Soft Italian Cream-Filled Doughnuts (Print Version)

# Ingredients:

→ Dough

01 - 2 cups strong bread flour (280g)
02 - 2 cups 00 flour or all-purpose flour (280g)
03 - 3 large eggs, at room temperature
04 - 6.5 tablespoons softened butter (90g)
05 - ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
06 - ½ cup lukewarm milk (120ml)
07 - ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
08 - 2¼ teaspoons fast action yeast (7g)
09 - 1 small pinch of salt
10 - 2-3 tablespoons caster sugar or confectioners sugar for coating

→ Italian Pastry Cream (Crema Pasticciera)

11 - 5 egg yolks
12 - 2½ cups milk (500ml)
13 - ¼ cup cornstarch (30g)
14 - ⅓ cup sugar (70g)
15 - ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or 1 vanilla bean
16 - Zest of 1 fresh lemon

→ For Frying

17 - Sunflower or vegetable oil, for deep frying

# Instructions:

01 - Mix flours, sugar and yeast in your mixer bowl. Add butter cubes, eggs, lukewarm milk, vanilla, and salt. Using a dough hook, knead on low speed for 10 minutes until smooth and slightly tacky.
02 - Shape dough into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 2-3 hours until tripled in size.
03 - Roll dough to ½ inch thickness and cut into 3.5-inch rounds. Place on parchment squares, cover loosely, and let rise 1-1.5 hours until tripled.
04 - Whisk egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add cornstarch, then gradually whisk in hot milk. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly until very thick. Cool with plastic wrap directly on surface.
05 - Heat oil to 170°C/337°F. Fry doughnuts 2 minutes per side until golden. Drain briefly, roll in sugar while warm, then cool before filling.
06 - Make a small incision in each bomboloni's side. Pipe in the cooled pastry cream until filled. Serve immediately for best taste and texture.

# Notes:

01 - Check your yeast instructions - some need activating in warm liquid first
02 - The dough should be tacky but not sticky - add flour 1 tablespoon at a time if needed
03 - Keep oil temperature steady at 170°C/337°F for perfect frying
04 - Roll in sugar while warm for better coating adhesion

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