Boston Cream Donuts

4.89 from 51 votes

Homemade Boston Cream Donuts are soft and airy donuts are filled with rich, creamy custard and topped with a decadent chocolate glaze.

Prep Time30

Cook Time20

Proofing50

Total Time1 40

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 268kcal

Combine the warm water, milk, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Whisk to dissolve the yeast. Allow the yeast to proof for about 5 minutes or until it starts to foam.
Add the remaining ingredients. Knead on low using a dough hook on your mixer or by hand. Knead for about 5 minutes or until the dough is nice and smooth.
Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft-free place until almost doubled in size, about an hour.
Punch the dough down and roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thick. Use a 3-inch cutter to cut the donuts. Place the donuts on a floured parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let proof for 15 minutes. Re-roll the remaining dough, cut out the remaining donuts and add them to the baking sheet.
Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot (Dutch oven) to 350-360 degrees Fahrenheit. Drop 2-3 donuts at a time and allow to become golden before turning to the other side, about 2 minutes per side.
Remove from the oil and place on paper towel-covered wire rack. Let cool before filling.

Add the sugar, cornstarch, and milk to a large saucepan and mix until smooth. Cook, stirring continuously, over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken and boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Add a little bit of mixture to the egg yolks and whisk together, then add egg mixture to remaining milk mixture. Place the saucepan back on the heat and bring to a light boil. Allow to boil for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and press it directly on surface. Refrigerate until cold.
Fill a piping bag with a round tip with the cream. Using a small knife, cut a hole in the side of each donut about 3/4 of the way into the donut and pipe a generous amount of vanilla cream into the center of the donut.

For the chocolate glaze, heat the cream in a microwave or over the medium heat until just below boiling point. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 1 minute. Whisk it all together until the chocolate it fully melted.
Swirl the top of the donut in the glaze and allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.