These homemade Honey Cruller Donuts are the perfect French Cruller recipe, made with choux pastry, and a honey glaze. If you're a cruller lover, you will love this homemade version.
A Quick Look At This Recipe
- 📋 Recipe: Homemade Honey Crullers
- ⏲️ Ready In: 35 minutes
- 👪 Servings: Makes about 18 -great for company!
- 🔪 Difficulty: This recipe involves making choux pastry, piping, and frying. Not difficult, but several steps involved.
- 💭 Top Tips: Make sure your oil is at the right temperature to avoid soggy or burnt donuts. Don't overdo the glaze or they'll be too sweet. Best if eaten the same day they're made.
These were delicious and simple! -Nekane via Pinterest
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- There's nothing like a fresh, and homemade donut. These are so good!
- Crullers are light and airy, especially compared to a regular donut.
- The honey glaze adds the perfect sweetness to this dessert.
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One of the best things about having a blog is an excuse for me to do things like make Homemade Honey Cruller Donuts!
Homemade donuts are such a favourite like our Princess Tiana Homemade Beignets Recipe, or these Easy Bread Machine Jelly Donuts, or these Sour Cream Donuts.
Turns out they're not that difficult to make, and certainly worth the effort.
Sometimes called French cullers, they're made with a different type of dough then traditional donuts. Traditional crullers are made from choux pastry, like cream puffs or chocolate eclairs.
Unlike cream puffs or eclairs though, instead of being baked the French cruller donut recipe creates a fried pastry.
It's not difficult, but is a little time consuming. It's worth it though because they're so good!
Homemade Is Always Better
I have found that in general, anything homemade is better than store bought -it was true of, the homemade graham crackers, the homemade marshmallows, the homemade bbq sauce, the homemade baked beans…I could go on.
A solid belief based on rigorous at home testing.
But the first time I made these, after I made the glaze, I dunked one in there, on both sides and tried to wait for the glaze to set. I tried, really I did, but I had to give them a try, in case they needed adjustment. With the glaze not quite set, I had my first bite of them and they were not as amazing as I'd hoped. They were way too sweet when drenched in the glaze.
Letting The Glaze Set
Next attempt, just dunk the tops in the honey glaze, and again patiently wait for them to set. This time I had to run some errands so I wasn't tempted to eat one before the glaze set.
When we tried them they were AMAZING, home run, how many of these French cruller donuts is it reasonable to eat in one sitting, kind of yumminess.
And, indeed, further evidence that the homemade version is always better. And…you get to eat like a dozen of them or more (my batch made about 18 little-ish ones) because they're really better eaten the same day you make them -maybe invite some friends over, or if you have kids...
Ingredients
- Eggs -these donuts are made with a choux pastry. It's made from flour, water, and butter that is cooked. Next the eggs are added to the cooked batter in a stand mixer. The eggs lighten up the batter and are beaten into it, just like a traditional choux pastry.
- Vegetable Oil -these donuts are deep fried. It's the deep frying that makes them different from something like a eclair, or cream puff that is also made from a choux pastry.
- Honey -the honey in the glaze adds a great flavor and gives these donuts their name of honey crullers.
Equipment
- Deep Fryer: These donuts are fried. If you bake choux pastry you are making a cream puff. Donuts are fried. You can use a pot of oil on the stove and a thermometer to help you regulate the oil's temperature. It's much easier with a small deep fryer because the oil temperature is regulated for you. You can pick up a small one at a kitchen store very inexpensively, or even look for one at a second hand store.
- Piping Bag and Star Tip: These donuts are piped, so you will need a piping bag for them. You will fit it with a star tip. The star tip forms the lovely ridges on a honey cruller. You will want to twist slightly as you pipe to create a bit of a swirl. The ridges look great, but also fry up nice and crispy and help hold the glaze.
- Parchement Paper: You will pipe your donuts onto parchement paper. This makes it much easier than trying to pipe into the hot oil, and form a ring. Cut your parchement paper into squares 3 x 3 squres. You will drop the donuts into the oil, parchment paper side up, and with a few seconds the donut will detactch itself, and you can use some metal tongs to remove the paper.
How To Make Honey Cruller Donuts
Step 1. To begin with, bring the water, butter, and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Then, add in the flour and use a whisk to incorporate. Switch to a wooden spoon, and lower to medium heat. Stir the dough and cook until the bottom of the pan is covered in a thin film and the dough has dried out.
Step 2. Put the hot dough into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed to cool the dough slightly. Add in the whole eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated.
Step 3. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Cut out square 3 x 3 sheets of parchment paper (my batch made about 18 smallish donuts), and pipe donuts onto the parchment squares, being careful to pipe an even circle of dough without overlapping the beginning and end of the donut.
Step 4. Heat oil to 375 degrees in a deep fryer. When the oil is hot, place one or two donuts, paper side up, donut down, into the hot oil. The donut will separate from the paper in a few seconds, and you can remove the floating paper with tongs. Allow the donut to fry until it is a deep golden brown, then flip over and do the same on the other side. (Test your first donut to make sure it's not doughy in the middle and adjust your cooking time if needed). To remove the cruller donuts from the oil, use tongs or a slotted spoon and allow the donuts to cool on a paper towel or cooling rack, and finish frying them all.
Step 5. To make the honey glaze, combine the powdered sugar, honey and milk in a small bowl and stir the glaze ingredients together. Dip the best side of the donuts, one at a time, into the glaze. Set on a wire rack to set completely. Enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Only dunk the donut into the glaze one side, otherwise it's too sweet and over powers the donut. Also, let the glaze set completely before serving them.
- Make sure your oil is the right temperature for frying. Too cool and the donut will absorb oil and become soggy. Too hot and the donut will cook too quickly on the outside and be dough inside.
- Let the glaze set before eating. It gives the donut the best texture and mouth feel.
- Make sure to cook your choux pastry until a film develops on the bottom of the pan. This indicates that it's probably dried out, which helps the donuts to maintain their structure.
Storage
These donuts are best served the day that they are made, and best stored on an open plate to retain their crispness.
If you have leftovers you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, these are best fried. Baked choux pastry is a cream puff, not a donut.
No, you don't have to use a deep fryer to make your honey crullers. You can use a large pot on a burner with a thermometer in it. It's a little harder to regulate the temperature of the oil and keep it even, so keep an eye on the thermometer and adjust the heat accordingly. Also take care not to overfill the pot with oil.
There is no difference, they are the same. They are sometimes called honey crullers because of the honey in the glaze. They're also sometimes called French crullers because they are made with choux pastry which is a French baking method.
Make sure your oil is the right temperature for frying. If it's cooler than it should be the donut will absorb too much oil and become soggy. Also only glaze one side of the donut, and allow to the glaze to set. Don't cover your donuts once they're made. In an airtight container, they will lose their crispness and can become soft and soggy. These are best eaten they day they are made.
More Donut Recipes
If you try this Honey Cruller Donut Recipe or any other recipe on my blog please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Recipe
Homemade Honey Cruller Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 6 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- vegetable oil for frying
- For the Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 4 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- To begin with to make the choux dough, bring the water, butter, and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Then, add in the flour and use a whisk to incorporate. Switch to a wooden spoon, and lower to medium heat. Stir the dough and cook until the bottom of the pan is covered in a thin film and the dough has dried out.
- Put the hot dough into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed to cool the dough slightly. Add in the whole eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Cut out square 3 x 3 sheets of parchment paper (my batch made about 18 smallish donuts), and pipe donuts onto the parchment squares. Be careful to pipe an even circle of dough without overlapping the beginning and end of the donut as you make your ring of dough.
- Heat oil to 375 degrees in a deep fryer. When the oil is hot, place one or two donuts, paper side up, donut side down, into the hot oil. The donut will separate from the paper in a few seconds, and you can remove the floating paper with tongs. Allow the donut to fry until it is a deep golden brown, then flip over and do the same on the other side. (Test your first donut to make sure it's not doughy in the middle and adjust your cooking time if needed). To remove the donuts from the oil use tongs or a slotted spoon and allow the donuts to cool on a paper towel or cooling rack, and finish frying them all.
- To make the honey glaze, combine the powdered sugar, honey and milk in a small bowl and stir the glaze ingredients together. Dip the good side of the donuts, one at a time, into the glaze. Set on a wire rack to set completely. Enjoy!
Dannyelle says
Hi Lana,
I've never tried to make these in an air fryer. I think they'd be missing something if they weren't deep fried. If you try it, let us know how it worked.
Best of luck,
Dannyelle
Lana says
I hate the mess and danger of deep frying without a deep fryer. Could I use my air fryer?
dnr says
Hi Ashleigh, a pot with some oil will work, but it's a little tricky to regulate the temperature. You can do it though, just keep a real eye on the heat and adjust to try and keep it where you want it, also be careful with hot oil and don't overfill your pot.
Best of luck,
Dannyelle
Ashleigh says
I don't have a deep fryer, can I put some oil in a pot with a thermometer?
dnr says
Hi Beth,
I think it's maybe a Canadian term? It's also known as powdered sugar. Good luck with the recipe.
Dannyelle
Beth says
What is icing sugar?
dnr says
Hi Robyn, yes definitely better fried for this recipe I think. And yes honey crullers are a bit eggy tasty usually.
Love hearing about your experimenting in the kitchen, happy baking!
Dannyelle
Robyn says
Your donuts look yummy! My friend gave me a donut maker and I made these in it. They were OK but I think they would be better fried like yours. They tasted quite 'eggy'. Is this normal?
dnr says
You can definitely make this recipe without the stand mixer. It just takes a lot of elbow grease. Use a spoon and stir away. It doesn't have to be completely cool or anything to add the eggs, you just don't want them to scramble.
Best of luck with it,
Dannyelle
denverdeb2 says
I don't have a stand mixer with a paddle for use in cooling the dough before adding the eggs. Any suggestions?
dnr says
Olivia,
I'm with you on that one. 😉
Dannyelle
OLIVIA says
I LOVE FOOOOOOD