Boston cream doughnut
Photo: ChildofMidnight at English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0

History

The Boston cream doughnut descends from the Boston cream pie (Parker House Hotel, 1856) but in doughnut form. The pastry-cream-filled, chocolate-glazed doughnut emerged in early-20th-century New England bakeries; Dunkin' Donuts (founded 1950 in Quincy, MA) made it a national category through its franchise network. In 2003, the Massachusetts legislature designated the Boston cream doughnut as the official state doughnut. The Boston version is always YEAST-raised, never cake; the filling is pastry cream not whipped cream; the glaze is dark chocolate not milk.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 12Hands-on 1 hrTotal 5 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • For the dough: 500g strong bread flour
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 10g instant yeast
  • 250ml warm whole milk
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 60g unsalted butter softened
  • For the pastry cream: 500ml whole milk
  • 1 vanilla pod (split, seeds scraped) or 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 40g cornflour
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • For the chocolate glaze: 200g dark chocolate (60% cocoa)
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 100g icing sugar sifted
  • 3 tbsp hot water
  • Neutral oil for frying (1.5L)

Method

  1. Make the pastry cream first: warm milk with vanilla pod until steaming. Whisk yolks, sugar and cornflour to pale. Pour hot milk over yolks, whisking. Return to pan, cook over medium-low 5 minutes to thick custard. Off heat, whisk in butter. Cover with cling film touching the surface; chill 2 hours.
  2. Make the dough: whisk flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Add warm milk and yolks; knead 5 minutes with the dough hook. Add butter 20g at a time, kneading until each is absorbed. Knead 8 minutes total to a smooth elastic dough.
  3. Cover; rise 90 minutes until doubled.
  4. Tip onto a floured surface. Roll to 1.5cm thick. Cut 8cm rounds.
  5. Place on parchment squares (one per doughnut) and cover loosely. Prove 45 minutes until puffy.
  6. Heat oil to 175C in a heavy pot.
  7. Fry the doughnuts (drop in on their parchment paper, the paper floats free), 2 minutes per side, until deep golden. Drain on a rack.
  8. Cool the doughnuts 20 minutes (filling hot doughnuts melts the cream).
  9. Make the glaze: melt chocolate and butter together. Whisk in icing sugar and hot water to a thick pourable glaze.
  10. Use a long thin nozzle to inject 2 to 3 tbsp pastry cream into the side of each doughnut.
  11. Dip the top of each filled doughnut into the warm chocolate glaze; tap to remove excess.
  12. Let set 15 minutes. Best eaten same day, ideally within 4 hours.

Tip from the editors. Fill the doughnuts AFTER frying and cooling; filling raw doughnuts results in burst pastry cream all over the fryer. Use a Bismarck tip on a piping bag.

Where to eat boston cream doughnut

Boston cream doughnut in Boston

Mike's Pastry ★ 4.5

$ BakerySicilian-style cannoli, filled to orderNorth EndWalk-in only

Mike's Pastry on Hanover Street has filled cannoli to order in Boston's North End since 1946. 19 cannoli flavours, cash and card, white string-tied box.

Worth the queueRicotta cannoli with chocolate chips

TipThe line on weekends runs 20 minutes; the inside-counter line moves faster than the to-go window. Cash and card both.

Directions Book

Modern Pastry ★ 4.6

$ BakeryItalian American pastry and chocolate-dipped cannoliNorth EndWalk-in only

Modern Pastry on Hanover Street has filled cannoli to order in Boston's North End since 1930. Chocolate-dipped shells, lighter ricotta cream.

Worth the queueChocolate-dipped cannoli with sweet cream

TipLocals line up at Modern; tourists at Mike's. The chocolate-dipped shell is the headline item; Italian rum cake is the under-ordered cake.

Directions Book

Flour Bakery ★ 4.6

$ BakerySticky buns, sandwiches, French and American pastrySouth EndWalk-in only

Joanne Chang opened Flour on Washington Street in Boston's South End in 2000; the city's pastry empire grew to 10 locations across Boston and Cambridge.

Worth the queueSticky bun with pecans and caramel

TipSticky buns sell out by 14:00 weekends. Order ahead online; the South End original is the calmest of the 10 locations on weekdays.

Directions Book

Tatte Bakery & Cafe ★ 4.4

$ BakeryIsraeli-style pastry, shakshuka brunchBeacon HillWalk-in only

Tzurit Or's Tatte runs an Israeli-style bakery-cafe across Boston and Cambridge since 2007. Located in Beacon Hill. Open daily 07:00-19:00. At 70 Charles St.

Worth the queueShakshuka with feta and herbs

TipShakshuka books out by 11:00 weekends. The Charles Street and Harvard Square branches keep the strongest pastry selection late.

Directions Book

Iggy's Bread ★ 4.5

$ BakeryEuropean-style hearth breads and viennoiserieCambridgeWalk-in only

Igor and Ludmilla Ivanovic's Iggy's on Fawcett Street near Fresh Pond has baked hearth breads in Cambridge since 1994. Supplies most Boston-area restaurants.

Worth the queueFrancese sourdough miche

TipThe 5kg Francese miche is the showpiece bake; ask for a half-loaf cut. Pastry counter at the front, breads at the back.

Directions Book

Sofra Bakery & Cafe ★ 4.6

$$ $10-$18BrunchEastern Mediterranean brunchCambridge

Ana Sortun's Sofra on Belmont Street has run an Eastern Mediterranean breakfast in Huron Village Cambridge since 2008. Ginger morning bun, za'atar manaeesh.

OrderGinger morning bun and Turkish coffee.

TipPark on a side street; the small car park fills by 09:00. The eggs on flatbread is the under-ordered savoury order.

Directions Book

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