I have to say, out of all the cooking shows out there, The Great British Baking Show, is the one that tops the list. It inspires me to run into my kitchen and just start baking. Although the bakers always have brilliant flavor combinations, one that stood out to me was passion fruit with white chocolate. I never used passion fruit in a dessert, heck I only discovered the fruit last year! But I desperately wanted to try. And so, I patiently waited until the fruit came into season, coughed up $3 per passion fruit, and whipped up these passion fruit and white chocolate donuts. As expected, the flavors were phenomenal, so much so that I am already planning my next passion fruit dessert!
Passion Fruit and White Chocolate Donuts
Ingredients
Donuts
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- ½ cup warm water 100-110 degrees F
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 3 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter softened, cut into small chunks
White chocolate cream
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream divided
Passion fruit glaze
- 2 tablespoons passion fruit pulp
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon lime zest
Instructions
- Make the dough. Combine active dry yeast with warm water, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and the yeast is activated.
- Whisk together 3 eggs with 2 egg yolks. Combine eggs with bread flour, salt, and ⅓ cup granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add yeast mixture and mix until a dough forms. Add the butter and knead the dough until smooth, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the dough into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot and let proof for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, make the white chocolate cream. Combine white chocolate chips with heavy cream in a heat-safe bowl and microwave until melted, stirring every 20 seconds. Let cool completely. Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the white chocolate mix to the whipped cream and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Chill until ready to use.
- Punch down dough. Roll into a rectangle about ¾-inch thick. Use a 3-inch biscuit cutter and cut 16 circles. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with 2 inches of space in between the donuts. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
- Heat frying oil to 350 degrees F.
- Fry the donuts until golden brown, flipping the donuts to get an even color on both sides. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and place on a paper-towel-lined plate to drain the excess oil. Let the donuts cool completely.
- Make the passion fruit glaze. Beat together passion fruit pulp with powdered sugar and lime zest until smooth. Cut the donuts in half and fill the bottom half with white chocolate cream. Sandwich the donut with the top bun and drizzle the passion fruit glaze.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
When you find a great base recipe, it only makes sense to keep it in your stash. That's what I did for these passion fruit and white chocolate donuts, using the dough recipe from my chocolate tahini donuts. The dough is an enriched dough, incorporating eggs and butter into the mix to yield an incredibly soft dough. When the dough is already so soft even before its first proof, you know it's going to be a soft bread, or in this case, donut.
Let the dough proof for one hour or until doubled in size. Meanwhile, make the white chocolate cream filling. I prefer to melt the chocolate in the microwave just because it's easier but you can always use a doubler boiler. Just make sure to stir the chocolate every 20 seconds if using the microwave. Let the white chocolate cool completely before adding it to the whipped cream.
Now back to the dough. Punch down the dough and roll it out until it's about ¾ inches thick. You don't want to roll it out too thin since you want that "fullness" that donuts have. Cut 3-inch circles using a biscuit cutter and place the dough on a lined baking sheet. Cover the dough to prevent skin from forming and proof for another hour. This will give the dough enough time to rest and rise beautifully.
Preheat frying oil to 350 degrees F, and fry the donuts until golden brown on both sides. Remove the donuts with a slotted spoon and let them cool completely. While the donuts are cooling, make the passion fruit glaze. All you need is a little passion fruit pulp mixed with powdered sugar and lime zest. If you're not a fan of the seeds, just strain the passion fruit pulp before adding it to the powdered sugar.
Fill those beautiful donuts with the white chocolate cream and finish with the passion fruit glaze. Now step back and admire your work.
Aren't these passion fruit and white chocolate donuts a beauty? And they taste just as beautiful.
For more donut inspiration check out these chocolate beignets with earl grey!
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