Easy Bavarian Cream Donuts

These Bavarian Cream Donuts are light, fluffy, and filled with the most flavorful Bavarian cream! Perfectly fried and dipped into a sugar coating, every bite of these delicious donuts is full of flavor and the best texture. They’re SO good!

Bavarian Cream Donuts Recipe

While making homemade donuts can seem intimidating, this easy Bavarian Cream Donuts recipe walks you through every step, making the process simple and fun!

The dough is mixed together, then it rises. It’s then rolled out, cut into circles with a cookie cutter, and rises again. The donuts are fried, coated in sugar, and cooled. Fill with the cream and enjoy! Easy, light, fluffy, and oh-so-good!

RELATED: Cookies & Cream Cinnamon Rolls

What is Bavarian Cream?

Bavarian cream, also known as crème bavaroise or simply Bavarois, is a classic dessert component in French and European cuisine. It is a rich and smooth custard-like cream made with milk, butter, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, heavy cream, and flavored with vanilla. Bavarian cream has a velvety texture and is often used as a filling for pastries, cakes, and our current favorite – donuts!

Ingredients

Donuts

• Whole Milk
• Active Dry Yeast
• Granulated Sugar
• Eggs + Egg Yolks
• Butter (melted and slightly cooled)
• Vanilla Extract
• Cinnamon
• Kosher Salt (or sea salt/table salt)
• All-Purpose Flour
• canola oil or vegetable oil for frying
• Granulated Sugar

Bavarian Cream

• Whole Milk
• Unsalted Butter
• Egg Yolks
• Granulated Sugar
• Cornstarch/Salt
• Vanilla Extract
• Heavy Whipping Cream

How to Make Bavarian Cream Donuts

While the rise time for these donuts is about 2 hours, the total prep and cooking time is about 45 minutes. It does take a little planning for the waiting time, but it’s worth it for these delicious homemade donuts!

Here’s an overview for how to make Easy Bavarian Cream Donuts:

1. Mix Ingredients for donuts.
2. Let the dough rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
3. *While the donuts rise, prepare the Bavarian cream!*
4. Knead and roll out the dough on a floured surface.
5. Use a cookie cutter or glass rim to cut out dough rounds.
6. Set on a baking sheet with parchment paper squares and cover.
7. Let rise for another 1 hour.
8. Fry the donuts in a large pan with oil.
9. Dip each warm donut in sugar to coat.
10. Let cool.
11. Fill each donut with cream and enjoy!

TIP: Serve these with Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew!

Notes & Tips

• When rolling out the donut dough scraps, sometimes the dough can become tough. If this happens, allow the dough to rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes, then roll again and it should work better!
• Some recipes for Bavarian Cream donuts skip the step of adding the whipped cream into the Bavarian cream (steps 8, 9, and 10), which works well, but then they’re considered “pastry cream donuts”, not necessarily “Bavarian cream donuts”. You can skip adding the whipped cream and just fill your donuts with the pastry cream, if you’re in a rush!
• While homemade donuts do take a little bit of planning and time, this recipe makes for an easy and streamlined process!
• The filling will make a bit extra. A fun and delicious option is to serve a little extra on the side of the donuts, with a spoon in case anyone wants to add more filling in each bite!
• You can also dust the donuts with a little bit of powdered sugar or coat with cinnamon sugar for a flavor variation.

How to Store

Store homemade Bavarian cream-filled donuts in the refrigerator in airtight containers lined with paper towels to absorb moisture. Consume within a day or two for the best freshness! Another option is to freeze unfilled fried donuts for longer storage, thawing and filling them with fresh Bavarian cream when ready to enjoy.

More Brunch Ideas You’ll Love

• Small-Batch Cinnamon Rolls
• Buttermilk French Toast
• Strawberry Pancakes Recipe
• Maple Gluten-Free Donuts

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Bavarian Cream Donuts

Dalya Rubin

These Bavarian Cream Donuts are light, fluffy, and filled with the most flavorful Bavarian cream! Perfectly fried and dipped into a sugar coating, every bite of these delicious donuts is full of flavor and the best texture. They're SO good!

5 from 15 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Rise Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Servings 18 Donuts

Calories 251 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Donuts

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast one packet
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar divided
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled, plus more for rolling out the dough
• canola oil for frying
• 1 cup granulated sugar

Bavarian Cream

• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream cold from the fridge

Instructions

 

Make The Dough

• Warm the milk by placing it in a bowl in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, or until warm to the touch (but not boiling).
• Pour the warmed milk into a large mixing bowl (or electric stand mixer bowl) and add the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar. Lightly stir together with a fork or whisk and let sit for 5-8 minutes until foamy. If the mixture doesn’t become foamy after 10 minutes, discard and make a new batch of milk-sugar-yeast mixture.
• With the whisk attachment (or handheld whisk) mix in the eggs, egg yolks, remaining sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract just until combined.
• Mix in the flour, salt, and cinnamon until a tacky-sticky dough forms.
• Sprinkle flour on your counter. Knead the dough on the counter until smooth, adding up to 2-3 tbsp extra flour if the dough is too sticky.
• Grease a large bowl with some oil or cooking spray. Transfer the smooth ball of dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise at room temperature in a warm/room temperature place for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
• ****While the donuts rise, prepare the Bavarian cream, recipe below!***
• Prepare 2 baking pans and line with cut squares of parchment paper.
• Once the dough has risen, transfer the dough, punch it down and transfer to a floured work surface. Roll until it’s about 3/4” thick.
• Use a round cookie cutter about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter (or top of a glass cup) and cut out donut rounds. Place the cut-outs onto the prepared parchment squares on the baking sheet.
• Re-roll any dough scraps and cut out more donut rounds.
• Lightly cover each donut-dough pan with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise for 1 hour.

Fry The Donuts

• Twenty minutes before the donuts finish rising, add enough oil to a heavy-bottom large pot to fill it halfway. Heat over a medium flame until the oil reaches 375°F on a candy thermometer or instant read thermometer. While the oil heats up, line a plate, baking rack or baking sheets with paper towels to set the donuts onto later.
• Once the oil is hot fry the donuts: Carefully use a slotted spoon to lower 1 donut (with the parchment) at a time into the hot oil (adding up to 4-5 donuts per batch) and fry for just under a minute on each side, or until each side is a golden brown color. *Remove the parchment paper from the oil as soon as it releases from the donut using tongs, and discard.
• Transfer cooked donuts with the slotted spoon to the prepared paper-towel lined pan/plate. Continue frying batches of donuts until they’re all cooked.

Fill Donuts

• Add 1 cup sugar to a ziplock bag or shallow bowl. While donuts are still warm, add 1 donut at a time to the sugar and toss so it is well coated in the sugar. Transfer back to the paper towel after.
• Once donuts are fully cooled off, after about 30 minutes, fill each donut with the cold bavarian cream filling. Use a straw to poke a hole in the side of each donut. Then, fill a piping bag with the Bavarian cream and pipe it into the punctured hole on the side of the donut.
• Enjoy right away!

Make The Bavarian Cream

• To a medium saucepan, add the milk and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it begins to boil, immediately turn off the heat, remove from the heat and set aside, otherwise it will boil over.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until light and pale, about 2 minutes.
• Slowly pour in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture, whisking until incorporated.
• Slowly stream in the remaining milk mixture as you whisk everything together.
• Pour everything back into the now-empty saucepan and whisk over a medium heat until it becomes thick, about 3-5 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.
• Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, press it right onto the cream, and cool for 15 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Whip the heavy cream in an electric mixer with a whisk attachment or with a whisk by hand, until nearly stiff peaks form.
• Take the pastry cream out of the fridge and mix around to loosen it up.
• Fold the pastry cream into the heavy cream in 2-3 additions, until it is well combined. Place back into the fridge until ready to use!

Nutrition

Calories: 251kcal

Keyword Bavarian Cream Donuts

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