This was the doughnut that started it all: it’s the very first one that I put on the menu as the pastry chef at Craft. Berliner dough, vanilla pastry cream, and chocolate glaze? This is a creamy, luscious combination that’s impossible to dislike, as far as I’m concerned. But I’m biased. I fell for this doughnut back when I was still too small to see over the counter at the local Dunkin’ Donuts. During summertime when I can get big, beautiful local blueberries at the Union Square Greenmarket I love to pair this classic pastry with a simple blueberry compote to lend it a fresh, seasonal twist.
Ingredients
- Basic Berliner dough
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Vanilla Pastry Cream
- Chocolate Glaze
- Blueberry Compote
How to Make It
- Prepare the Berliner dough as directed.
- Heat at least 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot fitted with a deep-fry thermometer until the oil reaches 350°F. Prepare two baking sheets: one lined with paper towels, and the other dusted with flour.
- Using a floured biscuit or doughnut cutter, cut the dough into 2½- to 3-inch rounds and put them on the flour-dusted baking sheet.
- Fry the doughnuts in batches, taking care not to crowd the pot, until golden brown all over, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on the paper-towel–lined baking sheet.
- While the doughnuts still feel almost too hot to handle, pierce each one with a pastry tip, paring knife, or other sharp object to create a point of entry for your doughnut filling.
- The best time to fill your doughnuts is no more than 1 hour before serving. Spoon room-temperature vanilla pastry cream into a pastry bag fitted with a #2 round tip. Pipe the pastry cream into the doughnut’s cavity until the pastry puffs slightly. Dip the filled doughnuts one at a time in the chocolate glaze, submerging the top half only, and put them on a wire rack to set.
- Once dry, serve them alongside a dish of warm blueberry compote.
