We have the recipe for the most popular donuts in Zagreb (and beyond)!

This tried-and-tested and never-fail recipe by our famous food blogger and entrepreneur Janja Benić (aka Janjolinka) takes two days to prepare because of the long cold fermentation, but believe us – it will all be worth it! The donuts always turn out super tasty, and Janja also shared the recipes for 2 cream fillings to fill the donuts. 

Speaking of which, you can buy Janja's donuts at Broom44 and Proof33 in Zagreb, and she also holds workshops for making these extra delicious beauties.

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For 18 donuts of 50 g each (slightly smaller than classic donuts)

Ingredients:

510 g of flour for yeast dough

45 g of sugar

9 g of salt

Zest of one lemon

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of rum (do not add more because your mixture will be too runny for this amount of flour)

120 ml of water

150 g eggs (3 medium-sized eggs)

15 g of fresh yeast (or 9 g of dry yeast)

120 g of butter at room temperature

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Preparation method:

1. Sift the flour.

Add salt and lemon zest to the flour. (It is important not to put the salt together with the yeast because the yeast will not activate if it comes into contact with the salt.)

Mix lukewarm water, fresh yeast and sugar in a separate bowl, stir with your fingers to dissolve the yeast and let it activate for a few minutes.

Weigh the eggs and mix them with the mixture of water, yeast and sugar, then add vanilla extract and rum.

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2. Turn on the stand mixer with a dough hook at a lower speed. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl and add the flour. Let the mixer run for about 5 minutes or until the mixture forms a ball.

Prepare the butter and gradually add it to the mixture, adding it by quarters. The butter should completely incorporate into the dough. The dough should not stick to the walls of the bowl.

It is important not to add more flour even though the dough seems gooey and sticky. It just needs time for the gluten to form well. It might take half an hour to get there, but just be patient, don't rush.

When the dough is no longer sticky and when it becomes elastic and smooth, it is ready.

Lightly dust another bowl with flour and place the dough in it.

Cover the bowl with a suitable lid or cling foil.

3. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours (depending on the room temperature).

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4. When the dough has doubled in size, knead it, cover and put in the refrigerator overnight. This is a crucial step in the process because it is then when the flavours are formed and your dough will be super airy and soft. The dough should rest in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, but ideally it should stay there overnight. Whenever you are preparing these kinds of donuts, leave enough time for this step. We recommend you to leave it in the fridge overnight.

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5. The next day, take the dough out of the refrigerator, prepare a clean tablecloth that you will flour or a tray with baking paper that you will also dust with flour.

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6. Shaping:

Prepare a knife or a dough cutter and a digital scale. Shape the dough as soon as you take it out of the fridge. For smaller donuts, the kind that Janja makes and which are the ideal size, cut the dough into pieces of 50 g or 60 – 65 g for the classic donut size (but then you will not get 18 donuts as stated at the beginning of this recipe).

Roll the dough on the work surface and form small balls, which you will then place on a floured tablecloth. It is important that the upper surface of the balls is smooth.

When you shape the entire amount of dough, cover the balls with another baking sheet turned upside down or lightly flour them and cover with transparent foil. The first option is better (we tried both of them). Let the donuts rise like this for 2.5 to 3.5 hours, depending on your room temperature.

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Tips and tricks – the donut dough should be 7 – 8 cm in diameter when it is ready to be fried. When shaped, it will be about 5 cm in diameter. Never let it be more than 8 cm, because then it's already too late.

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7. Frying

If you fry the donuts in a pot, it is ideal to have a thermometer because the maximum temperature for donuts is 180°C. If you have a deep fryer, you don't have to worry about the temperature, just adjust the settings.

Drop the dough into hot oil but upside down (the side that was on the tablecloth while the dough was rising should be facing up).

Fry for 2 minutes on each side, and for the first 2 minutes, cover the pot/fryer to get a nice white line in the middle.

8. As for the sugar, roll them in granulated sugar, ideally fine granulated sugar.

9. Filling

Make a hole on the white line of your donuts using a knife or scissors and fill them with cream or jam using a pastry bag. Janja fills them when placed vertically.

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Here are the recipes for two types of filling creams 

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Vanilla cream

1 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

500 ml of milk

6 egg yolks

125 g of sugar

60 g of flour

125 ml of whipping cream

Mix the egg yolks and sugar until they turn pale and add the flour. Put the milk in a cooking pot and heat it to a gentle boil. Mix the hot milk with the egg and flour mixture by pouring it slowly through a strainer. Pour the entire mixture into a clean pot and return to a low heat. Stir continuously until the mixture becomes thick and smooth. When the mixture looks shiny, it is ready.

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Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. If you are using a vanilla bean, cook it with milk from the very beginning; take it out when the cream is ready, before putting the cream into the refrigerator.

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Put the cream in a bowl, cover it with transparent foil so that it sticks directly to the cream, not allowing any air to enter (you don't want a crust to form on top of the cream).

Place in the refrigerator to cool completely.

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After the cream has cooled, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Mix the pastry cream in a separate bowl to make it smooth.

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Using a spatula, gently mix the whipped cream into the cream. Fill the donuts using a plastic bag (or a regular bag with the top cut off with scissors).

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Chocolate cream

500 ml of whole milk

150 g of milk chocolate (or cooking chocolate)

6 egg yolks

125 g of sugar

80 g of plain flour

120 ml of whipping cream

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Mix the egg yolks and sugar until they turn pale and mix in the flour. Put the milk in a cooking pot, together with chopped chocolate. Let the chocolate melt and heat everything to a gentle boil. Mix the hot chocolate milk with the egg and flour mixture by pouring it slowly through a strainer while the mixer is still on. Pour the entire mixture into a clean pot and return to a low heat. Stir continuously until the mixture becomes thick and smooth. When the mixture looks shiny, it is ready.

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Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. If you are using a vanilla bean, cook it with milk from the very beginning; take it out when the cream is ready, before putting the cream into the refrigerator.

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Put the cream in a bowl, cover it with cling foil so that it sticks directly to the cream, not allowing any air to enter (you don't want a crust to form on top of the cream).

Place in the refrigerator to cool completely.

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After the cream has cooled, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Mix the chocolate cream in a separate bowl to make it smooth.

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Using a spatula, gently mix the whipped cream into the cream. Fill the donuts the same way as with the cream mentioned above.