Fool a vampire with these “blood” filled brioche donuts this Halloween! With a luxurious buttery brioche and sweet, sticky jam filling, you just might want to fry up a batch of these year round.
Recipe Notes:
Proof It!
I’m not a huge baker, and I don’t use yeast all that often, so when I do, I always proof my yeast first. That is why the recipe calls for steeping the yeast in the warm milk with a bit of sugar– you want to make sure the yeast is still active before whipping it into a batch of dough!
Speaking of the warm milk, I think it’s best to use a thermometer to be sure it’s between 110-155F. If it’s too warm, it can kill the yeast. If it’s too cold, the yeast may not activate.
The Need For Knead
Fair warning, your mixer is going to get a workout with brioche. It will need to run for quite a while, and the dough is quite thick, so to keep your mixer from sliding on the countertop you may want to put something grippy beneath it like a thick, damp towel.
All of this kneading is important to the overall texture and performance of the brioche, so set a timer and try to stick to it.
On The Rise
The initial rise of the dough is important to get the dough to its full double-ness, and the overnight rest in the fridge is beneficial for flavor development. The overnight rest is also beneficial for you so you don’t have to be frying donuts into the wee hours!
During the second rise, know how to observe your dough, because the timing depends entirely on how warm your kitchen is. My kitchen is hella cold, and my donuts were taking forever to rise, so I foolishly put them in the oven and they over proofed a bit. Luckily not too much, but still, I should’ve been more patient. SO, look for the dough to be soft and puffy, and when poked, they should rise back up slowly. If they spring back quickly they haven’t risen enough. If the poke makes a permanent indent, unfortunately they have over proofed. Eek!
Filling
Filling your donuts will be difficult if they are under or over proofed because they will be denser than they should be. The doughnuts photographed here slightly over proofed, so they were a little tough to fill but still totally worked!
To easily fill your piping bag with your jam or jelly, use this lil’ trick: Fit your piping bag with the long, narrow tip, then twist the bag a few times just above the tip. flip the tip to the side of the bag and place the bag inside a tall cup (the tip will be lying at the bottom and the twist should keep any jelly from coming out of the tip.) Open up the bag and fold the top of the bag over the edge of the cup so the the inside of the bag is opened up, hands free. Then, simply scoop your jam or jelly inside!
It’s tough to tell how much jam/jelly is being squeezed into the doughnut, so do a little test on a plate. Squeeze the piping bag and count as you squeeze, until about 1.5 teaspoons has been squeezed out. Count to the same number at the same pace as you fill your doughnuts. Remember, you’re adding the filling via 2 holes for the vampire bite look, so you want each hole to distribute about 1.5 teaspoons each to total about 1 tablespoon inside each donut.
I Just Wanna Fry
Using a thermometer when frying is absolutely necessary to avoid greasy or burnt food. The temperature of the oil will fluctuate quite a bit as you fry, so adjust the heat accordingly, and always allow the oil to return to the correct temperature between batches. The temperature of the oil will also decrease when the donuts are first added to the pot, which is totally normal and fine!
In addition to a reliable thermometer, be sure to have a good scooping/flipping tool. I like to use a spider!
Keep Scrolling For The Recipe!
Vampire Bite Brioche Jelly Donuts Recipe
Vampire Bite Brioche Jelly Donuts
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 packet fast action dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
- ½ tsp sugar or superfine sugar for proofing yeast
- 3.5 cups bread flour
- 1/3 cup super fine sugar for dough + about 1 cup more for dusting
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 eggs
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter divided into tablespoons and softened to room temperature, 1.5 sticks
- canola oil for frying or other neutral high smoke point oil
- thermometer (frying thermometer, candy thermometer, instant read, or infrared will all work)
- piping bag
- a long, thin piping tip for filling donuts (such as a 230 Ateco or Bismarck tip)
- 12-15 oz jam or jelly I used strawberry
Instructions
Make The Dough:
- Heat the whole milk in a small saucepan over low heat until it reaches 110-115F (it should feel just warm to the touch.) Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast and ½ tsp of sugar on top. Stir lightly just to combine, then leave to proof in a warm, non-drafty place for five minutes. The yeast should open up and start to bubble and smell yeasty. (If it doesn’t, your yeast may not be active or the milk may have been too warm or not warm enough.)
- When the yeast has proofed, add the bread flour, sugar, salt, and eggs to the bowl. Mix on low speed with the dough hook attachment until combined, then pause and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Increase the mixer speed to medium, and allow the mixer to run for 10 minutes. The dough should be elastic and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- Continue to run the mixer on medium speed, and begin to add the butter a few tablespoons at a time. When all of the butter has been added, pause to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then continue running the mixer for 10 minutes more. At the end of the final 10 minutes the dough should be elastic, smooth, glossy, and pulling away from the sides of the bowl once again.
- Cover the bowl with plastic cling wrap and allow to rest in a warm, non-drafty place for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Move the covered bowl to the refrigerator and rest 8-10 hours more overnight.
Form The Donuts:
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and use a bench scraper or knife to divide the dough in half. Divide each half of the dough in half again, and repeat this division process until you have 16 pieces. Gently knead each dough piece into a ball. Place the dough balls on parchment lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Cover the sheets loosely with plastic cling wrap and allow to rise (one last time!) in a warm, non-drafty place, about 1-4 hours depending on the warmth of the room. Look for the dough to be soft and puffed up-- when poked gently, the dough should rise back up slowly. If the dough springs back quickly it isn’t ready yet. Don’t wait too long-- if the dough doesn’t rise back up and an indent is left, it is over proofed!
Fry The Donuts:
- Before you begin frying, place a wire cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet and prepare a medium bowl or dish with 1 cup of superfine sugar.
- In a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, heat 1.5-2” of oil to 350F. Be sure to use your thermometer to monitor the temperature as you fry to avoid greasy or burnt donuts. (See recipe notes for more helpful frying tips!)
- When the oil is hot, fry two donuts at a time, about 1 minute per side for golden perfection. Use a spider or heat-proof slotted spoon to transfer the donuts to the prepared cooling rack. Allow the donuts to cool before tossing in the super fine sugar.
Fill The Donuts with BlooOoooOod! (I Mean, Jam or Jelly)
- Fit the piping bag with the piping tip, and fill the bag with the jam or jelly of your choice. Poke the tip into the top of the donut at a shallow angle and squeeze about a teaspoon and a half of jam inside, dribbling a bit of jam as you pull the piping tip out of the hole. Then, repeat this process to form two fang marks.
- Enjoy! These donuts are best eaten the day they are made, so be sure to tell your fellow vampires to fly on over!
Find more spooky-ooky treats here!
