Cream Filled Doughnut: Let's go to eat (and make doughnut with me)

Going to New York this time, the other mission beside from attending Thai artist Banjerd Lekkong’s “Metamorphosis: Banjerd Lekkong a Solo Exhibition” at Agora Gallery (Under the “Thai Art on the World Stage with Singha Park” project, as Singha is working with Agora Gallery to give outstanding Thai artists the opportunity to enter the global art market by exhibiting in New York, you can read more about it here) is to find delicious food and sweet.

One of my target

Before traveling, I started finding the information, by reading and asking. I got very good list sfrom P’House (he is a Thai chef who live in Us). After that the most important thing is to decide where to go. Because I had only 3 day, with this short time I couldn’t eat a lot (3 full meals a day or 4-5 sweets per day), and I had to finish all the meal by myself too.
One of the thing that I really want to try was doughnut!
I found the name “Doughnut Plant” both in the list and in my guide book, so I decided to go to this shop.

The shop that I wanted to go was:

DOUGHNUT PLANT

HOTEL CHELSEA

220 W 23rd Street, between 7th & 8th Avenues

Hours: Sun.-Wed. 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. 7 a.m. – Midnight

212-505-3700 ext. 220

You can look for other branch here: http://doughnutplant.com/

Because I had a plan to go to Chelsea Market before going to eat the doughnut (I will write about the Chelsea Market in the future). From Chelsea Market you will have to walk 15-20 minutes, well I ate a lot in this trip, I had to burn my energy, haha.

It’s not easy find the shop as there was a renovation around the shop.

So, the photo of the shop is not as good as I want -*-, well it’s not as important as the taste of the doughnut anyway.

This is the thing that got my attention.

I didn’t read or try to find any information about this shop before, just believe that it must be good, haha (too greedy to think clearly).

So, when I found out about Creme Brûlée doughnut, (it invented here!), I really wanted it. And beside from Creme Brûlée doughnut, this shop is the first doughnut shop to add fresh fruit into the icing too.
Why waiting, let’s go to order our doughnut!

You will see a small doughnut showcase, it’s the place where’re all the doughnut that they have will be shown. When I arrived at 3pm. some of the doughnut were already out of stock.

We have to choose here. I’d never been to this shop before so I ask one of cute staff (^^, well, allow me to have a good time). He told me that I should try “Creme Brûlée doughnut” and if I like chocolate ” Black out” was another doughnut that I should eat. So, I believed him and ordered both.
After choosing, the staff will wrap and put the doughnut into a bag for us. Paying and now you’re ready to enjoy it.
The price is $3.75- 4 /piece, actually I didn’t have time to think about it as I really wanted to eat the doughnut.

I started eating as soon as I found a seat. “Creme Brûlée doughnut” is a fried doughnut with custard filling, the outside has thin coat of caramel (I guess that it has been burn with blowtorch), and covered with another layer of icing sugar glaze.

It looks good, but the most important is its taste.
I think it’s very delicious! After the first bite, I sent massage to other bloggers who stayed at the smae hotel, that I wanted to buy a doughnut for them, haha. It’s so delicious that I want other people to try it too.
The inside of the doughnut is filled with (a lot) rich custard filling and very fragrance with vanilla. The caramel taste gives a bit of contrast, so it won’t be too rich to enjoy. Actually I wished I had a cup of good coffee at that time but after drinking 3 cups of it (from moring to 3pm, haha) I couldn’t.

After finishing my first piece, the next thing that I did was standing in a line again, to buy another piece of “Creme Brûlée doughnut”, hehe. But this time I had to wait a long time as there is one family (who came from India), bought a lot of doughnut as a souvenir, ^^, well as it’s very delicious I’m happy to receive a box of it too.

For another doughnut “Black out doughnut”, I had a chance to enjoy it at almost midnight in the hotel ^^, and yes, it’s very delicious too.

I really want to make “Creme Brûlée doughnut” too, but I still don’t have enough experience so I have to make some easy recipe such as Cream Filled Doughnut first.
This is a yeast doughnut that base on Brioche bread (means it contains a lot of butter). And filled with Diplomat cream. The look is not as Wow as “Creme Brûlée doughnut” but I believe that you will enjoy the taste of it too.
So, today can to make doughnut with me before we go to eat at other places next time.

Cream filled doughnut

Makes 17-20 doughnuts (with some doughnut balls)

Doughnut
170ml …………………………. Milk
2 …………………………………. Eggs
2 …………………………………. Egg yolks
100g ……………………………. Unsalted butter, soft (cut into small pieces)
460g ……………………………. All purpose flour
90g ……………………………… Granulated sugar
7g ……………………………….. Salt
5g ………………………………… Instant yeast
…………………………………….. Granulated sugar, for covering the doughnuts

Cream diplomat
-Pastry cream
350ml ……………………………. Milk, hot
5 …………………………………… Egg yolks
85g ………………………………… Granulated sugar
40g ………………………………… All purpose flour
15g ………………………………… Corn starch
1tsp ……………………………….. Vanilla bean paste
-Whipped cream
140g ………………………………. Whipping cream
1 1/2tbsp ………………………… Granulated sugar

Put flour, sugar and yeast into a bowl of stand mixer, whisk to combine.
Put salt into the bowl, whisk to combine.

Attach the bowl to a stand mixer with dough hook.

Pour milk and egg yolks and eggs into the bowl and mix until fully combine.

Add the butter gradually, and mix until smooth.

Remove from the stand mixer bowl.
Put in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate at least 12 hours.

Make the pastry cream:
Put egg yolks, sugar, vanilla bean paste, flour and corn starch into a saucepan.
Whisk until combine.

Pour the hot milk into the saucepan (whisk all the time).
And place the pan over low heat until boil and thicken.

Remove from the heat and pas through a sieve into a bowl.

Place the plastic wrap directly over the pastry cream.
Let it cool before using.

Whip the whipping cream with sugar until firm peak formed.

Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream.
Refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove the dough from the fridge.
Roll the dough into 1/2 inch thickness.

Cut with 3 inch cutter.

Place on a lined baking sheet .

Cut the rest into small balls if you want.
Let the dough rise until double in size (1-2 hours, depends on the room temperature).

Heat the oil into 160C.
Fry the doughnut until golden brown on both sides.

Remove from the heat and cover with granulated sugar.

When the doughnut cool, use a small knife to poke a small hole.
Ps. if you want to fill it with a lot of cream, you can cut the doughnut in half, or use a tiny spoon to remove inside of the doughnut to give the cream more pace.