Custard Filled Long John Doughnuts with Dark Chocolate Frosting

I'm an early riser, mostly because I'm just happy to open my eyes and see the light of day.

This feeling may have originated from my old fear that robbers would come in the night and tie my eyelashes together. Because of this, I have always opened my eyes in the morning with a thankful and rejoicing heart, ready to start the day.

Since the rest of my family apparently doesn't share my fear of spending too much time with closed eyes, they tend to sleep in when they can. This gives me plenty of time in the morning to have the kitchen all to myself.

Thus the doughnuts.

I actually usually make cake doughnuts (recipe coming soon hopefully) which are a little easier since they don't have to rise. You can't fill cake doughnuts with custard though, so yeast doughnuts it is.

Now, as you can see, I'm not very precise when it comes to cutting the dough. They can be any size and shape you want, really. As long as they fit in your deep fryer.

Make sure you fill them pretty soon after they come out of the fryer. It's easier to poke this tip in while they're crispy.

And yeah, that's a picture of the cream filling I made. I didn't actually write down the recipe for it because my hands were to covered in grease, frosting, and custard. You can try just using whipped cream, but then you'll have to wait till the doughnuts are cooled to fill them, which makes it a little harder.

 

Custard Long John's with Dark Chocolate Frosting 

(Should make about a dozen, tell me if you get a different number)

For the Dough:

1 cups milk
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoons fine salt Peanut or Canola oil for deep-frying

For the Custard: 

2 cups milk

1 Vanilla bean (optional)

1 egg

5 egg yolks

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 cup sugar 

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup Dark Cocoa Powder

1/3 cup brewed coffee

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the dough:

Warm up the milk in the microwave or on the stove for just about one and a half minutes. It should be about 110º. If it's too hot it will kill the yeast. You should be able to comfortably keep your finger in it. Stir in the yeast and let it sit for about 3 minutes. Add the oil and sugar. Add the flour about 1/2 cup at a time and the add the fine salt. The dough will be wet. Knead for about 10 minutes with a stand mixer. Put it in a greased bowl and cover with a wet cloth. Let rise for 30-60 minutes in a moist, warm place until about doubled in size (you can make the custard during this time). Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Press it out into a large rectangle with floured hands (remember, this dough is sticky) and cut it into the desired size for your doughnuts. Fry in your Fry Daddy or in a pot of oil that is 350ºF (you can use an Infrared Thermometer to check it). They only need a couple minutes on each side till they're browned.

For the Custard:

Scrape the vanilla beans into the milk and drop the pod in. Bring to a simmer. In a separate bowl beat together the eggs, corn starch, and sugar until smooth. Once the milk is simmering, remove the vanilla bean pod and temper the milk into the egg mixture (add a little at a time until you've added about half, then add the whole thing back to the pot). Bring this back to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla extract.

For the Frosting:

Melt the butter. Add the cocoa. Alternately add the coffee and powdered sugar until the desired consistency is reached. Add the vanilla.

Assembly:

Fill the doughnuts with custard using a Witon 230 Tip. Do it while the doughnuts are still hot and crispy, it makes it easier to stab the tip in. I fill from one end and then from the other. Smear on some frosting and call it a day.

 

Here's one of the cream filled ones. Sorry you don't get one.

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