Our resident baking babe, MINI MARTHA, is celebrating the holiday season in culinary comfort. Today she's sharing a new recipe that combines signature desserts from Thanksgiving and Hanukkah into one fantastic baked good!
Traditionally for Thanksgiving I make an apple pie, and for Hanukkah I make doughnuts. When I realized that this year the holidays overlap I knew I wouldn’t have time to make both desserts. So I decided to combine them, resulting in apple cider doughnuts filled with pastry cream with a pastry cream drizzle on top.
These doughnuts are spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom. These spices add a lot of depth of flavor and bring this traditional type of doughnut to new heights. The vanilla bean pastry cream completely tops the doughnuts off and brings them to a heavenly level. If serving these doughnuts fresh out of the fryer you won't be able to pipe the doughnuts, but you can keep the pastry cream on the side for dipping.
Spiced Apple Cider Doughnuts with Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream
Pastry Cream: (from David Lebovitz)
2 cups of whole milk
½ cup of granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 vanilla bean
5 egg yolks
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of butter
Apple Cider Doughnuts: (recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
1 ¼ cup apple cider
3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
¾ teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
4 cardamom pods with seeds removed and crushed
½ teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of butter at room temperature
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup of buttermilk
For frying:
1 huge tub of Crisco shortening
Coating sugar:
¾ cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon of cloves
1. Start with the pastry cream (this can be made a day ahead). Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the vanilla seeds with a knife. In a pot place the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla seeds and whole bean. Whisk this mixture over a medium flame, and bring the mixture to just under boiling (the sugar should be completely dissolved). Once sugar is dissolved and milk is hot turn off the burner and remove vanilla bean, and save the bean (the bean will help flavor the sugar coating for the doughnut). In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and add then add the cornstarch and whisk thoroughly until there are no lumps. While whisking quickly slowly pour in the hot milk into the eggs. Do this one ladle at a time. Once half of the mixture has been added to the eggs pour the egg mixture into the milk mixture while quickly whisking the milk (this must be done so that the eggs do not scramble when added to the hot milk).
2. Over medium high heat constantly whisk the custard mixture. The mixture will come to a boil and will be very thick. Once boiling, whisk for one minute more and then turn off the heat. Add the butter to the pastry cream and whisk until it is thoroughly incorporated and melted. Immediately strain the pastry cream through a fine sieve into a bowl (this is to get rid of any lumps). Let the bowl sit on the counter for 10 minutes or place in a larger bowl of ice water to cool faster. After directly cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until using.
3. Now onto the doughnut dough, which can also be made one day ahead. Place the apple cider in a small pot and over medium-low heat reduce the cider until it is ¼
Traditionally for Thanksgiving I make an apple pie, and for Hanukkah I make doughnuts. When I realized that this year the holidays overlap I knew I wouldn’t have time to make both desserts. So I decided to combine them, resulting in apple cider doughnuts filled with pastry cream with a pastry cream drizzle on top.
These doughnuts are spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom. These spices add a lot of depth of flavor and bring this traditional type of doughnut to new heights. The vanilla bean pastry cream completely tops the doughnuts off and brings them to a heavenly level. If serving these doughnuts fresh out of the fryer you won't be able to pipe the doughnuts, but you can keep the pastry cream on the side for dipping.
Spiced Apple Cider Doughnuts with Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream
Pastry Cream: (from David Lebovitz)
2 cups of whole milk
½ cup of granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 vanilla bean
5 egg yolks
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of butter
Apple Cider Doughnuts: (recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
1 ¼ cup apple cider
3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
¾ teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
4 cardamom pods with seeds removed and crushed
½ teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of butter at room temperature
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup of buttermilk
For frying:
1 huge tub of Crisco shortening
Coating sugar:
¾ cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon of cloves
1. Start with the pastry cream (this can be made a day ahead). Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the vanilla seeds with a knife. In a pot place the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla seeds and whole bean. Whisk this mixture over a medium flame, and bring the mixture to just under boiling (the sugar should be completely dissolved). Once sugar is dissolved and milk is hot turn off the burner and remove vanilla bean, and save the bean (the bean will help flavor the sugar coating for the doughnut). In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and add then add the cornstarch and whisk thoroughly until there are no lumps. While whisking quickly slowly pour in the hot milk into the eggs. Do this one ladle at a time. Once half of the mixture has been added to the eggs pour the egg mixture into the milk mixture while quickly whisking the milk (this must be done so that the eggs do not scramble when added to the hot milk).
2. Over medium high heat constantly whisk the custard mixture. The mixture will come to a boil and will be very thick. Once boiling, whisk for one minute more and then turn off the heat. Add the butter to the pastry cream and whisk until it is thoroughly incorporated and melted. Immediately strain the pastry cream through a fine sieve into a bowl (this is to get rid of any lumps). Let the bowl sit on the counter for 10 minutes or place in a larger bowl of ice water to cool faster. After directly cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until using.
3. Now onto the doughnut dough, which can also be made one day ahead. Place the apple cider in a small pot and over medium-low heat reduce the cider until it is ¼