There's nothing quite like a freshly made brioche donut — a bit crispy outside, soft and pillowy inside, filled to the brim with rich vanilla cream. I've made this recipe more times than I can count, and it's become one of the projects readers tell me they're proudest of pulling off at home.
If you've never fried donuts before, don't let that stop you. It's not hard, it just takes patience — these are fried brioche donuts with an overnight proof, so read through the recipe once before you start so you know what you're signing up for (you don't want to realize the dough needs to chill overnight when you were hoping for donuts in two hours).
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What I've Learned From Making These So Many Times
A few things I wish I'd known the first time I made this recipe:
Don't overcrowd the pot. I fry three donuts at a time, max. Add too many at once and the oil temperature drops, which means the donuts soak up oil instead of frying in it — you'll end up with greasy donuts instead of crisp ones.
Weigh your dough. Portioning each piece to 70 grams on a kitchen scale isn't just for pretty photos — evenly sized donuts fry at the same rate, so you're not pulling some early and leaving others underdone.
The overnight chill matters. You can skip it in a pinch, but letting the dough rest in the fridge for 12–16 hours develops noticeably more flavor. If you have the time, take it.
Keep your candy thermometer clipped in the whole time you're frying and watch it like a hawk. Oil that dips below 330°F is the single most common reason home fried donuts turn out greasy instead of crisp.
No pastry bag on hand? A gallon ziptop bag with a small corner snipped off works just as well for piping the vanilla cream into each donut.
More Donuts to Try
If you love this one, my classic glazed donut recipe is a good next project — and I've got tons of baked and fried donut recipes if you want to keep going.
Made these? Tell me how they turned out in the comments — questions welcome too, I read every one.
Like this recipe? Follow me on Pinterest for lots more recipes just like this one! And don’t forget to pin this recipe for later by clicking on one of the images below the recipe. Or, click on any of the images in this post to save to Pinterest.
Looking for more donut recipes? Give these a try:
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Ingredients
Donuts
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ¾ cup water lukewarm
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 4 cups all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoons white rum
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ gallon vegetable oil for frying
- ½ cup granulated sugar for rolling
Vanilla Cream
- ½ cup vanilla sugar (or vanilla seeds mixed with sugar)
- ⅓ cup corn starch
- pinch of salt
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
Prepare the Donut Dough:
- Add sugar and yeast to the lukewarm water in a large bowl. Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes or until the yeast starts to bubble. PRO TIP: Water temperature should not be above 115°F, or it will destroy the yeast.¾ cup water, 1 teaspoon active dry yeast, ¼ cup granulated sugar
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs.3 large eggs
- Cut the butter into small cubes and set aside.½ cup unsalted butter
- After 10 minutes, add flour, eggs, rum and lemon zest to the yeast mixture in a large bowl. Knead well using the attachment on your mixer or by hand.3 large eggs, 4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoons white rum, 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- After about 5 minutes, add the salt.½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Slowly incorporate the butter cubes and continue kneading well with your hands or in a stand mixer. The dough has to be glossy and smooth.½ cup unsalted butter
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to proof at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough, then re-cover the bowl. Put in the fridge to chill for 12 - 16 hours or overnight. PRO TIP: The donut dough will be more delicious if you leave them to chill overnight. If you don't have the time, leave that part out.
Shape The Donuts:
- Remove the dough from the fridge and cut it into 70g pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth, tight bun and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and dusted with flour. Leave plenty of room between the donuts to proof. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and leave to proof for about 2 hours, or until about doubled in size
Fry the Donuts:
- In a cast iron pot filled halfway with vegetable oil, clip a candy thermometer to the side and heat over low until the oil reaches 330 - 350°F.½ gallon vegetable oil
- Carefully remove the donuts from the baking tray, taking care not to deflate them, and place them gently into the oil using a long-handled spider tool. Fry for three minutes on each side until golden brown. Keep an eye on the oil temperature to ensure it doesn't get too hot or too cool - adjust heat as necessary.
- Remove donuts from the oil with the spider tool and place on a tray lined with paper towels.
- Once slightly cooled, place ½ cup granulated sugar in a dish, roll each donut in sugar and set aside to cool completely before filling.½ cup granulated sugar
Make the Vanilla Cream:
- Whisk together vanilla sugar, corn starch, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan.
- Whisk together milk and eggs in a separate bowl.4 large eggs, 2 cups whole milk
- Add milk mixture to the saucepan then add the butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, then lower the heat and cook for one minute. Remove from heat.4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the vanilla cream to prevent a skin from forming. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Just before using, whisk until smooth.
Fill the Donuts:
- Fill a piping bag affixed with a large round tip with the vanilla cream. Using a butter knife, cut a small hole in the side of each donut about ¾ of the way into the donut and pipe a generous amount of vanilla cream into the center of the donut. Eat the donuts right away or store in an airtight container for up to three days
Notes
- Donuts will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, however, they are best consumed just after frying and filling.
- Recipe originally from Jernejkitchen.
Nutrition
Comments
Content says
Hello, in your ingredients least for Donuts, you have mentioned sugar twice. It will be good to mention that the 100g of sugar is for rolling. Saying this because in your instructions the first statement is "add the sugar and yeast to...."
Thanks.
Kimberlee Ho says
Thanks for pointing this out. I will make the correction so that's clearer in the ingredient list.
Jamie says
Just made these & currently waiting for them to proof so I will do another review later . But I wanted to ask If I can save some of the dough and freeze it or will it not be good anymore & If so what else do you think I can do with the dough besides donuts?
Kimberlee Ho says
So happy you're making these donuts! They're glorious 🙂 You can freeze the dough. After proofing, place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and freeze for at least an hour, then place the frozen dough in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Allow them defrost completely at room temperature before frying them. Good luck and enjoy!
Robyn says
These donuts are delicious! The pictures are amazing too 🙂
Kimberlee Ho says
So glad you loved them!
Elizabeth says
Awesome.
Toni says
Could I make the vanilla cream the night before to reduce workload in the morning? Making these for breakfast and excited by how they're looking so far (the dough smells AMAZING!)
Kim says
Yes absolutely! Cover the cream with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the top of the cream so it doesn't form a skin. Enjoy!
Shazi says
Hi! This looks so good! Would it be possible to leave out the rum?
Kim says
Absolutely! You can substitute with vanilla extract or even rum extract if you want the flavor but not the alcohol.
Sara says
Looks fantastic!!
Kim says
Thank you so much Sara! They're fantastic! Hope you give them a try 😉
Njeri says
Thank you so much!
Njeri says
Thank you for this recipe. So excited to make. I only have instant dry yeast, and it’s difficult to find active dry yeast in stores. Do you have recommendations?
Kim says
You can use instant dry yeast. You will not have to allow the yeast to bloom (bubble up for 10 minutes) in step 1 with instant yeast. You can skip that piece and immediately add the flour, eggs, rum and lemon zest. Good luck and enjoy!
Bridgett Mainland says
Hello, just wanted to mention, I loved this blog post.