Fried Birthday Cake Donuts and Cinnamon Roll Donuts
Oh heyyyyyy. Happy fourth night of Chanukah! Happy eight-days-of-consuming-everything-deep-fried!
I told you I’d be back. With two more fried donut recipes for you. And here I am.
Last week I posted fried chocolate explosion donuts and fried salted caramel donuts. Those are delicious donuts, by the way. But also. So are the donuts I’ve got for you today. Fried birthday cake donuts. And fried cinnamon roll donuts.
Exciting stuff happening here.
The dough for these two unique donut recipes is the same dough used for last week’s donuts. Because why fix what’s not only not broken, but pretty much perfection in donut form?
This donut dough is soft and fluffy and rich and tender and flavorful. I mentioned this all last week. So let’s get to the new stuff, the new fillings and toppings.
First up: fried birthday cake donuts!
But friends. Do feel free to make these donuts whether or not you’re actually celebrating someone’s birthday. Not that you needed my permission or anything.
I mean. Chanukah is most definitely celebration enough to enjoy these birthday cake donuts, riiiiight??
It just felt appropriate to title these birthday cake donuts by said name because they’ve got such a celebratory vibe to them.
I’m talking a light and fluffy vanilla buttercream frosting filling. A buttercream frosting like the kind you’d likely find on a classic birthday cake. A frosting that’s whipped together in minutes in your electric mixer.
And then, after being filled with that creamy buttercream frosting, the donuts get a glossy and sweet vanilla glaze spread atop em.
And, to finish things off, donut crumbs and colorful sprinkles grace the top of each donut.
Really, all you need is a cute little candle inserted into the center of the donut and you’ve just created the best personal-sized birthday cake everrrrr.
But again. Forget the birthday thing. Yes, these fried donuts have got a birthday vibe to them. But birthdays are not all they’re good for, okay? These birthday cake donuts are good, nay amazing, for Chanukah as well.
And finally. Fried cinnamon roll donuts!!
Do you like cheesecake? Do you like cinnamon? Okay, then make these cinnamon roll donuts right now.
Where does cheesecake come in, you ask? Well. These cinnamon roll donuts are filled with a quick and easy cinnamon cheesecake filling. A filling with cream cheese as its base, and a little cream and sugar and flavorings added for emphasis.
Cheesecake in a donut! Who would have thunk.
And after the cheesecake filling, things get even more crazy. It’s the cinnamon roll part now.
The fried and filled donuts get rolled in hot butter and coated with a cinnamon, sugar mixture. Like a cinnamon roll!
Oh oh. And top the donuts with one more dollop of that creamy cinnamon cream cheese filling. Just to make things extra fancy.
Sweet and cinnamony and buttery and rich and slightly tart from the cheesecake filling. That’s a donut.
Well. That’s the last of our donut recipes slash fried recipes slash Chanukah recipes for this year.
Don’t be sad. How could you be, with these birthday cake donut and cinnamon roll donut (and chocolate explosion donut and salted caramel donut) recipes in your arsenal?
Happy Chanukah! See you next week with a non-fried recipe :)
Fried Birthday Cake Donuts
Yield: 2 dozen doughnuts
Donut Dough:
1 cup plus two tablespoons whole milk, warmed
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons (one packet) active dry yeast
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
Canola or vegetable oil, for frying
Buttercream Frosting Filling:
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons milk
Simple Vanilla Glaze:
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons oil
3-4 tablespoons milk
-2 donuts, crumbled finely
-Colored sprinkles
Donut Dough: 1. Pour the warmed milk into the bowl of your electric mixer. Pour the sugar into the milk and then sprinkle the yeast on top. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast foams.
2. Add the whole egg, yolks, vanilla extract, flour, salt, and nutmeg into the bowl and, using the dough hook, knead on medium speed for a couple minutes until incorporated.
3. Chop up the softened butter and add to the bowl one cube at a time, with mixer running on medium speed, until the butter is fully incorporated into the dough. Knead the dough on medium-high speed for a few more minutes, until the dough loosens from the sides of the bowl and is smooth.
4. Transfer the dough into a large, oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap or a towel and place it in a warm spot to allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
5. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Flour it lightly. Flour your work surface and a rolling pin.
6. Roll out the dough till it is ½-inch thick. Cut out circles with a donut cutter, round cookie cutter, or the bottom of a glass cup. Let the dough rest for a few minutes before re-rolling it and cutting out more donuts. Space donuts out onto the prepared baking sheet to allow for spreading.
7. Cover the donuts loosely with cling wrap or a towel and allow them to rise until puffy and airy, 50-60 minutes. (An oven with the heat turned off is an ideal spot for this second rising and will allow the donuts to rise in as quickly as 30 minutes. Don’t cover the donuts if you place them in the oven to rise.)
8. Meanwhile, fill a heavy-bottomed pot or donut fryer with a few inches of oil. Heat the oil, allowing it to come to a temperature of 350 to 375°F. Use a candy thermometer to ensure that the oil temperature stays within this range throughout the frying process.
9. Place a carrot chunk into the oil (the carrot helps absorb any burnt pieces floating in the oil) and gently drop a few donuts into the pot. Fry the donuts on the first side for a couple minutes until golden brown, then flip and fry on the other side until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove the donuts from the oil and place them on a cooling rack with paper towels underneath to drain the excess oil.
10. Allow the donuts to cool before filling and glazing. Donuts are best eaten the day they’re made.
Note: if you must make your donuts non-dairy, this recipe will work with non-dairy milk and the same equivalent in oil instead of butter. However, using the whole milk and butter is highly recommended for the superior richness in flavor and texture they provide the donuts.
Buttercream Frosting Filling: 1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and confectioners sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the salt, vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of milk and beat until smooth and fluffy. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons more milk if the frosting is too thick.
2. Insert a small round tip into a pastry bag and fill the pastry bag with the frosting. Poke a hole into the side of one donut and fill it, squeezing the pastry bag until the donut expands slightly. Repeat with the rest of the donuts.
Simple Vanilla Glaze: 1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until the mixture forms a thick yet pourable consistency. Dip the tops of the donuts into the glaze, then sprinkle the doughnut crumbs and colored sprinkles over the glaze before it sets.
Note: The buttercream frosting can be made ahead and kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Fried Cinnamon Roll Donuts
-One batch deep-fried doughnuts (see above)
Cheesecake Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, melted
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cheesecake Filling: 1. Using an electric mixer, whip all the cheesecake filling ingredients together for a few minutes, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
2. Insert a small round tip into a pastry bag and fill the pastry bag with the cheesecake filling. Poke a hole into the side of one donut and fill it, squeezing the pastry bag until the donut expands slightly. Repeat with the rest of the donuts. Set aside remaining filling.
Cinnamon Sugar Topping: 1. Pour the melted butter into a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Dip each filled doughnut first into the melted butter, coating it completely, before rolling in the sugar mixture, coating it completely again.
2. Pipe a small dollop of the cheesecake filling onto the top of each donut and serve.
Note: The cheesecake filling can be made ahead and kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
