Bavarian Cream Donuts

One Bavarian cream donut in a bowl of vanilla sugar.

4 from 1 vote

Super fluffy donuts, filled with creamy vanilla Bavarian cream, and rolled in vanilla sugar, I'm pretty sure these Bavarian Cream donuts are the best thing I've ever made.

Prep Time2

Cook Time15

Cooling2

Total Time4 15

Course: Afternoon Kaffee, Dessert

Cuisine: German

Keyword: Bavarian Cream, donut

Servings:

Calories: 435kcal

Equipment

Stand Mixer
Sauce Pot

Ingredients

Bavarian Cream

120 milliliters whole milk
1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks large eggs
30 grams granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter cut into 2 smaller pieces
200 milliliters heavy cream cold, more as needed to make a stiff filling

Donuts

250 grams all purpose flour
30 grams granulated sugar
7 grams instant yeast
125 milliliters milk
1 egg large, room temperature
20 grams butter softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Frying

1 liter vegetable oil

Coating

75 grams granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean

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Instructions

Vanilla Bean Custard

In a small sauce pot, pour in the milk along with the scrapings from the inside of the vanilla bean. If using vanilla extract, wait to add it. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently until steaming.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Place on a damp cloth nearby the pot.
Whisking the egg yolk mixture constantly, once the milk is steaming, turn the heat under the milk to low and use a ladle to slowly pour the warm vanilla milk into the eggs. Do this until half of the milk has been added into the egg yolks. This will temper the eggs so they won't curdle as easily.
Reverse the process and now while whisking the remaining vanilla milk, pour in the tempered egg mixture.
Return to medium low heat and stir constantly but gently with a rubber spatula, scraping the sides and bottom of the pot until the surface bubbles disappear.
Once cooked and slightly thickened, pour the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Whisk in the butter, and if using vanilla extract, whisk it in now.
Place a sheet of plastic wrap onto the surface of the custard and leave it to cool to room temperature. Then store in the fridge until cold.

Donut Dough

Start by warming the milk until it is just warm to the touch - it should not exceed 100 degrees F.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the flour, yeast, and sugar. Then whisk it together by hand.
Add in the warmed milk, egg, butter, salt and vanilla extract. Knead the mixture with the dough hook on the stand mixer for 15-20 minutes on low speed until it is smooth and the bowl is clean.
Remove the dough and shape it into a ball. Lightly grease the mixing bowl that you were just using and place the ball of dough back in. Then cover the bowl with a towel or plastic and place somewhere warm for 30-45 min. The dough should double in size.
Once doubled in size, it is time to shape the donuts. *If you have an electric stove, start heating the oil now in a large heavy bottomed pot, as it will take longer.
Divide the dough into 6 equal weight portions.
Working with one portion at a time. First flatten slightly into a disk, then working in a clockwise direction, bring the edges into the center of the disk.
Shape your hand into a claw over the ball of dough with the smooth side face up. Roll the ball around in your hand on a clean work surface to create tension on the dough and seal the seem on the bottom of the ball.
Place the rolls onto a lightly floured lined baking sheet and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Place somewhere warm to rise.
If using a gas stove, heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed pot with a candy thermometer fitted to the side, over medium heat to 350 F.

Fry the donuts

If making vanilla sugar, scrape the insides of a vanilla bean into a bowl with the sugar for rolling and stir to combine. If your vanilla bean has dried out, grind it down in a mortar and pestles and then add the sugar. Sift out any bits of vanilla bean.
Place a wire rack on a baking sheet and lay 2 layers of paper towel on top of the rack.
Once the rolls are proofed, use a slotted spoon or a spider to lower the proofed dough into the hot oil. Don't fry more than 3 at a time to avoid lowering the temperature more than 10 degrees.
Fry them on each side for 1.5 minutes. Use the spoon to carefully flip them over by pressing down on one side. Then, fry for another 1.5 minutes.
Once 3 minutes are up use the slotted spoon to remove the donuts from the oil and place on the paper towel lined rack.
Allow the oil to reheat to 350 F before adding in another batch of donuts.
Once the next batch is in the oil, roll the first batch in the vanilla sugar and place on a separate wire rack to cool.

Bavarian Cream

While the donuts cool, use an electric mixer whip the cream on high to stiff peaks. Add in the cooled custard and whip again until stiff peaks form.
Place in the fridge to keep it cool until ready to use.
If needed, rewhip the filling when ready to use.
Once the donuts have cooled, use a small knife to poke a hole in the side of each krapfen.
Fill a piping bag with the bavarian cream and pipe it into each donut until no more will fit.
Enjoy immediately!

Notes

Make sure all dough ingredients are at room temperature. For more tips on yeasted dough, refer to this Yeasted Dough Guide.
When dividing and shaping the rolls, always start with the same portion of dough. This means that the first piece that is divided, is also the first to be shaped in a ball.
Once shaped, place the rolls on lightly floured surface. This makes it easy to handle them once they are soft and fluffy and allows them to be easily transferred into the fry oil.
It is important to fry the donuts between 340 F and 350 F. I find that 350 F is the best temperature that allows the center to be fully cooked without the outside burning. To keep the oil at the temperature be sure to keep a thermometer in the oil and I recommend heating it to 350 F. Then add in the donuts and the temperature will drop to around 340F.
Roll the donuts immediately in the sugar but allow them to cool before filling with the Bavarian Cream.
If the bavarian cream filling seems to soft, whip in a little powdered sugar and allow it to sit in the fridge for a little. Re-whip briefly if needed.

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