Bomboloni are Italian doughnuts filled with luscious Italian lemon cream. In Italy they are usually eaten at breakfast with coffee and not for dessert!
To fill these doughnuts with cream, you’ll need a pastry bag and tip. A Bismarck pastry tip will make the job easy, but any narrow pastry tip, plain or fluted, will work well. Don’t be intimidated; no special skill is needed. Fill the pastry bag, use a knife to make a small hole in the side of the doughnut, then insert the tip and squeeze the bag until the doughnut is filled and plump.
Ingredients
For the lemon pastry cream:
- •4 egg yolks
- •80 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
- •14 grams (scant 2 tablespoons) cornstarch
- •1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- •Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
- •1 tablespoon lemon juice
- •600 ml (2 1/2 cups) milk
For the bomboloni dough:
- •250 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- •3 grams (1 teaspoon) dry yeast
- •1 teaspoon honey
- •120 ml (1/2 cup) milk
- •Pinch of salt
- •40 grams (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
- •Finely grated zest of 5 lemons
- •30 grams (2 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
- •2 eggs
Preparation
For the lemon pastry cream: In a medium mixing bowl, mix the egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Add the cornstarch, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until beginning to steam (do not boil). Pour it a little at a time over the egg mixture. Do not pour too quickly because the hot milk will cook the eggs and it will become scrambled eggs.
Return the mixture to the saucepan over medium-low heat, and stir until a nice thick cream is obtained. Transfer the cream to a dish and put it to cool completely in the fridge. Meanwhile, you can make the bomboloni dough.
For the bomboloni dough: In a mixer with a hook attachment, or by hand, mix 120 grams (1 cup) of the flour with the yeast, then add the honey and 70 ml (1/3 cup) of the milk. Mix everything until a smooth dough is obtained. Transfer to a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
Once the dough is raised, return it to the mixer with the hook (or in a bowl by hand ), and add the rest of the flour, salt, sugar, milk and lemon zest. Mix for 5 minutes. Separate the butter into 3 parts and add it one part at a time to your mixture, mixing well each time. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let it rise again for 2 hours.
Once the dough is ready, roll the dough to a thickness of about 1.2 cm (1/2 inch). Using a cookie cutter or a knife, cut circles of about 13-15 cm (5 to 6 inches). Heat oil in a fryer or pot to 170°C (335°F), and fry until golden. Drain, and roll in granulated sugar to coat them well. Let cool for a few minutes and make a hole on the side of the donut. Using a pastry bag filled with lemon pastry cream, stuff them as much as possible. Eat them the same day for maximum freshness and softness.