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Creepy cricket doughnuts
A haunted twist on a Boston Cream doughnut – filled with a pastry cream flavoured with cricket powder and topped with roasted crickets.
YIELDS
12
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon cricket powder
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup fine sugar, plus 2 additional tablespoons
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whipping cream
Doughnuts
- 4 cups bread flour
- 4 tablespoons fine sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons quick rise yeast
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- Zest 1/2 lemon
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
Glaze
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 4 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons milk or water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons corn syrup
- Black food coloring
Decorate and Serve
- 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
- Krisped Rice (apx 1 tablespoon per doughnut)
- Whole roasted crickets
Directions
Filling
- Slowly bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-based saucepan, just to the spot. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for five minutes.
- Separately place the egg yolks and half a cup of sugar in a bowl and mix for a few seconds, then sift in the flour cricket powder and mix again until combined.
- Pour three tablespoons of the just-boiled milk over the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Add this egg yolk mixture to the saucepan with the remainder of the milk and whisk well to combine. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly for about five minutes, until very thick.
- Once the mixture has thickened up, please remove it from the heat and pass it through a fine sieve into a clean bowl, discarding any debris.
- Place some clingwrap on the surface of the custard to prevent skin from forming. Leave to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. The custard will thicken as it cools.
- Whip the cream with the remaining two tablespoons of sugar until thick but not over-whipped, and gently fold into the chilled custard.
- Set aside in the refrigerator until needed for filling.
Doughnuts
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attached, combine all the dough ingredients.
- Mix on a medium speed for seven minutes, or until the dough starts cleaning the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.
- Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for one minute.
- Start the mixer again on medium speed and slowly add the butter to the dough – about a tablespoon at a time.
- When fully incorporated, increase speed to medium/ high and mix for five minutes until the dough is smooth and very elastic when pulled.
- Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover it with cling wrap and leave to prove until it has doubled. Once this stage is reached, knock back the dough in the bowl.
- Cover the dough again and leave to rise for a further 45 minutes (or overnight in the fridge).
- After this period, remove from your fridge and cut the dough into 12 equal-sized amounts (mine were approximately 80g each).
- Roll them into smooth, tight buns on a lightly floured counter and place them on a lightly floured baking tray. Be mindful to leave plenty of room between them so they don’t stick together while they prove. Cover lightly with oiled clingwrap and leave for 50 minutes or until about doubled size.
- Get your oil ready in a deep vessel (Dutch Oven or Deep Fat Fryer) to heat the oil to 357° F.
- When the oil is at temperature, carefully remove the doughnuts from the tray by sliding a bench scraper underneath them; use a floured bench scraper to remove the doughnuts one at a time (taking care not to deflate them) and put them into the oil. Do not overcrowd the fryer – do two to three per batch, depending on the size of your vessel.
- Fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown. They may puff up and float, so you may need to gently push them down after about a minute to help them colour evenly.
- Remove from the fryer oil, and leave drain on a cooling rack. Repeat until all are fried. Leave to cool before glazing and decorating.
Glaze
- Sift the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the milk, then mix the vanilla, corn syrup, and a few drops of black food colouring to make a smooth glaze. Add some milk to loosen the ice to a pourable consistency if the ice is thick.
Decorate and Serve
- Dip each doughnut into the chocolate glaze to coat the top. Set them back on the cooling rack.
- Sprinkle over one tablespoon of crispy rice, and top with a few roasted crickets.
- Microwave the peanut butter for 30 seconds or until runny. Place the melted peanut butter into a piping bag (or small ziplock bag and cut off a tiny tip). Drizzle over each donut. Serve and enjoy!
