Boston Cream Pie Donuts

I feel just dreadful. This is by far the longest I've neglected my blog in the two years I've done it. I've just been incredibly busy the last few weeks, between hardcore house hunting, finally being done procrastinating wedding planning and all my summer activities I've been a bad bakery blogger, and I feel shame. Well, maybe I wouldn't go that far, but as I was jogging this morning I started writing a blog entry in my head, and decided it was time to update with all the fun things I've been making.

Last weekend I turned 31 years old, and it appears as though I'm now officially in my thirties. I offer you now, fare readers, some pearls of wisdom from my first year as a thirty year old:

1. People call me ma'm a lot these days. I don't know how I feel about it, unless they're teenagers or children. When they're in their twenties I think, "Just you wait! Sooner than you think, I can ma'm or sir you!"

2. I go to bed before 10 pm most weeknights. This has a lot to do with having a job that requires me to be able to focus and complete critical thinking at 6 a.m. I try as hard as I can to stay up late on weekends, but that rarely means 11 pm.

3. I find myself dressing like I did when I was 21  a lot. I don't mean I wear junior's clothes, because that's just not ok. I wear jeans, converse, t-shirts and hoodies when I'm not at work almost exclusively. I really miss wearing chef coats and scrubs, because they take away the expense and stress of having to dress like a proper grown up for work while often crawling around on the ground on top of unspeakable things ( a.k.a. the hospital floor).

4. My nieces are really one of the most important things in the world to me. My whole family is, of course, but them especially, since I grew up without much contact with most of my extended family, I want to be a big part of their lives. I really can't get over how special they are. Before they came around I found kids annoying and strange little snot-nosed creatures. Now I think they're amazingly honest little buggers with imagination worlds I wish I could live in again. (However, still covered in snot)

5. When getting angrier by the minute last night about the tweens' next door shooting off fireworks for hours on end and crashing all over their skateboard ramp, I realized these were boys I would have been enamored with as a teenager. Then I'm ever so grateful I'm not a teen anymore.

I had an awesome birthday weekend out at the cabin, grilling, swimming, boating and sitting around a fire with my sweetheart. We cooked some great grub, most  importantly of all the Boston Cream Pie Donuts. 

Boston Cream Pie Donuts

Donuts

1/3 c. milk

1 tsp. vinegar

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1/2 c. white whole wheat flour

1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 c. sugar

2 tbsp. honey

1 large egg

1 t. vanilla 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, mix together milk and vinegar. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes to curdle. Melt butter in a small bowl and set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together flours, baking powder, sea salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Set aside.
4. Into the cooled butter, whisk in sugar, honey, egg, and vanilla bean seeds until evenly combined. Add in curdled milk. Side note, dip honey measuring utensil in the melted butter first for easy honey removal.
5. Whisk together wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Over-mixing will create a dense donut.
6. Spray donut pan. Add batter to a piping bag and pipe evenly into the pan.
7. Bake for 7 minutes. Allow to cool 1 minute before turning pan over to remove donuts onto a cooling rack.
8. Once donuts have cooled completely, about 15-20 minutes, dunk in glaze rocking the donut around the bowl to evenly coat. Place on cooling rack and allow to dry, about 20 minutes. Serve. Best served same day. If storing leftovers, lightly cover.* Recipe adapted from: http://www.thefauxmartha.com/

Pastry Cream Filling

• -2 cups whole milk
• -1/2 cup sugar
• -1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
• -Pinch of salt
• - large egg yolks
• -1/4 cup cornstarch
• -2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1. Directions:
    In a medium saucepan, combine milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and salt. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot-milk mixture into the egg-yolk mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until it has been incorporated. Pour mixture back into saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 minutes. Remove and discard vanilla bean Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter, and beat on medium speed until the butter melts and the mixture cools, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, beat on low speed until smooth (you can also whisk by hand)
   Glaze:
   -1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
   -1/2 cup half and half
   -1 t. vanilla
   Directions:
   Melt chocolate chips and canola oil, then whisk in half and half and vanilla. 
   
   
   Final Assembly:
   Dip cooled donuts in glaze to coat tops and cool. Fill Pastry bag with pastry cream and pipe into filling into donut holes. Garnish with cherries.
   
   
   
   
   
   My two favorite desserts combined into one decadent treat.  You can also use maraschino cherries if you want, for a traditional Boston cream pie look.
   I know this recipe is a bit labor-intensive, but it's worth it for a special occasion. I only have used my precious donut pans once or twice, so this was a nice way to get some use out of them and to justify one of my many kitchen gadgets that my fiance' insists I don't need because I never use. After trying my donuts, I guarantee he'll never point at the donut pan when trying to down-size our utensils ever again. Enjoy!!