Step 1

Doughnuts:

Step 2

Combine all of the dough ingredients except for the butter (bread flour through the water) in the bowl of a stand mixer with a beater attachment. Mix on medium spee for 8 minutes or until dough starts coming away from the sides and forming a bowl (it will be very sticky).

Step 3

Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest for a minute or so. Start the mixer again on medium speed and slowly add the butter to the dough, 25g at a time. Once it is all incorporated, mix on high speed for 5 minutes, until the dough is glossy, smooth and very elastic when pulled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to prove until it has doubled in size (mine took about 2 hours). Knock back the dough, then re-cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Step 4

The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and cut it into 50g pieces (it makes 20, but I ended up with 19 because I’m a doofus). Roll them into smooth, taut, tight buns and place them on a floured baking tray, leaving a couple of inches between them so they don’t stick together while they prove. I found that the easiest way to roll them into balls was to press them to the counter and roll them with the palm of my hand. They didn’t all turn out perfectly round, they all tasted amazing. Cover the trays lightly with plastic wrap and leave for about 4 hours to prove until doubled in size.

Step 5

Prepare your deep fryer or a heavy-based, deep saucepan with the oil for frying. Heat the oil to 355 degrees F (180 degrees C). When oil is heated, carefully remove the doughnuts from the tray by sliding a floured spatula or pastry scraper underneath them, taking care not to deflate them, and put them in the oil. Fry 2 or 3 per batch for 2 minutes on each side. They will puff up and float, so I used a spatula to push them down after about 1 minute on each side to make sure they coloured evenly. You want to have a lighter strip right in the middle of the doughnut, and each side will be golden brown. Remove from the fryer and place on paper towel to cool slightly. While they are still warm, toss them in a bowl of superfine sugar. Repeat until all are fried, making sure the oil temperate is correct each time you fry. Let them cool completely before filling.

Step 6

* The original recipe called for 2 litres of sunflower oil. I couldn’t find sunflower oil, and my deep fryer called for 1 gallon to meet the minimum threshold for frying. The canola oil worked great, and you can re-use it. Once it has cooled completely after frying, pour the oil back into the container and set aside for future frying.

Step 7

Chocolate Custard Filling:

Step 8

Make the custard during the 4 hours when your doughnuts are rising. Split the vanilla bean open lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Put both the pod and seeds into a saucepan with the milk and bring slowly just to a boil, to infuse the vanilla.

Step 9

While the milk is heating, whisk in the chocolate until melted.

Step 10

Meanwhile, place the egg yolks and the 125g of sugar in a bowl and mix together with a hand mixer for a few seconds, then sift in the flour and mix again.

Step 11

Pour the just-boiling milk-chocolate mixture over the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling, then return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly for about 5 minutes, until very thick.

Step 12

Remove from heat and pass through a fine sieve, discarding the vanilla. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Leave to cool, then refrigerate.

Step 13

Whip together 100ml of heavy cream and 1 Tablespoon of superfine sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into the chilled custard.

Step 14

To fill the doughnuts, make a hole in the crease of each one (anywhere around the white line between the fried top and bottom). Fill a piping bag with the custard and pipe into the doughnut until filled and a small amount comes out the top. Store in an airtight container in the fridge if not eating right away.