I can now bake like the French.
Before we get started, can we take a pause for the cause and talk about how cute my dog is? I mean like seriously. Look at that darn face. I have had Baby for 10 years now. She has been with me since college and could make some money if she could write the memoirs of my life. She knows everything and loves me anyway. Okay, back to the French Cruller Doughnuts.
Not really. The French takes cooking and baking very seriously. I am sure if a well-known French chef came across my blog he or she would use words like “amateur” (That actually happened. Not by a French chef), “imposter”, or”horrible”. Compared to most French dishes, my dishes are probably just…wrong on so many levels. You know what? That is okay. I do not pretend to be a chef or the best cook in the world for that matter, but I damn sure can a good home cooked meal with the best ingredients in the world. My main ingredient being love (kind of cheesy). However, me being a good home cook doesn’t stop me from exploring different types of cooking methods or meals from time to time. With that being said, I couldn’t wait to try these!
If you have stayed pretty consistent with my blog, then I would say you probably know me pretty well. You know that I love doughnuts and you also know I have an obsession with them. The only kind of doughnuts that I am not a fan of are doughnuts with cream or jelly fillings and chocolate doughnuts. Not a fan. To be quite honest, I have often seen French Cruller Doughnuts in the many bakeries I have been to but never really tried them. I believe I tried them a time or two but when I came across this easy recipe I just had to try them again to remind myself as to why I liked them to begin with.
After I tried them I suddenly remembered why I liked them. They’re delicious! French Cruller’s aren’t as dense and heavy as a cake doughnut and its lighter than a Glaze Doughnut. Not to mention, there is a slight custardy interior. It’s quite interesting and delicious. I’ll tell you what, if you like Cream Puffs, then you will like these. Hell, if you like anything incredibly delicious, you will like these doughnuts. Let me know what you think!
* Recipe adapted from A Passion of Baking by Marcy Goldman
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French Cruller Doughnuts
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 12-15 1x
Description
These light and airy French Doughnuts will make you appreciate French pastry.
Ingredients
- 1 c. milk
- 1 c. water
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 sticks butter, unsalted
- 2 c. flour
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 8 large eggs
- GLAZE:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 3 c. powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2–4 tbsp. water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 Degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a large saucepan, add milk, water, sugar, and salt and stir over medium heat. Add the butter and allow to melt. Once the butter has melted, bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Stir in the flour, vanilla extract, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture forms into a ball that leaves the sides of the pan. Stir hard with wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes before removing from burning. Finally, turn to a mixing bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Using a standing or hand held mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time until mixture is smooth and glossy. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch star tip. On the prepared baking sheet, pipe the batter into 4 inch circles with another circle on the top making concentric circles. If you don’t have a pastry bag use a spoon to make circles as best you can.
- Bake the pastry for 15 minutes on 400 Degrees and reduce oven temperature to 375 Degrees and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until doughnuts are light in texture and medium brown all over. Allow to cool slightly.
- To make the glaze: whisk all ingredients together ( butter, powdered sugar, water, and vanilla extract) until a thick glaze consistency forms. Dip the tops of the doughnuts in the glaze and turn to a cooling rack and allow glaze to set.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: French
“Preheat oven to 40 Degrees ” ? I assume you mean 400?
yes. thank you.