These soft and tender Italian doughnuts better known as bomboloni, are mouthwateringly delicious. The buns are made with yeast dough and generously filled with silky smooth, vanilla crème pâtissière (pastry cream).
When still warm, the doughnuts are typically rolled in sugar that creates amazing sweet crust.
Remeber to leave a little blot of crème pâtissière outside the bun to show how full of creamy goodness this doughnut actually is!
Bomboloni. Fluffy doughnuts with pastry cream straight from Italy
Just imagine – soft, fluffy, tender, slightly warm pastry filled with silky, delicate, flavorful vanilla cream. Is there a better dessert? I don’t think so!
I fully understand why Italians are obsessed with Bomboloni. These delicious doughnuts are to die for! They are served at cafes all over Italy, but they originated in Tuscany.
The most popular filling is vanilla pastry cream (crème pâtissière) – those doughnuts are called bomboloni alla crema. They are my favourite! Soft yeast dough and perfectly balanced cream. Nothing better for my morning coffe, Italian style!
How to make pastry cream (crème pâtissière)
Italians love using classic crème pâtissière as a filling for doughnuts. I completely agree with this choice – this cream is so delicious!
Making pastry cream, also known as pudding cream, for bomboloni alla crema is not a difficult task. It only requires proper organization and keeping an eye on the sequence of individual steps. To prepare the cream you will need:
- egg yolks,
- milk (preferably full fat)
- granulated suga,
- vanilla or vanilla extract
- and wheat flour.
I’ve been preparing creme pâtissière for a long time according to the recipe of the famous French chef Michel Roux. The basic version of the recipe does not contain butter, thanks to which the cream has the consistency of a delicate, velvety pudding and is ideal for stuffing doughnuts, tarts or profiteroles. If you would like to thicken it and give it the consistency of a stiffer mass, you should add soft, fluffy butter to the finished cream and mix it well.
Don’t worry – there is a detailed instruction waiting for you below.
Bomboloni. How to make fluffy and delicate Italian doughnuts
Bomboloni is made of yeast dough. Therefore it’s worth remembering the most important rules that will help you make the perfect yeast dough.
You can find the full package of tips in my guide to yeast baking, but below I present to you the 3 most important rules that will make your Italian doughnuts with cream pâtissière come out perfectly:
All ingredients should be at room temperature. This is the key rule when preparing yeast dough. Always take all ingredients out of the fridge – especially eggs – for min. 1-2 hours before preparing the dough.
Patient kneading. For gluten to do its job, we first have to do ours. Fluffy, springy, soft dough will be obtained only if we knead it well. With my KitchenAid, I usually knead the yeast dough for about 10 minutes (although doughs with stronger flour, like bomboloni dough, require even 15 minutes in the mixer).
Let it rise. Yeast dough, like this dough for bomboloni doughnuts, should rise in a warm place, without drafts, until it doubles in size. This means that if the recipe calls for 1 1/2 hours for the first rising, and after that time your dough has not yet doubled in size, leave it for an additional 15-20 minutes. This can happen especially when using dry yeast – the dough prepared on its basis always needs a little more time to fully rise compared to the one prepared with the addition of fresh yeast.
How to store the doughnuts
All doughnuts are best served immediately, right after filling. But if you have some leftover, it’s best to keep the doughnuts in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Bomboloni. Italian Doughnuts
Ingredients
Doughnut dough
- 300 g all purpose flour
- 250 g strong bread flour
- 3 large eggs
- 90 g butter softened and cubed
- 80 g granulated sugar
- 120 ml milk lukewarm
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 10 g dried yeast or 25 g fresh yeast
- pinch of salt
- vegetable oil for frying
- 2 tbsp caster sugar for rolling doughnuts
Creme Pâtissière
- 6 egg yolks
- 125 g granulated sugar
- 40 g all purpose flour
- 500 ml milk
- 1 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
How to make the Bomboloni dough
- Put the flours, sugar and yeast (prepare the leaven with the fresh ones) in the bowl of a mixer to combine.
- Add the soft butter cubes, eggs, milk, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Knead on a low speed until you have a smooth, elastic dough (this should take 10-15 minutes).
- Form the dough into a ball, place in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove for 1½-2 hours (until doubled in size). In the meantime, prepare the pastry cream.
How to make pastry cream
- Place the egg yolks and 1/3 of the sugar in a bowl. Beat them to a fluffy, light mass. At the end, add the flour and mix everything into a homogeneous mixture.
- In a pot, heat the milk with the remaining sugar and the vanilla pod or vanilla extract split lengthwise.
- As soon as the milk starts to boil, remove it from gas and add it in a slow stream to the egg mixture, beating all the time on medium speed.
- Transfer the whole mixture to the pot and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes, until the cream thickens.
- Transfer the cream to a bowl and cover tightly with cling film, so a skin doesn't form, and leavie it to cool. Remember not to mix the cream while cooling.
Forming and frying the doughnuts
- When the dough for doughnut has doubled in size, put it on the table and knead for a moment.
- Then, divide the dough into pieces weighing approx. 50 g (20 pieces should come out), form equal balls and put them on a floured board or board.
- Cover the donuts with a linen cloth for 30-40 minutes to rise.
- Heat a deep pan or pot of oil until it reaches 170°C/337°F.
- Place the balls slowly in the pan and fry the doughnuts for about 2 minutes on each side. Work in batches, don't overcrowd.
- After that, remove them from a pan and place on a paper towel for 1 minute. Then roll the doughnuts in sugar.
How to fill the doughnuts with pastry cream
- Make an small indentation at the side of the doughnut with a sharp knife.
- Pipe the pastry cream into the doughnuts. Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you try this recipe?
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