Sufganiyot

It wouldn’t be Hanukkah without fried food, and dessert is no exception. A staple during the Festival of Lights, sufganiyot are Israeli doughnuts, which are typically dusted with icing sugar and filled with strawberry jelly. This recipe changes it up with centres of pastry cream or strawberry jam — we recommend trying one of each!

However you fill it, one bite into the soft, pillowy dough will put you in a festive mood for the holiday.

Sufganiyot were the Technical Bake in this year’s Great Canadian Baking Show Holiday Special.

Sufganiyot

Ingredients

Dough:

• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• ⅔ cup buttermilk, room temperature
• ⅓ cup (60 g) sugar
• 3 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3⅓ cups (480 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1½ tsp kosher salt
• ⅓ cup (76 g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened

Pastry Cream:

• 1½ cups whole milk, divided
• 1 vanilla bean
• 5 large egg yolks
• ½ cup (100 g) sugar
• 3 tbsp (21 g) cornstarch
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter

Strawberry Jam:

• 454 g fresh strawberries
• ½ cup (100 g) sugar
• 4 tbsp (30 g) cornstarch
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• ¼ tsp kosher salt

Frying:

• Approx. 3 litres vegetable oil for frying

Garnish:

• Icing sugar for dusting

Preparation

Dough:
If using a proofing drawer, heat to 100 F.

Add eggs and buttermilk to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Break up the eggs with a whisk, then add sugar, yeast, vanilla, flour and salt, and mix on low to combine. Increase speed to medium and mix until the dough starts coming away from the sides and forms a smooth ball, 7 to 8 minutes. If the dough sticks to the hook and spins around, turn off the mixer and pull the dough off the hook with damp hands. 

Reduce speed to medium-low and slowly add butter, one cube at a time. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough is smooth and soft, 4 minutes. Transfer to an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rest until doubled in size, about 30 minutes in a proofing drawer or about 1 hour in a warm place.

Cut out 12 parchment squares measuring about 4 to 5 inches wide, and dust well with flour. Transfer dough to a floured work surface and roll out or press so it’s about ¾ inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 12 rounds, gently rerolling the scraps if needed. Place one round on each of the prepared parchment squares and transfer to a three-quarter sheet pan. Let rise, uncovered, until doubled in size, about 20 minutes in a proofing drawer or about 40 minutes in a warm place.

Pastry Cream:

Meanwhile, pour 1 cup of the milk into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Split the vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the seeds. Add both the pod and the seeds to the milk, and heat just until steaming. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining ½ cup milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Discard vanilla pod, then slowly pour hot milk into milk-egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium, whisking constantly until it thickens and just comes to a boil. 

Whisk in butter. Remove from heat and press the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve set over a quarter-sheet pan. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pastry cream, and refrigerate until cold. 

Once pastry cream has cooled, whisk it to soften, then spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a bismarck or medium round piping tip. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Strawberry Jam: 

Hull and slice the strawberries. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Place strawberries, sugar mixture, lemon juice and zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, mashing with a potato masher to break up the strawberries. Heat jam for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened, then remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, purée jam until smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a quarter-sheet pan. Spread evenly and chill until doughnuts are ready to be filled. 

Doughnuts:

Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet lined with paper towels. 

Add oil to a large (minimum 4-litre) Dutch oven to measure 2 inches deep (or if using a deep fryer, fill according to the instructions) and heat to 350 F. Gently place three doughnuts in the oil with the bottoms up and carefully remove the parchment. Fry doughnuts for 90 seconds before flipping and frying for another minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on the cooling rack. Repeat with remaining doughnuts, in batches of three, and allow to cool fully. 

While doughnuts are cooling, spoon cooled strawberry jam into a piping bag fitted with a bismarck or medium round tip. 

Using a small piping tip, poke a hole in the top of each donut. Insert the tip of the piping bag with pastry cream into a doughnut and squeeze the bag until you feel resistance. Leave a small dollop of filling on top. Repeat with five more doughnuts. Then fill the remaining six doughnuts with strawberry jam. Let doughnuts cool to room temperature. Dust the tops with icing sugar, and transfer to a serving platter.

Makes 12 doughnuts