Maple Pumpkin Doughnuts with a Maple Cream Filling
 
 
Breakfast doesn't get better than this! Maple pumpkin doughnuts with a maple cream filling. Almost too good to be true.
Yield: about 2 dozen doughnuts
Ingredients
For the doughnuts
  • ½ cup lukewarm water
  • 2 tbsp active dry yeast
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 15 oz pumpkin puree
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for frying
  • 6-7 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
For the filling
  • 1 quart whole milk
  • 2 oz cornstarch
  • 7 oz sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 oz butter
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
  1. For the doughnuts, in a small bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes. If the mixture starts to foam then the yeast is activated and ready to go.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the bread hook attachment, combine the eggs, pumpkin, vegetable oil, yeast mixture, 2 cups of bread flour, maple syrup, sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Continue to add the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, until the dough starts to come together. It should be soft, but not so sticky that you won't be able to handle it. Either knead the dough by hand or mix it on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn into a large oiled bowl and let rise, covered with plastic wrap, until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
  3. On a floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about ¾-inch thick. Using a 2-3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out the doughnuts. You can re-roll the scraps to cut more, or roll them into balls to make doughnut holes. Place the doughnuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet to rise again, until doubled, anywhere between 10-60 minutes.
  4. Pour cooking oil into a large pot to about 2-inches deep. Heat oil to 365F.
  5. Fry 1-4 doughnuts at a time, depending on how big your pot is, making sure not to overcrowd them. Fry for about 2-3 minutes total, flipping once halfway through, until the doughnuts are golden brown on each side. Remove them to paper towels to drain. Cook the remaining doughnuts. Allow to cool.
  6. To prepare the filling, pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil.
  7. While the milk is heating, in a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, salt, and eggs.
  8. Once the milk is boiling, pour about a third of it into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the egg mixture back into the pot with the remaining milk, whisking constantly. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and maple syrup, then let cool.
  9. When the doughnuts are ready to be filled, cut a small hole in one side. Using a chopstick or the back of a fork, push it through the doughnut just until it reaches the other side, without going all the way through. Pipe the custard into the doughnut using the hole you just made. Serve immediately after filling.
Notes
Doughnut recipe slightly adapted from Bakeaholic Mama, filling recipe from Chasing Delicious
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 doughnut
Recipe by Joanne Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2014/10/maple-pumpkin-donuts-maple-cream-filling.html