Homemade Cronuts

Make the Vanilla Pastry Cream

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk and 1/4 cup of the sugar.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, flour, and salt.

4. Remove the milk from the heat and very slowly whisk it into the egg and flour mixture. When all of the milk has been blended in the bowl, add the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is boiling and appears thick.

5. Stir in the vanilla extract, mix well, and pour the mixture through a cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer into a non-reactive bowl. This will make your pastry cream smooth and lump-free.

6. Place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream so a skin doesn't form. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Mix the Dough

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the water and milk and heat just until lukewarm. Whisk in the yeast and let stand for 5 minutes until it starts to bubble.

3. Set a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and add the flour, sugar, salt, and 1 1/2 tablespoons softened butter to its bowl. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, or about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for another minute.

4. Form a ball with the dough and place it in a greased bowl. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and place it in a warm spot. Let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

5. Once doubled, punch down the dough. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

6. While the dough chills, place the remaining butter between 2 pieces of parchment or wax paper. Use a rolling pin to flatten and shape into an 8 x 8-inch square. Place in the refrigerator.

Shape the Cronuts

1. Once your butter block is ready (chilled, but not too cold or stiff) and the dough is chilled, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12 x 12-inch square.

2. Place the butter square on top of the dough square so that the corners of the butter block are pointing to the sides of the dough square.

3. Fold the corners of the dough over the butter block to meet in the center like an envelope. Use your fingers to pinch together the dough at the seams so the butter block is completely sealed.

4. Roll the dough out into a 20 x 8-inch rectangle. If the dough is too stiff, smack it a few times with the rolling pin to soften.

5. Brush off any excess flour and fold the dough into thirds from the top and bottom, like a letter. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Repeat the folding and chilling process 2 more times—this will give your dough the characteristic layers seen in puff pastry.

6. Once the dough is chilled after its final fold, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 6 x 18-inch rectangle.

7. Use a very sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into three 6 x 6-inch squares, and stack the squares on top of each other.

8. Roll out the stack into a 6 x 18-inch rectangle.

9. Using donut ring cutters, cut 12 donut shapes out of the dough and place them on a parchment-lined surface. Cover the donuts loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Fry the Cronuts

1. Add the oil to a large pot and heat to 350 F. Fry the cronuts for about 1 1/2 minutes, flipping them in the oil halfway through until they are golden brown all over. Don't crowd the pan. Fry in batches, if needed, allowing the oil to come back up to temperature in between batches.

2. Place the cronuts on a paper towel-lined plate to cool.

Assemble and Dust the Cronuts

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. In a bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon.

3. Fill a piping bag fitted with a long narrow tip with the chilled vanilla pastry cream.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and water. Add more water if necessary, but make sure the glaze is not too watery.

5. Inject the cronut at 4 different points with the vanilla cream, roll in cinnamon sugar, and drizzle the glaze over the top. Enjoy!