Last Updated on 27 September, 2026 by Elby | The Tasteful Pantry
Custard doughnuts (or donuts, depending where you’re from) are a true indulgence – and a little bit nostalgic. A soft, pillowy dough filled with rich, creamy custard, rolled in sugar – good luck not licking your lips with these ones! These round doughnuts, filled with crème pâtissière, are the kind of treat that takes you straight back to childhood – whether your sweet spot was doughnuts, Portuguese tarts, brownies or muffins.
Ingredients for Custard Filled Doughnuts
Doughnuts
The dough itself is soft and airy, balanced perfectly with a crispy fried outside. Once cooked, the round doughnuts are filled generously with crème pâtissière, a rich and luxurious vanilla custard. The contrast between the crispy outside, fluffy dough and creamy filling is what makes these doughnuts so great… and let’s not forget the delicious taste!
- Bread flour
- Salt
- Caster sugar
- Instant yeast
- Milk
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Canola oil
- Caster sugar — for rolling
Custard Filling (Crème Pâtissière)
The filling is the star of the show in this custard doughnut recipe. The silky custard is thickened with egg yolks and cornflour and flavoured with vanilla. It has a smooth, decadent texture and a beautifully rich flavour. The custard is sweet but not overly, making it the perfect filling for these doughnuts. The custard is piped into each doughnut while still warm. Ensuring every bite is filled with that delicious creaminess.
- Egg yolks
- Caster sugar
- Cornflour
- Milk
- Vanilla pod
- Butter
How to Make Custard Doughnuts
Doughnuts
- Add flour, salt, sugar and yeast to a stand mixer bowl.
- Warm the milk and butter until the butter melts – it should be just warm to the touch, not hot. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
- Use the dough hook attachment and turn the mixer to low, slowly pour in the milk mixture. Once incorporated, increase to medium and mix for 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky.
- Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 2 hours until roughly doubled in size.
- Line 2-3 baking trays with paper.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Divide into portions, roll into balls (approx. 4cm diameter), place on trays with spacing and flatten slightly.
- Loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap and leave to rise for 1 hour. Make the custard filling while you wait.
- Heat oil to 350°F | 176°C. Line a plate with paper towel and have your sugar bowl ready.
- Carefully lower doughnuts into the oil one at a time – cook 4 at a time maximum.
- Fry for 1-2 minutes until golden, flip and cook for a further minute. Transfer to the lined plate, roll in sugar immediately and repeat with remaining doughnuts. Adjust heat as needed if they’re browning too quickly.
Custard Filling
- Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a small saucepan.
- Add cornflour and whisk until smooth with no lumps.
- Over low heat, gradually whisk in the milk. Increase to medium and stir consistently until thickened, then remove from heat immediately.
- Whisk in the vanilla and butter until melted and combined.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes, then press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming.
Assembling
- Fill a piping syringe or piping bag fitted with a thin nozzle with warm or cooled custard.
- Poke a hole in each doughnut with a chopstick or thin knife and pipe in the custard, moving the nozzle around to distribute evenly. Stop when custard begins to ooze back out. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.
Refer to my crème pâtissière post for additional tips and tricks on the custard filling.
Doughnut Filling Variations
Be creative and try new fillings!
- Orange: Add 1-2 teaspoons of orange rind to the finished crème pâtissière.
- Chocolate: Add 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder with the cornflour (but you might need to add a little extra milk).
- Lemon: Like the orange, add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon rind.
- Coffee: Replace ¼ cup of the milk with strong coffee.
- Passionfruit: Add 1-2 tablespoons of passionfruit pulp to the finished custard.
FAQs for Custard Doughnuts
Do I need a deep fryer to cook doughnuts?
No, absolutely not. While a deep fryer is useful and may offer more heat stability, a saucepan with oil works just fine.
What’s the difference between doughnuts and donuts?
ugh… that’s really the only difference. It simply comes down to spelling and both ways are correct – it just depends where you are in the world (and personal preference).
What oil is best for deep frying?
Avoid olive oil! The best oil to use is something with a high smoke point (and preferably a neutral flavour, so it doesn’t interfere with the taste of the doughnut itself).
Canola oil is my pick – it’s affordable, widely available, has a high smoke point and a very neutral flavour. Other good options include vegetable oil or sunflower oil.
How do I Store Doughnuts?
The custard doughnuts are best served warm. The outside of the doughnuts will soften slightly once cooled, and lose that crispy texture created from frying. But the coating of sugar on the outside still gives them a little crackle with each bite when served cold. You can also roll them in cinnamon sugar for a different flavour profile.
If there are any doughnuts leftover, store them in an airtight container. They will dry out a little and the sugar will often dissolve. But you can reheat for a few seconds in the microwave and roll in a little extra sugar to bring them back to life.
Feedback and More: Have you tried the custard doughnut recipe? I’d love to know what you thought. Select a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ or leave a comment below to share your thoughts. Cheers, Elby!
If you liked this recipe, try my custard-filled gâteau Basque recipe and other delicious desserts! Also, follow The Tasteful Pantry on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for all the latest recipes and info.
Custard Doughnuts
*Note: Adjusting servings will not adjust the ‘light grey’ quantities
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer optional
- 1 Deep Fryer optional
- 1 Stainless Steel Strainer optional
- 1 Thermometer optional
- 1 Piping Syringe optional
Ingredients
Doughnuts
- 500 grams bread flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅓ cup caster sugar
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 cup milk
- 60 grams unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½-2 litres canola oil - or similar for deep frying
- ½ cup caster sugar - for rolling
Custard Filling (Crème Pâtissière)
- 5 egg yolks
- 85 grams caster sugar
- 40 grams cornflour
- 2 cups milk - full cream (or 1 cup cream and 1 cup milk for a richer custard)
- 1 vanilla pod - seeds only (or 3 tsp vanilla extract)
- 50 grams butter - chopped
Instructions
Doughnuts
- Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer (see notes).
- Heat the milk and butter just enough to melt the butter. The milk should be just warm to the touch, don’t let it boil. If necessary, let it cool for a few minutes. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
- Turn the mixer onto low (using the bread attachment) and slowly pour the milk mix in. Continue mixing until all ingredients are incorporated and increase the speed to medium. Mix for 5 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky.
- Lightly oil a clean bowl and scrape the dough in. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to rise for 2 hours. It should increase by about half to double in size.
- Line 2-3 big baking trays with paper and set aside for the rolled doughnuts.
- Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and, with floured hands, knead the dough for two minutes. Divide the dough into small portions, roll into balls, place on the trays and flatten slightly – don’t worry if they bounce back up a little. The balls should be approximately 4cm in diameter when flattened. Make sure to leave spacing between each ball.
- Spray plastic wrap with oil and lie loosely over the top of the dough balls. Leave them to rise for another hour. Make the custard filling while you are waiting.
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan (350°F | 176°C), line a plate with paper towel and place the extra caster sugar into a bowl.
- Once hot enough, use a slotted spoon to carefully pick up one dough ball at a time and place into the oil. Do not overcrowd the pan. For a 20cm diameter pan you should be able to cook 4 doughnuts at a time.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes and golden before flipping with the spoon. Cook for a further minute, or until golden brown all over. Transfer to the lined plate and roll as soon as you can in the sugar and set aside. If you’re nervous about whether they are cooked, cut one open. You may need to adjust the heat as you go, reducing if the doughnuts are cooking too quickly (i.e. browning, but not cooking through). And let it heat back up to temperature in between batches. Repeat the cooking and rolling process with the remaining doughnuts.
Custard Filling
- Place the egg yolks and sugar in a small saucepan and whisk until combined.
- Add the cornflour and whisk together, ensuring there are no lumps before moving to the next step.
- Turn the stove onto a low heat and gradually whisk in the milk (and cream, if using). Increase to a medium heat and stir consistently until the custard thickens. Remove immediately from the heat.
- Add the vanilla and butter, whisking until the butter has melted.
- Leave for 5-10 minutes, for the saucepan to cool. Stir then lie a piece of plastic wrap directly onto top of the custard. This will stop the custard from forming a ‘skin’ on top while you are cooking the doughnuts.
Assembling
- If you have one, use a meat or piping syringe for this part, rather than a piping bag – I find you have far more control. For a piping bag or piping syringe, use a thin attachment. For the meat syringe use a 3mm attachment if you have one. Place warm or cooled (not hot) custard filling into whatever piping instrument you are using.
- Poke a hole in the doughnut with a chopstick or thin knife and pipe in the custard. Moving the nozzle around a little so the custard doesn’t just sit at one end. When you can’t get any more custard in (it will start to ooze back out if you overfill), set aside and repeat with the remaining doughnuts.Read the post for more instructions and refer to my Crème Pâtissière post for additional tips and tricks on the custard filling.
Notes
Nutrition
*Nutrition and calorie figures are estimates only.
