Bavarian cream donuts are made of soft, puffy yeast dough. I fry raised doughnuts and then fill them with a Bavarian cream. If you are reading this recipe, you are probably very fond of Bavarian cream doughnuts. I tried to find a recipe for the softest German donuts, with the finest Bavarian cream. Can you guess how it turnet out? I did it! My Bavarian cream donuts recipe makes the fluffiest ones. I thought it would be quite a difficult and impossible task. I made this recipe 3 different times, each time using different proportions. First time the texture turned out pretty tough. This recipe is absolute perfection.
My German friend Sabina from Osnabruck shared her grandma’s donut recipe. I must admit, this recipe was the best of all my experiments. And I will share with you all the details and tips on how to make the softest and tastiest donuts with the creamiest Bavarian cream. My Bavarian cream doughnut melts in your mouth.
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Bavarian cream donuts orgin
Bavarian cream donuts are made of puffy yeast dough filled with cream made of milk, thickened with eggs, gelatin and mixed with whipped cream. It is said that French chef Marie-Antoine created Bavarian cream. Actually, I believe the real recipe creators are lost in history. Why is it named Bavarian? Bavaria is the largest state in Germany by land area with over 13 million inhabitants. Many people think of Germany as a country that produces good cars, but it is much more than just good cars. Bavaria is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The castles, royal palaces and cozy towns in Bavaria are surrounded by mountains, rivers and lakes.
Bavarians have often emphasized a separate national identity and considered themselves “Bavarians” first, “Germans” second. Between the most distinctive high points of Bavarian agriculture are well-hydrated alpine meadows that Bavarians use to produce large quantities of quality milk. Germans produce the finest cheese, yogurt and butter. This could explain why the Bavaran cream doughnuts are named after a German region. Have you heard about the Bavarian Royalty – Wittelsbachs dynasty? I firmly believe this family has left its mark on the history of haute cuisine creations.
A former German dynasty ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate of Cologne and other prince-bishoprics, and Greece.
Why Bavarian cream doughnut recipe works
I tested it and modified until I got the best result. For this recipe I used simplified vanilla pastry cream
Bavarian cream doughnut ingredients and substitutions
Flour – You can use all-purpose flour. I use spelt flour as I beleve it’s a healthier choice.
Milk – I should say there is no difference what kind of milk you are using. As I’m trying to stay away from lactose, I use oat milk. It works perfectly.
Yeast – I used dry yeast. Use what you have on hand or what you used to work with. Just keep in mind that too hot milk kills yeast microorganisms. Use warm milk and sugar to wake them.
Salt – make sure there is no salt in the butter. If the butter is salted omit salt.
Sugar – I use raw cane sugar.
Eggs – use free range eggs. Studies showed that pastured free-range eggs tested from farms across the country contained anywhere from three to six times more Vitamin D than conventional supermarket eggs.
Butter creates rich aftertaste. Use what you have on hand and like the most. I used vegan butter. Turned out perfectly. You can make dairy free Bavarian cream doughnuts.
Vegetable oil – make sure it has a neutral taste.
Vanilla extract or ground vanilla bean. Vanilla adds a nice extra touch.
Corn starch to thicken custard. Do not use yellow cornflour, use white cornstarch.
Ingredients needed for Bavarian cream donuts
For the dough (Makes about 18 doughnuts)
3 cups (450 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
2 ¼ teaspoons (one package) active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (60 g) sugar + sugar for coating
4 eggs
½ cup + 1 tbsp (130 g) butter
2 cups vegetable oil (neutral taste)
For the cream
2 cups + 1 tbsp (500 ml) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg + 4 egg yolks
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (50 g) corn starch
1/3 cup (80 g) butter
Kitchen equipment you may need
Stand mixer or hand blender with whisk attachment
Ladle strainer
Mixing bowl
Saucepan
Piping bag with cream puff piping nozzle
Wooden spoon
How to make Bavarian cream doughnuts: step-by-step guide
How to make doughnuts
1.Heat the milk. It should be warm, not hot. Heat kills yeast microorganisms. Donuts won’t rise and won’t puff up like clouds.
2. Pour warm milk into a large bowl, add yeast. Add the sugar to the milk and let the yeast rise in that mixture. Mix everything. Leave it to hang out for about five minutes or so. When the yeast has foamed, it means it is activated and you can move on to the next step.
3. Melt the butter. In the meantime beat the eggs. Add the cooled melted butter, then the beaten eggs to the yeast mixture. Make sure the butter is not too hot, otherwise you will cook the eggs. You don’t want scrambled eggs. Stir until combine.
4. Gradually add the flour and mix until you get a smooth and sticky dough. It should be really sticky. You can use an electric mixer. I mix it with wooden spoon.
5. Oil a large bowl and add the dough. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge. Leave overnight or at least 2 hours.
Second rise
6. In the morning the dough won’t be sticky. Divide the dough into 18 pieces and form flat balls.
7. Cut 3.5 x 3.5 inch squares of parchment paper and place on your counter. Thinly cover squares with oil and place dough balls. Make sure you leave enough space between them so they will not stick together as they rise.
8. Let them rise. Room temperature shoul be about 75°F/24°C. Leave them for 2 hours. The donuts should double in size.
9. Heat the oil, gently lift the paper square with the donut and drop the donut into the oil removing the paper at the time. It won’t be sticky since you greased it with the oil.
10. Fry the donuts for about 4 minutes. Turn over after half the time. You can do this in a skillet or a saucepan. Transfer the donuts to a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. After frying shake them in a bag of powdered sugar to finish them off. Fill the cooled donuts with Bavarian cream or jam.
How to make Bavarian cream
1.Pour milk and vanilla into the pot and heat it up.
2. Whisk the egg, yolks, sugar and corn starch together. Beat with an electric whisk until the mixture turns white and fluffy. Slowly pour the boiled milk into the egg mixture stirring constantly.
3. Return the mass to the pot. Keep the heat low. Keep whisking with a hand whisk until the cream thickens, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add butter, let it melt in. Mix everything. Pour the cream into a dry bowl. Cover the Bavarian cream bowl with plastic wrap. Set aside and let it cool.
Bavarian cream
5. Cut a small slit on the side of the donut. Insert a chopstick and press the inside to create a cavity for the filling. Place the piping nozzle in the slit roughly in the centre. Squeeze in your filling until you feel the piping bag being pushed back.
Tip: if you want you can whip 1/2 cup (122g) of heavy cream and fold in the pastry cream. You will get a completely different taste and texture. Give it a try. Garnish with whipped cream on top.
Bavarian cream filling
NOTE: The main photo is made by mixing 1:1 Dairy free custard with whipped cream.
Above are photos of doughnuts filled with yellow pastry cream. I made some experiments to find my favorite Bavarian cream donut version.
Donuts filled with dairy free custard mixed 1:1 with whipped cream + whipped cream flowers on top
Vanilla glaze:
Whisk together 2 cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, dip them into the glaze; if you like, flip them so the tops are completely covered. Put on racks to let the glaze harden.
Jelly filling:
Fill with your favorite jelly filling.
Expert Tips
- Frying donuts should be a slow process. The oil shouldn’t be very hot. The opposite of what we do when we fry donuts with holes. If you fry Bavarian cream donuts at a high temperature, they may not be cooked inside.
- Bavarian cream doughnuts are best eaten the day they’re fried.
- Don’t be tempted to add more flour. Adding more flour will only make your doughnuts dry and dense.
- You won’t believe it, but I made buns for breakfast using this Bavarian cream doughnut dough. Bake risen dough balls in the oven for about 15 minutes at 359 F/ 180C.
Buns made of Bavarian cream donut dough
Can I make vegan Bavarian cream donuts?
You can make Bavarian cream donuts vegan by substituting the eggs for aquafaba (the water from a can of chick peas, 3 tbs per egg) and substituting the butter for Nutelex. You can replace milk with oat milk and butter with vegan butter.
More dessert recipes:
- Dairy free birthday cake
- Lazy cake with nuts
- Tiramisu recipe without alcohol
- Black forest Yule log (Video)
- Italian Plum cake
- Rose and Cherry tart
If you are looking for inspiration click here
Follow me on Instagram and tag #kaylamagazineofficial to see your amazing creations!
1.Heat the milk. It should be warm, not hot. Heat kills yeast microorganisms. Donuts won't rise and won't puff up like clouds. 2. Pour warm milk into a large bowl, add yeast. Add the sugar to the milk and let the yeast rise in that mixture. Mix everything. Leave it to hang out for about five minutes or so. When the yeast has foamed, it means it is activated and you can move on to the next step. 3. Melt the butter. In the meantime beat the eggs. Add the cooled melted butter, then the beaten eggs to the yeast mixture. Make sure the butter is not too hot, otherwise you will cook the eggs. You don't want scrambled eggs. Stir until combine. 4. Gradually add the flour and mix until you get a smooth and sticky dough. It should be really sticky. You can use an electric mixer. I mix it with wooden spoon. 5. Oil a large bowl and add the dough. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge. Leave overnight or at least 2 hours. 6. In the morning the dough won't be sticky. Divide the dough into 18 pieces and form flat balls. 7. Cut 3.5 x 3.5 inch squares of parchment paper and place on your counter. Thinly cover squares with oil and place dough balls. Make sure you leave enough space between them so they will not stick together as they rise. 8. Let them rise. Room temperature shoul be about 75°F/24°C. Leave them for 2 hours. The donuts should double in size. 9. Heat the oil, gently lift the paper square with the donut and drop the donut into the oil removing the paper at the time. It won't be sticky since you greased it with the oil. 10. Fry the donuts for about 4 minutes. Turn over after half the time. You can do this in a skillet or a saucepan. Transfer the donuts to a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. After frying shake them in a bag of powdered sugar to finish them off. Fill the cooled donuts with Bavarian cream or jam. 1.Pour milk and vanilla into the pot and heat it up. 2. Whisk the egg, yolks, sugar and corn starch together. Beat with an electric whisk until the mixture turns white and fluffy. Slowly pour the boiled milk into the egg mixture stirring constantly. 3. Return the mass to the pot. Keep the heat low. Keep whisking with a hand whisk until the cream thickens, about 3-4 minutes. 4. Add butter, let it melt in. Mix everything. Pour the cream into a dry bowl. Cover the Bavarian cream bowl with plastic wrap. Set aside and let it cool. 5. Cut a small slit on the side of the donut. Insert a chopstick and press the inside to create a cavity for the filling. Place the piping nozzle in the slit roughly in the centre. Squeeze in your filling until you feel the piping bag being pushed back.
Ingredients
Instructions
How to make doughnuts
How to make Bavarian cream