For the holidays, I reached out to Liz Ho of Birdhouse Bakeshop to develop a yeasted bake for the blog. I had been drooling over her donuts, buns and rolls for quite some time. She shared a brioche donut with a coffee cheesecake filling, which I made for Christmas and fell in love. They were light and fluffy, with a rich tangy coffee filling and bittersweet cocoa nib sugar- perfect for the season.
These donuts are my love letter to spring, featuring one of my favorite combos, strawberries and lavender. They use Liz’s brioche donut recipe and are filled with a cream cheese filling made from roasted strawberries + vanilla flecked cream. I fried the donuts in tallow and then rolled in lavender sugar. They are the dreamiest!
Notes:
I fried these donuts in grass fed tallow. You can use your favorite neutral oil, I like avocado.
I adore the combination of lavender and strawberries. Lilac, chamomile, jasmine or verbena infused sugar would all be dreamy.
Liz’s Tips and Tricks
• This will yield 14-18 doughnuts, depending on your size preference. You can roll out the dough to an inch thick, on a floured work surface, and use a cookie or doughnut cutter 2-3 inches in diameter, or roll them into balls (my preference) – use a scale, to ensure evenly sized doughnuts. Use this guide for rolling and shaping.
• I like to start this recipe the night before, to let the filling set and for the dough to develop flavor as it chills overnight (and becomes easier to handle), but you can go straight from first rise to rolling/cutting, if you’re in a pinch.
• You’ll need a kitchen thermometer, for frying/ heating the oil.
Strawberry Cheesecake Donuts with Lavender Sugar
Description
Adapted from Liz Ho
Ingredients
Strawberry Cheesecake Filling
1 lb strawberries, sliced
2 tbsp (25g) granulated sugar
1 cup (240g) heavy cream
1 ½ blocks (375g) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (125g) powdered sugar
Seeds from a scraped vanilla bean
Pinch of sea salt
Brioche dough
⅔ cup (167 grams) whole milk
4 teaspoons (12 grams) active dry yeast
4 cups (512 grams) all-purpose flour
55 g granulated sugar
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature1 stick
2 tablespoons (142 g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
For Frying and Assemble
2-3 tsp culinary lavender
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2.5 x 2.5 inch parchment squares (14-18), for the dough balls
1 L tallow or neutral oil, for frying – the oil should be about 2 inches deep in the pot
Instructions
Make the cheesecake filling
- Preheat the oven to 400. On a parchment lined baking sheet, toss together the strawberries and sugar. Bake for 45-1 hour, stirring frequently, until soft and jammy. Set aside to cool completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to fairly stiff peaks. Set aside in the fridge.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla bean until creamy, 2-3 minutes. Gently fold in the whipped cream and strawberries until just combined. Place in the fridge to chill while you prepare your dough.
Prepare the Brioche
- Add the whole milk to a small saucepan and heat on low, until lukewarm to the touch. Remove from the heat, and stir in the active dry yeast, until no clumps remain. Set aside for 10-12 minutes.
- In the meantime, add the flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer, with the dough hook attachment. Give it a whisk. Once the yeast/milk mixture is ready (it should be foamy on top, and the yeast almost fully dissolved), add to the bowl, and mix on low (setting 1 on a KitchenAid), until a shaggy mixture forms. 1-2 minutes.
- Bringing the speed up to medium (2 on the KitchenAid), add in the eggs, one at a time. Let the dough knead for 8-12 minutes, until a smooth, tacky ball starts coming together. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once midway through, just to make sure all the flour is being incorporated.
- Add in the butter, a tablespoon at a time. Once combined, let it knead for another 8-11 minutes, until a smooth elastic ball has formed. It should be sticky, but still pull away from the sides of the bowl as it kneads. Place the dough into a large greased bowl, cover the bowl with a towel (or plastic wrap), and set aside to rise for 60-90 minutes– until the dough has doubled in size.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place the bowl in the fridge to rest overnight (or move straight to the next step, if short on time. The dough may just be stickier to handle–you can coat your hands lightly in oil, to make it easier.)
Frying & Assembly…
- In a spice grinder or blender combine the lavender with 2 tbsp of the sugar. Grind until find and add to the remainder of the sugar in a shallow bowl.
- On 2 large cookie sheets/ baking trays, line up and grease the parchment squares. This will make it easier to put the dough into oil, when ready to fry. Take the dough out from the fridge, divide it into 14-18 evenly sized portions (use a scale if you have one). Roll the portions into smooth, taut balls, pinching together any openings– again, use this as a guide, if you need!
- Place each dough ball onto a piece of greased parchment, lay a towel or piece of plastic wrap over the top, and allow to rise for 60-75 minutes. If your kitchen is cold or you live in a cooler climate, I’d recommend putting the baking trays into your oven (not turned on!) with a bowl, or two, of just-boiled water. You’ll know the dough is proofed and ready when it’s about doubled in size, and bounces back when poked, while still leaving a slight indent.
- Meanwhile (when your dough is approx. 20 minutes away from being finished proofing), heat your tallow or oil in a large pot, set over medium heat. Once the oil reaches 350F on your thermometer, it’s ready for frying. Keep the thermometer attached, to ensure temperature consistency. You’ll likely need to increase or decrease the heat as you’re frying– anywhere between 340-365ish is good. Prepare and line a cooling rack, or two, with paper towels, for the just-fried doughnuts.
- Lifting with the parchment, gently flip the proofed doughnuts in (2-3 at a time only; don’t overcrowd) and fry for 1 ½ – 2 minutes before flipping and frying for another 1 ½ – 2 minutes. They should be golden, puffed, with a “tan line”. Lift each doughnut out using a mesh or slotted spoon (or tongs), and place them on the cooling rack lined with paper towel. Repeat this with the rest of the doughnuts, rolling each doughnut in sugar, after 1-2 minutes of cooling. Allow the doughnuts to cool completely before filling. At least 1 hour.
- Using a small, sharp knife, poke a deep hole into the side of each doughnut– you’ll want the opening to be big enough to fit a large piping tip. Fill a piping bag (with a large round tip) with the strawberry cream cheese. Pipe a generous amount into each doughnut– not overflowing, but just starting to ooze from the top. Best eaten within a few hours.
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