Oh March…

I thought you were bringing me warm, sunny Spring days, but instead you sent snow and below-freezing temperatures. I thought for sure I could pack away all my scarves, gloves, hats, and parkas… but instead I’m wearing them all while I scrape my windshield every morning, cursing your treachery.

DIS-A-PPOINTED.

But that’s exactly why I’m channeling some warm Spring vibes with these pistachio drizzled, dark chocolate glazed, fresh strawberry cream filled, crispy doughnuts! Those windshields aren’t going to scrape themselves (Seriously science, can we do something about that??) but at least you’ve got some doughnuts and a fresh cup of coffee waiting for you.

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Chocolate, Strawberry, Pistachio Doughnuts

Author: The Simple, Sweet Life
Yield: 10 doughnuts 1x
Category: Breakfast

Ingredients

Scale

For the doughnuts:

1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar + 1 tbsp.
1/2 stick (57g) unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour
Frying oil

For the glaze:

1/4 cup milk
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1.5 oz (43g) dark chocolate
1 tbsp. baking cocoa

For the strawberry cream filling:

1/2 pint heavy cream
1/4–1/3 cup fresh strawberry puree

For garnishing:

Coarsely chopped pistachios
Dried strawberries

Instructions

In a small bowl, warm your milk until warm to the touch, and stir in one tablespoon of granulated sugar and your active dry yeast. Allow to proof for 5-10 minutes until frothy (if the mixture doesn’t become frothy then the yeast is no longer good and you need to start again with a fresh batch). In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine all of your doughnut ingredients and mix until the dough pulls away from the sides and is no longer sticky to the touch (don’t be afraid to add a little more flour if the dough is still sticky).
Turn the dough out into a lightly greased bowl, cover with a hand towel, and allow to rise for about an hour or until about double in size. Roll the dough out until it’s about 1/2″-2/3″ thick and cut out using a large round cutter (and a small round cutter for the center). Cover with a hand towel and allow to rise for 45 minutes to an hour or until about double in size again.
Fill a large pot with about 2″ of frying oil until it reaches about 375F/190C. If you don’t have a fry thermometer, you can test the temperature of the oil by frying small pieces of dough or bread. The oil is at the correct frying temperature when small bubbles instantly form around the frying food. Fry the doughnuts for about 30 seconds on each side, or until golden brown. When the doughnuts are done, remove them from the oil and roll/flip them around on some paper towels to remove as much excess oil as possible.
Once the doughnuts have cooled, it’s time to glaze! In a small saucepan, combine your powdered sugar, milk, and dark chocolate. Stir occasionally until the glaze is warm and begins to crust on the top. Remove the glaze from the heat and stir in your baking cocoa. Dip each doughnut in the glaze and allow any excess glaze to drip off before turning them right side up again. Immediately garnish with your coarsely chopped pistachios and dried strawberries (the glaze sets up fast so you’ll want to be quick).
To make the filling, beat your heavy cream on high until stiff peaks form, and then fold in the fresh strawberry puree. Attach a filling tip (or any long piping tip with a large enough hole for whipped cream and strawberry puree to pass through) to your piping bag and fill the bag with your strawberry whipped cream. Insert the tip into your doughnuts and fill.
These doughnuts are best eaten the day they’re made.