The Italian Doughnut comes to Mar Vista.

INGREDIENTS

Doughnut
2 cups bread flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
75g (heaping ⅓ cup) granulated white sugar
100g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
20g fresh cake yeast or 1 package (7g) dry instant yeast
7g (1½ tsp) salt
150g (3) whole large eggs
40g (2) egg yolks
110g (1/2 cup) lukewarm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
granulated sugar, for coating

Pastry Cream Filling
1½ cups whole milk
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cake flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 heavy cream for whipping before filling

DIRECTIONS
First, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water, and allow it to sit until it blooms.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine all ingredients except for one of the whole eggs, and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes, then high speed for 5 more minutes.

Add in the remaining egg, and beat on medium speed until a smooth and elastic dough forms {you may have to add a little more flour if it seems too sticky}.

Knead by hand for a couple of minutes, then place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours until tripled in size.

While the dough is chilling, make the pastry cream. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks until well combined, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in the flour mixture until thick and pasty. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk and cream until bubbles just start to form around the edges. Do not let it boil.

Remove the milk from the heat and slowly drizzle into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Scrape the egg mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 3 minutes. Boil, whisking, for 10 seconds (the cream will become thick and glossy and won’t have any foam on top), then immediately remove from heat.

Pour the pastry cream through a fine mesh sieve set over a small bowl and whisk in the vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap against the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours.

After the first rise, lightly knead the dough, roll it out to 1/2 inch thickness, and cut out rounds.

Transfer all your rounds to baking sheets lined with wax paper, spray lightly with water, and cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Allow the bomboloni to rise another hour and a half until they triple in size once more.

When ready to fry, heat vegetable oil in a large, deep pan to a temperature between 330-350 degrees F.

Fry the bomboloni a few at a time, making sure to not crowd the pan. Fry them for about 3 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown, then drain off the excess oil, and set them on a wire rack to cool.

While they are still warm, pour some granulated sugar in a small bowl, and roll the bomboloni around until completely coated in the sugar.

Whip cream until still and fold in pastry cream.  Fill will pastry cream once cooled.

I worked with this recipe.