Now that the holidays are here, I’m making a lot of holiday themed desserts like these Gingerbread Brioche Doughnuts with Egg Nog Pastry Cream
They are the cutest dessert and not that difficult to make.
What type of dough is used for the doughnuts?
To make these doughnuts, I used a brioche dough recipe. Brioche bread is a very rich bread. It differs from regular white bread because it contains a lot of eggs, milk and butter. Standard bread does not always have these ingredients in them. The brioche dough makes the doughnuts extremely soft and pillowy.
After combining the ingredients for the brioche dough, the dough will be very sticky and almost pourable. That’s why it needs to be refrigerated overnight. You would not be able to roll it out after the kneading stage.
After removing the dough from the refrigerator overnight, the extra cold dough is more solid, which enables you to shape the dough into the doughnut shapes.
How are they shaped into gingerbread men?
After allowing the dough to rise overnight in the refrigerator, divide dough in half. Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle until it’s about 3/4-1 inch thick. Use a 3 1/2-4 inch gingerbread cookie cutter to cut out gingerbread people. You can get the cookie cutter in a baking store or on Amazon.
Why use a thermometer for frying?
After cutting the doughnuts into the gingerbread men, allow them to rise until almost doubled. Heat oil in a large pot until 360-375 degrees. Use a candy thermometer to get the exact temperature.
Using a thermometer is very important because you don’t want your oil to be too cold. Frying the doughnuts at too low of a temperature will result in greasy doughnuts with a tough crust. A mistake I’ve done before. Now, I always use a candy thermometer.
Fry the doughnuts until golden brown, flipping them once, then remove them from the oil immediately. Place on a wire cooling rack with a baking pan underneath to catch the oil.
Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and place it in a dish. Coat the doughnuts on each side while still warm. Cool them on another wire rack.
How to use the egg nog in the pastry cream?
Make the pastry cream the day before. Store bought egg nog is fine to use. Use the egg nog in place of the heavy cream that’s usually used in pastry cream. Refrigerate it overnight so it can thicken up. The next day, make whipped cream and fold it into the pastry cream to make the filling. Pipe the filling into the back of each doughnut.
Use vanilla frosting to pipe two buttons on the front of each gingerbread person. There’s no need to make homemade frosting for this, unless you’re want to. You do not need too much of it and it’s just for the decoration. In this recipe, I used canned vanilla frosting. If you want to make a batch of homemade frosting, you can get my recipe here:
These Gingerbread Brioche Doughnuts with Egg Nog Pastry Cream were so delicious and fun! Everyone will definitely want one of these during the holidays.
Here are other great doughnut recipes:
Gingerbread Brioche Doughnuts with Egg Nog Pastry Cream
Rich, soft brioche doughnuts filled with an egg nog pastry cream and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar
Ingredients
Doughnuts
- 1 tbsp yeast
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 3 eggs, large
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
Pastry Cream
- 3/4 cup egg nog
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 large egg yolks
Filling
- pastry cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
Garnish
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 can vanilla Frosting
Instructions
Doughnuts
- Warm milk in the microwave to about 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Add milk, 1/4 cup sugar and yeast to a standing mixer bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, salt and flour. Put on the dough hook attachment and let dough mix until blended. Add butter one tablespoon at a time until it is fully incorporated. Continue to allow dough to knead for 2 minutes. Remove bowl from standing mixer. Cover with a towel and let dough proof for 1 1/2- 2 hours. Transfer dough to a smaller bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, divide dough in half. Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle until it’s about 3/4-1 inch thick. Use a 3 1/2-4 inch gingerbread cookie cutter to cut out gingerbread people. Gather the scraps and re-roll the dough and cut out more gingerbread men. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Cut out parchment paper squares for each doughnut, sprinkle them with flour and place the doughnuts on top. This will make it easier to place them into the oil. Allow the doughnuts to rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour.Heat a large pot of oil to about 360-375 degrees. Use a candy thermometer to get the exact temperature. Gently place each doughnut into the oil using the parchment squares. Fry until golden brown turning once. Place on a baking rack with a baking pan underneath when done. Completely cover each doughnut with cinnamon and sugar. Place sugared doughnuts on a baking sheet. Place pastry cream in a piping bag with a piping tip attached. Pipe pastry cream into the back of each doughnut until filled.Place canned vanilla frosting in a piping bag with a medium sized round tip. Pipe 2 button sized dots on the front of each gingerbread man.
Pastry Cream
- Warm the egg nog in a saucepan until you start to see wisps of steam. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Add the egg yolks and whisk them into the dry ingredients. Pour a little of the hot liquid into the eggs and whisk to combine. Continue pouring the liquid slowly into the eggs, whisking continuously. When all the liquid has been added to the eggs, pour everything back into the saucepan. Set the pan back over medium heat. Whisk constantly. When it has thickened to a pudding-like consistency, remove the pan from heat but keep stirring until the mixture is smooth. Pour into a bowl and cover or into an air tight container. Place into the refrigerator overnight or for 2 hours.
Filling
- Beat heavy cream and sugar in a bowl until stiff. Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream. Place into a piping bag with a Bismark Metal Piping Tip.
