Pumpkin Donuts with Pumpkin Filling
These pumpkin donuts are crispy, soft, and filled with a creamy pumpkin custard that tastes exactly like pumpkin pie. They’re coated in a sugar and pumpkin spice mixture. The donut dough has pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice to really amp up that pumpkin flavour! Oh and the dough is a no knead dough which gives the donuts beautiful open middles perfect for filling. They turn out so soft and pillowy.
Equipment
- large heavy bottomed pot
Ingredients
Pumpkin Custard Filling
- 4 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 16 oz canned pumpkin puree
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup milk
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1 vanilla bean pod cut in half lengthwise and seeds scraped out
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter cubed and cold
Donuts
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast 7g
- 5 cups all purpose flour 600 g
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon pumpkin spice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 2 large eggs room temperature and whisked
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup milk warm
- 100 oz vegetable oil I used canola 3 L or 0.8 gallon
Pumpkin spice sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
Instructions
Pumpkin Custard Filling
- In a saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch breaking up any lumps. Add eggs and whisk to break them apart. Add the pumpkin, cream, milk, pumpkin spice, vanilla bean seeds and pod, and salt.4 tablespoon cornstarch, ½ cup brown sugar, 4 large eggs, 16 oz canned pumpkin puree, 1 cup heavy cream, ½ cup milk, 2 teaspoon pumpkin spice, 1 vanilla bean pod, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Heat the mixture on low heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a simmer and becomes very thick.
- Add cold butter, stir until melted, and transfer into a container. You can strain it if you see any lumps but I didn't need to. Put plastic wrap right over the surface of the custard.½ cup unsalted butter
- Refrigerate until cold. I popped mine into the freezer for one hour.
Donuts
- Dissolve the yeast in a bowl with the warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar, stirring until completely dissolved. Set aside for a few minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients. You want it to start to form a foam on top to make sure that the yeast is active.½ cup water, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 packet active dry yeast 7g
- Combine flour, brown sugar, pumpkin spice, and salt in a large bowl and mix. Make a well in the middle and add butter, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin puree, milk, and the yeast mixture.½ cup unsalted butter, 5 cups all purpose flour 600 g, ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ tablespoon pumpkin spice, ⅛ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup butter, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¾ cup canned pumpkin puree, ¼ cup milk
- Use a spoon to mix at first and then get in with your hands to mix until a sticky and shaggy dough forms. If not all of the butter gets mixed into it, it's ok.
- Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place (see notes) until doubled in size, about 30- 45 mins.
- Turn out the dough onto a well floured surface and flatten and fold a few times with your hands to give it a good mix. Roll out to ¾" thick. Cut out about eighteen 3.5" circles of dough and transfer onto a parchment lined baking sheet, rerolling the dough as needed. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 15 minutes. Save the dough scraps.
- While the dough is rising, heat the oil in a large heavy bottom pot (I used a wide and narrow pot). Clip a cooking thermometer onto the side of the pot to monitor the temperature. Heat to 190°C (370°F).100 oz vegetable oil
- Prepare a baking tray lined with 4 layers of paper towels for the freshly fried donuts. Prepare a cooling rack with a layer of paper towels underneath as well. Mix together the sugar and pumpkin spice in a large bowl for the sugar topping.1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- When the oil comes to temperature, add the dough scraps. Fry on each side for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oil with tongs or a spider. Gently shake excess oil off and transfer onto paper towels. Blot them with paper towels and transfer onto cooling rack.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough, making sure that the oil temperature stays at 190°C (370°F) and do not overcrowd the pan.
- Once donuts are cool enough to handle, coat in sugar mix and coat well. Set aside to cool completely.
- Once the donuts are completely cool, poke a hole through one side with a chopstick or knife.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a piping tip with the cooled pumpkin custard filling. Fill the donuts through the hole until they feel heavy and the filling starts to come out. Enjoy!
Notes
The donuts are best eaten the day they are fried and filled while they are still crisp and soft. Store any leftover donuts in the fridge and reheat very lightly in the oven to make them taste as if they were freshly fried without melting the custard.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!