King Cake Croissant Doughnuts
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cake flour
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons whole milk, divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Vegetable oil (for frying)
- 3 (8-ounce) cans very cold crescent dough sheets
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- Carnival Sugars (recipe below)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together granulated sugar and flour. Add 1 cup milk and salt, whisking until smooth. Bring to a low boil over medium heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks. Gradually add half of hot milk mixture to egg mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk egg mixture into remaining hot milk mixture in saucepan. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Let stand for 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface of custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton #12 tip.
- Place a wire rack over several layers of paper towels. In a large Dutch oven, pour oil to a depth of 4 inches, and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360°.
- Unroll dough, and lay 3 sheets of dough one on top of another. Fold in each side to meet in middle. Using a 2½-inch round cutter, cut 6 rounds. Using a ½-inch round cutter, cut centers from each round. Carefully add doughnuts to hot oil, 2 to 3 at a time. Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning halfway through. Let drain on prepared rack, and let cool for 10 minutes. Using a piping bag, fill doughnuts with custard.
- In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and remaining 3 tablespoons milk until smooth. Dip doughnuts in glaze. Sprinkle with Carnival Sugars.
Carnival Sugars
Makes 1½ cups
Ingredients
- 1½ cups sugar
- 8 drops purple liquid food coloring
- 8 drops green liquid food coloring
- 8 drops yellow liquid food coloring
Instructions
- Place ½ cup sugar in each of 3 small resealable plastic bags.
- Add purple food coloring to one bag, green coloring to second bag, and yellow coloring to third bag. Seal bags, and shake each until sugar is even in color.
I made these donuts yesterday, and they are so delicious!! The custard filling was good, too, but I couldn’t figure out how to fill the donut with it (without ripping apart the crescent dough layers all the way around the donut). Tried packing the custard into the donut hole but it of course fell through. I rolled out my triple layer of raw dough a few times–before and after folding up the sides–and I was about to get more donuts cut out. The best surprise of all is that the leftover donuts taste even better the next day upon nuking for 20 seconds. I love all y’alls recipes. Thanks for posting this one!