Growing up in New Orleans, I spent many a weekend and half my summers with my Dad’s parents. And one of my fondest memories is my Paw Paw going out on Sunday morning before I woke up and getting donuts. He didn’t always go to the same place - it always depended on where his errands would take him. Sometimes it was Tastee Donuts (this video cracked me up), sometimes McKenzie’s, sometime other places that are so long gone that I don’t remember the names. I had a favorite type of donut at every location, but my MOST favorite was this donut from Tastee that was a glazed donut, with a chocolate frosting and pastry cream piped into the hole. Loved.It. I was always so excited when I saw the bag. It was the perfect donut... you get the glazed (which is just always good in a simply pure way, like vanilla ice cream), with a little chocolate (because you always want a little chocolate), with filling (because I, for one, can NEVER decide if I want a regular donut or filled).
A few months ago I purchased donut pans because I started looking at the recipes and 1) they looked yummy and 2) one donut fit easily into my weeknight dessert calorie budget. I couldn’t believe it! I could have donuts! Every night!!! I knew I had to get the pan.
The first donut I made was chocolate, of course. They were very yummy. Nice and dense and chocolatey. It was perfect because it felt like a substantial dessert and at 160 cals a piece, I was in heaven.
As my husband and I were enjoying them he said “Could you overfill the pan and make a place to put filling?” And the lightbulb went off in my head! I thought ‘I could make the Tastee Donuts donut!! I wanted to do it right away! But, of course, life happened and I never got around to it. But it was always there, in my mind. And then this past weekend I had some time and I wanted something fun to go with the pizza. Also, I had pastry cream that I had already made. So it seemed like the perfect time. I started with this basic donut recipe. They are so incredibly easy to make. And, because they are being baked in a pan, it was very easy to spread the dough over the center piece and create a “well” for my pastry cream. It worked perfectly.
Then I made a “quick” chocolate ganache. Admittedly, I probably should’ve taken a little more time with this one. It worked and it tasted ok, but it could’ve been so much better. I tossed a few chunks of dark chocolate into a bowl with a little half and half and some Via coffee grounds - because everyone knows a little coffee makes chocolate taste better. Well, I put a little too much grounds for the amount of chocolate and my ganache had a distinct mocha flavor. Also, I think it needs to be more of a chocolate glaze - ie: a higher milk to chocolate ratio - like you would find on a chocolate glazed donut.
Next, the pastry cream. I just put a few tablespoons of my leftover pastry cream in a ziploc bag, cut the tip and piped it into the center. I was pleased with how this came out. It worked perfectly in the donut, but more so, the pastry cream defrosted wonderfully. It’s been in the freezer for about 3 weeks and I just took it out of the freezer in the morning and by the afternoon it was defrosted and tasted great. I saved off a small amount to eat with the leftover donuts throughout the week and re-froze the rest. I love not wasting food. Especially good, yummy pastry cream.
This donut made me so, so happy. I still have some tweaks to make and it’s a cake donut, not a good old, fried, glazed donut, but they were close enough to make me giddy with Tastee Donut memories. I finished the last one tonight and I will not wait so long to make them again!
A few months ago I purchased donut pans because I started looking at the recipes and 1) they looked yummy and 2) one donut fit easily into my weeknight dessert calorie budget. I couldn’t believe it! I could have donuts! Every night!!! I knew I had to get the pan.
The first donut I made was chocolate, of course. They were very yummy. Nice and dense and chocolatey. It was perfect because it felt like a substantial dessert and at 160 cals a piece, I was in heaven.
As my husband and I were enjoying them he said “Could you overfill the pan and make a place to put filling?” And the lightbulb went off in my head! I thought ‘I could make the Tastee Donuts donut!! I wanted to do it right away! But, of course, life happened and I never got around to it. But it was always there, in my mind. And then this past weekend I had some time and I wanted something fun to go with the pizza. Also, I had pastry cream that I had already made. So it seemed like the perfect time. I started with this basic donut recipe. They are so incredibly easy to make. And, because they are being baked in a pan, it was very easy to spread the dough over the center piece and create a “well” for my pastry cream. It worked perfectly.
Then I made a “quick” chocolate ganache. Admittedly, I probably should’ve taken a little more time with this one. It worked and it tasted ok, but it could’ve been so much better. I tossed a few chunks of dark chocolate into a bowl with a little half and half and some Via coffee grounds - because everyone knows a little coffee makes chocolate taste better. Well, I put a little too much grounds for the amount of chocolate and my ganache had a distinct mocha flavor. Also, I think it needs to be more of a chocolate glaze - ie: a higher milk to chocolate ratio - like you would find on a chocolate glazed donut.
Next, the pastry cream. I just put a few tablespoons of my leftover pastry cream in a ziploc bag, cut the tip and piped it into the center. I was pleased with how this came out. It worked perfectly in the donut, but more so, the pastry cream defrosted wonderfully. It’s been in the freezer for about 3 weeks and I just took it out of the freezer in the morning and by the afternoon it was defrosted and tasted great. I saved off a small amount to eat with the leftover donuts throughout the week and re-froze the rest. I love not wasting food. Especially good, yummy pastry cream.
This donut made me so, so happy. I still have some tweaks to make and it’s a cake donut, not a good old, fried, glazed donut, but they were close enough to make me giddy with Tastee Donut memories. I finished the last one tonight and I will not wait so long to make them again!
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| This is just for the donut, since I had no idea how to figure out the ganache and cream |
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