold it in with lemon curd.
Assemble the donuts
- Use a butter knife to poke a hole in the side of each donut and gently wiggle the knife around to make space for the cream.
- Place the lemon curd cream in a piping bag fitted with a 5mm round tip. Fill the donuts using the holes prepared in the previous step. Repeat for remaining donuts.
- Place the raspberry custard in a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch tar tip. Pipe a rosette on top of each donut.
- Donuts are best enjoyed fresh!