What’s better than a fluffy, fried donut? A fluffy, fried donut filled with cream or jelly of course! That extra burst of flavor is irresistible–a delightful surprise in every bite. But the process can be daunting. Fortunately, we have a few tips and tricks to help you create delicious and beautiful donuts from the inside out. What do you say? Are you ready to fill a donut?
In general, filled donuts are yeast-risen donuts cut in a round or bar shape. The airy interior has plenty of room to hold all your delicious fillings, unlike the dense crumb of a cake donut. And because donuts don’t have a very long shelf life, you will want to plan to fill them the same day they have been fried. Just be sure to allow the donuts to cool to room temperature before filling. If the inside of the donut is too hot, the filling might melt or become too runny.
To keep things simple, we decided to fill our donuts with some premade fillings. But there are so many to choose from! Pastry cream, of course! Bismark, yes! Jelly, absolutely! You can also fill your donuts with Nutella, buttercream, chocolate ganache, or a delicious mixture of cream cheese and peanut butter. Ultimately, you can use anything that has a thick, pipeable consistency. The sky’s the limit!
Now, to assemble the tools. As with any kitchen project, having the right tools can make all the difference. So we grabbed some Wilton piping bags, the Ateco Bismarck pastry tip (we like this tip because it has a longer tapered point that allows you to fill the donut with control and precision), and some of our premade raspberry pie filling. But don’t worry! If you don’t have a piping bag and Bismark tip, you can easily use a Ziplock bag, a chopstick, and a regular round piping tip instead. Here’s how we did it:
1. Cut off the corner of the piping bag and insert the piping tip.
2. Spoon the filling into the piping bag (you will need about ¼ to ⅓ cup of filling per donut)
3. Twist off the open side of the bag and insert the tip into the middle of the donut.
4. Gently wiggle it around inside to help create a small pocket without widening the initial opening too much (this is where you would use the chopstick if you don’t have the filling tip).
5. Slowly squeeze the filling so it has a chance to reach all the air pockets and fill until the donut reaches the desired fullness.
There are plenty of other ways to fill a donut without a piping bag. You can try using a funnel or a turkey baster as long as the filling isn’t too thick. Or you can simply use a paring knife to cut open the donut partway and spoon in some filling. But we found that the piping bag and Bismark tip made for the cleanest, easiest filled donut.
It might take you a few tries, but eventually, you will be able to feel when the donut has the right amount of filling. You don’t want to overfill the donut because it might start to leak out. And no one wants a donut that only has a tiny bit of filling. So experiment with different amounts until you find something just right. And once you fill the donut, you can either ice it or dust it with powdered sugar for a beautiful finish.
Donuts are such a delightful treat–especially when you fill a donut it takes things to a whole new level. And with these tools and techniques, you can easily fill all of your donuts with no problems. The only question to ask yourself is, “What filling am I going to try first?”
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