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| some cronut frying action |
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| the perks of frying cronuts... eating the holes right away :) |
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| a cronut after being injected with the pastry cream |
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| all tossed in some toasted pecan rolling sugar |
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| hereeeeee piggy piggy pig |
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| oink oink |
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| oh yes those layers + pastry cream oozing |
For the Cronuts:
¾C Milk, Warmed
1T Active Dry Yeast
1/3C Sugar
2 Large eggs
1t Vanilla Extract
3 ½C AP Flour (divided)
1t Kosher Salt
1 Cup of Butter (or two sticks), at least room
temperature
Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Custard Filling:
1 ½C Whole Milk
¾C Brown Sugar
¼C Cake Flour
½t Sea Salt
1T Cinnamon
4 Large Egg Yolks
1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds
2t Vanilla Extract
½t Butter Extract
¼t Almond Extract
For the Toasted Pecan Sugar:
1C Toasted Pecans
1C Granulated Sugar
For the Bourbon Glaze:
2C Confectioners’ Sugar
Pinch of Salt
2T Whole Milk
1T Bourbon
¼t Vanilla Extract
For the King Cake Cronuts:
Prepared Cronut Dough, Cut into Doughnut Rounds
Chilled Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Custard Filling (put into a
squeeze bottle)
Prepared Toasted Pecan Rolling Sugar
Prepared Bourbon Glaze (put into a squeeze bottle)
Purple, Green, & Yellow Sparkling Sugar Sprinkles, For
Decorating
Directions:
1. Prepping the Cronuts: In the bowl of a standing
mixer, stir together the warmed milk and yeast. Stir in the sugar, eggs, and
vanilla. Mix well. Add a cup of flour and the salt, and then gradually add
another 2 ¼C of flour, stirring and then kneading for a few minutes, until it’s
smooth, elastic, and still a little bit tacky. Transfer to a baking sheet and
cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.
Meanwhile, beat the butter and remaining ¼C of AP Flour with an electric mixer
for a couple minutes, scraping down the sides of a bowl, until smooth. When the
dough has chilled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a
rectangle that is about ¼inch thick. Spread the butter evenly over the dough, and
then fold it as you would a letter, in thirds. Cover the dough in plastic wrap
and place it into the fridge for another 30 minutes to an hour.
2. Laminating the Dough: Pull the dough back out
and put it back onto the floured surface, with the open sides facing the left
and right. Roll it out into another rectangle that is ¼inch thick. Fold the
left third over the middle, and then the right third over the middle (this is
referred to a “turn”). Chill the dough for another 30 minutes to an hour. Roll,
fold, and refrigerate the dough two more times, so that is had been “turned”
for a total of four times. Cover and refrigerate it for at least an hour or
preferably overnight.
3. For the Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Custard Filling: In a medium saucepan, heat milk over medium-high
heat until bubbles just start to form around the edges but milk is not yet
boiling. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour,
cinnamon, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and vanilla bean
seeds until well combined; slowly whisk in flour mixture until thick and pasty.
Remove milk from heat and slowly add to egg mixture, whisking constantly.
Transfer egg mixture to saucepan and place over medium heat, whisking
constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 3 minutes. Boil,
whisking, for 10 seconds, and immediately remove from heat. Pour mixture
through a fine mesh sieve set over a small heatproof bowl; stir in vanilla extract,
butter extract, and almond extract. Strain into a plastic squeeze bottle and
refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
4. For the Toasted Pecan Rolling Sugar: Toast 1C of Pecans in a
sauté pan over medium heat. Continuously move the nuts around, so that they
will not get burned. Once they have reached a nutty fragrance and slightly
browned, they are done! This should only take a few minutes. Place the toasted
(make sure to cool first) pecans into a food processor and pulse until small
grind has been achieved. Add in the cup of sugar and continue to process until
you have a finely ground pecan sugar. Pour into a bowl and set aside until you
are ready to use.
5. Frying the Cronuts: Cut the dough, using a doughnut cutter, into
rounds (it should make about 12 Cronuts total). In a heavy pot, heat a couple
inches of oil to 350 degrees and a scrap of the dough sizzles when you dip it
in. Cook the Cronuts in batches, without crowding the pot (because that can
cool down the oil), flipping as necessary until they reach a golden brown
color. Transfer to a baking sheet, lined with paper towels, and let them sit
until excess oil is completely soaked up. Next, move them to a cooling rack.
6. For the Bourbon Glaze: Add all of the ingredients
into a mixing bowl and whisk together until a smooth, cohesive glaze has been
made. Pour this white glaze into a squeeze bottle and set aside until you are
ready to use it.
7. Assembling the Cronuts: It is now time to start filling the fried Cronuts.
I did this “Twinkie-style” by using the squeeze bottle that is filled with the brown
sugar-cinnamon pastry cream. Gently poke holes into the bottom of a Cronut and
fill them all the way through with cream. Repeat this process until you have
about 5-6 cream filling holes in each Cronut. Scrape off any excess cream that
begins to ooze out. Now that they have all been filled, roll them in the toasted
pecan sugar before placing them back onto the cooling rack (make sure the poke
holes are facing up) and squeeze some of the prepared bourbon glaze in a circle
around the top of the Cronut.
8. Finishing the Cronuts: Garnish the top of the
glazed Cronuts with the purple, green, and yellow colored sparkling sugars,
making sure to alternate colors, that way you form bands. Let them cool and
enjoy!!
