Emily Laurae

Pastry Cream 
36 In a heavy saucepan, add your scraped vanilla bean and milk together and bring to a simmer.
37 Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and pinch of salt together in a bowl. Whisk until the mixture lightens in color and becomes a pale yellow. Temper the egg mixture by slowly whisking in the hot milk to the egg mixture together until homogenous.
39 Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly over medium heat. When the pastry cream comes to a boil, continue to whisk constantly and boil for up to 2 minutes.
40 Remove from the heat and strain into a clean bowl. Stir in the butter and mix until the butter is melted and mixed into the cream. Cover with plastic film placed directly in contact with the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming and place in the fridge to cool.
Brioche Donuts
2 Mix together the warm water, sugar and yeast together in your stand mixer’s mixing bowl. Let this mixture rest undisturbed for 5-10 minutes until you start to see bubbles start to form on the surface.
4 Add your flour and eggs to the active yeast mixture using the paddle attachment. After one minute of mixing on medium speed, the ingredients should be well combined. At this point, switch to using the dough hook attachment and knead for 6-8 minutes before adding salt and butter one tablespoon at a time. Continue kneading with the dough hook for another 5-8 minutes until the dough looks smooth and glossy and you notice that the dough is not sticking to the sides of the bowl. This means that your dough has been well developed and we can stop mixing. 
31 Place the dough in an oiled bowl and allow to proof for 1.5 to 2 hours covered in plastic wrap. You’re looking for the dough to have about doubled in size before moving on to the next step. If your kitchen tends to run quite cold, try to find a warm spot to leave the dough for this resting period. Then, remove the plastic wrap, and degas the dough by punching it down before recovering and placing it in the fridge overnight. This overnight rest of about 12-14 hours is essential in order to develop flavor as the dough continues to ferment slowly within low temperatures.
32 After the dough has rested overnight – it’s time to start shaping! Divide your dough using a sharp knife or a bench scraper into 65 gram even pieces. Gently degas each piece by pressing on top of the ball with the heel of your hand before forming into a tight boule. Place each piece of dough onto a parchment lined baking tray where the parchment has been lightly sprayed with baking spray and cover with plastic wrap that has also been sprayed ( so the plastic wrap doesn't stick to the dough). Let the dough sit undisturbed in a warm spot to proof until they have doubled in size for about 1.5-2 hours.
33 Approximately twenty minutes before the doughnuts have finished their final proof, it’s time to start heating your frying oil!  Grab a large Dutch oven or your preferred container for frying. Add the oil, ensuring that you have at least 3 inches of height from the bottom of the Dutch oven to the top of the oil. Turning the stove on medium-high, heat the oil to 340° F. 
34 I always do a “test” doughnut before moving on to the remaining doughnuts. Fry the test doughnut for 2-3 minutes on each side before removing it from the oil with a slotted spoon and placing it on a cooling rack lined with paper towels. Continue this process by gently dropping four pieces of proofed dough into the oil at a time, making sure not to crowd the doughnuts too much! Make sure to check the temperature of the oil after each batch, in case you need to reheat the oil back to 345° F.
41 To make the creme brulee topping, add the 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan and heat on medium-high heat until you see the mixture start to bubble. Grab a pair of tongs and set them to the side. Bring the heat down to medium and gently swirl the sugar in the pan every 30 seconds or so until the sugar turns a golden brown color. 
42 Grip one side of your donuts with tongs (or with your fingers if you feel comfortable, just be extra careful of the hot sugar!) and dip the other flat side of your doughnut into the caramel. Tilt the donuts slightly to drain off caramel excess and set the donut caramel-side-up on your cooling rack.  Repeat this process for the rest of your donuts!
ASSEMBLING DOUGHNUTS
28 Fill a piping bag with your preferred filling. Pierce the doughnut with the tip of the piping bag and fill the center of the doughnut with the filling. Enjoy!