These soft and light Italian donuts are fried, then coated with sugar and filled with a delicious Italian pastry cream (crema pasticcera). They're fluffy and bursting with flavour!
'Bomboloni' comes from the Italian word 'bomba' which means bomb. It means big bomb, which is actually quite fitting. The round shape resembles a bomb and is exploding with the cream inside. In fact, some places in Italy call them 'bombe' (plural for bomb) instead of bomboloni.
This recipe is for my Monza, Italy edition of my Dine to Survive series where I make popular foods from all the Formula 1 Grand Prix host countries. And it's also for celebrating Leclerc and Ferrari's victory in their home race!
Some of my previous Dine to Survive recipes have been Dutch Cinnamon Rolls, Belgian Liege Waffles, Hungarian Langos, British Victoria Cake and more! Check them out, I promise they're amazing!
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What is Bomboloni?
These are traditional Italian donuts, believed to originate in Tuscany. They're super fluffy and soft, made with a dough enriched with eggs, butter and sugar.
A bit of lemon or orange zest is traditionally added to the dough to add some citrusy flavour. It's takes the flavour to a whole new level and is absolutely worth a try.
They're filled with Italian pastry cream, or crema pasticcera, which is light and smooth. It's flavoured with vanilla beans but vanilla extract can be used as well. Some even add a bit of orange or lemon zest for some brightness.
It sounds fancy, but it's quite simple to make. Just make sure to read the instructions properly!
Ingredients
The Dough
- Whole milk
- Yeast
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Orange or lemon zest
- Flour
- Salt
- Butter
Pastry Cream
- Egg yolks
- Sugar
- Vanilla bean (or vanilla extract/paste)
- Milk
- Cornstarch
- Salt
See recipe card below for quantities.
Making The Dough
The dough is simple to make and is really forgiving! It's a bit of a sticky dough so make sure not to add more flour if it looks sticky.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix warm milk, yeast, and a pinch of sugar; let it sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.
- Whisk in the egg, sugar, vanilla, and orange zest. Gradually add flour and salt, and cubes or bits of the softened butter and knead for 4-7 minutes until smooth and slightly sticky.
- Let the dough rise in a lightly oiled bowl for about 2 hours, until tripled in size.
The Pastry Cream
Crema pasticcera is the Italian name for pastry cream. This version is lightly flavoured with vanilla and some orange zest, which adds a beautiful delicate flavour. You can substitute the orange zest with lemon or just leave it out entirely.
- Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale, then whisk in the cornstarch until smooth.
- Heat the milk and vanilla until small bubbles form, but don't boil. Slowly pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. This is to prevent the yolks from scrambling
- Cook the mixture over low heat until thickened, then pass it through a sieve. Cover with the plastic wrap touching the surface and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Shape, Fry, Assemble
- Punch down the risen dough, knead a few times and roll it out to ½ inch thick. Cut into 3.5 cm-wide circles.
- Let the dough circles rest for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
- Heat oil to 350°F and gently fry the donuts until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
- Once cooled, make a small slit in each donut and fill with chilled pastry cream.
Variations
The world is your pickle when it comes to filling these Bomboloni. You can choose between a variety of fillings and even make flavoured pastry cream!
- Nutella
- Jam
- Biscoff
- Pistachio cream
- Chocolate pastry cream
- I like to add a bit of lemon or orange zest into my pastry cream
Equipment
Here is a few things that will need/will help you make this recipe!
- Candy thermometer - this will help you reach the proper oil temperature and maintain it as you fry the donuts
- Piping bag - A piping bag will make piping the pastry cream into the donuts much easier. If you don't have access to one, you can use a ziploc bag and make a small cut on the corner. I like both disposable and reusable ones!
- Bismark tip - This is a tip specifically made for filling pastries. It's narrow and allows for clean and precise insertion into the donut. If you don't have one, you can simply cut a small hole in the piping bag after filling it with the pastry cream.
Storage
For filled donuts, place in an airtight container and refrigerate for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave
Unfilled donuts: Store at room temperature for about 5-7 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze them individually wrapped and thaw and reheat. Fill with the pastry cream before serving.
Pastry Cream: Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. Whisk to smooth before using.
Top Tip
- Milk Temperature Matters: Ensure the milk is warmed to 100°F—too hot can kill the yeast, and too cold won’t activate it.
- Yeast Test: This helps make sure your yeast is alive and active. Doing the test before starting prevents you wasting time and ingredients if the yeast is dead. Test out your yeast in a ⅓ cup of warm water - 100F. Sprinkle a bit of sugar and some yeast. Give it a mix and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it gets foamy and smells yeasty. If it does, your yeast it alive and ready to use! If not, it's probablt dead or the water was too hot. This helps
- Windowpane Test: Stretch a small piece of dough. If it stretches until you can see light pass through without tearing, it's ready. This ensures perfect elasticity. If it tears, knead it some more.
- Tempering the Eggs: When making pastry cream, add hot milk slowly while whisking to avoid scrambling the egg yolks.
- Keep Oil at 350°F: For perfect frying, maintain the oil temperature at 350°F to ensure the Bomboloni are golden brown without becoming greasy.
- Sugar While Hot: Roll your Bomboloni in sugar right after frying to ensure the coating sticks properly.
FAQ
Yes, you can substitute all-purpose flour for both 00 and bread flour. The texture will be slightly different - not as light and fluffy.
If your dough didn’t rise, the yeast may have been inactive. Make sure the yeast is fresh and the milk is at the correct temperature. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free area.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Bomboloni - Italian Donuts
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup whole milk, warmed to 100℉ (150ml)
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest from 1 orange
- ⅓ cup granulated white sugar (66g)
- 207 g 00 flour (you can replace this with all purpose flour)
- 207 g bread flour (you can replace with all purpose flour)
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened and cubed* (74g)
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
Italian Pastry Cream
- 1 ⅔ cup whole milk 365g - 354ml
- 3 large egg yolks
- 20 g cornstarch
- 6 tablespoon granulated white sugar 75g
- pinch of salt
- ½ to 1 vanilla bean ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of half an orange (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the warm milk, a pinch of sugar and yeast. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes or until foamy (if there's no reaction at all, the yeast is most likely dead or the milk is too hot)
- Whisk in the egg, sugar, vanilla extract and the orange zest.
- Add in the flour and salt, and scatter the cubed butter over the mixture and knead until the dough is smooth, elastic and tacky. It's a bit of a sticky dough so don't be tempted to add more flour. To see if the dough is kneaded enough, take a bit of the dough and stretch it out until you can see light pass through, without tearing. If it tears, knead it some more.
- Place in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover. Rest and let it rise until tripled in size, about 2-3 hours. I turn on my oven for a few minutes and then turn it off and make sure it's just kind of warm - then place the dough in there to rise. Make sure it's OFF.
Pastry Cream
- Whisk together the yolks and sugar until light and pale. Add in the cornstarch and mix until completely smooth.
- Combine the milk and vanilla in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until small bubbles start to form. Don't boil. Take off the heat.
- Slowly pour in the hot milk into the egg mixture to temper, while constantly whisking to prevent the yolks from scrambling. Add in the salt and orange zest if using.
- Pour the mixture back into the pan and and place over low heat. Cook for 4-6 minutes while whisking constantly. Make sure to not boil it. It'll begin to thicken up and once it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon without dripping much, it's done.
- Take off the heat and pass through a strainer, into a container. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until completely chilled.
Shape, fry & assemble the donuts
- Punch down the dough and turn over onto a clean work surface. Knead it a few times into a smooth dough. You don't want any air bubbles in it.
- Roll the dough out until it's ½" thick. Using a cookie cutter or a cup, cut them to about 3.5 inches wide circles. Knead together the dough scraps and repeat until all the dough is used up.
- Place on a large tray lined with parchment paper and let it rest for 1-2 hours, or until the donuts are tripled in size.
- Once doubled, cut the parchment paper so each donut is on it's own little square.
- Add enough oil to a large heavy bottomed pot or a wok, so it's about 3 inches in depth.
- Heat the oil to 350F, or 176.6℃
- Pick up the donuts with the parchment, making sure not to touch them so they don't deflate. Place 2-3 in the oil and fry for a few minutes until they're golden brown and flip. Take out the parchment paper.
- Once golden brown on both sides, take them out and place on a paper towel lined tray to absorb the excess oil.
- While they're still hot, roll them in the sugar and evenly coat them. Place on a wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the donuts.
- Once the donuts have cooled down, cut a small slit or hole on the side with a small knife.
- Whisk the pastry cream a bit until smooth and put in a piping back with a narrow tip (like the bismark tip) or just cut a small hole after filling the pastry bag.
- Insert the tip in the donut and fill with pastry cream or desired filling.
- Serve immediately or place in an airtight container and refrigerate for 1-3 days.
Char says
you have flour listed twice...was that just a typo?
Nabeah Wahab says
Hi, no it's not a typo. One is bread flour and one is 00 flour, which is finely ground Italian flour. I use equal amounts of both in this recipe!
Char says
thank you!