Air Fryer Vegan Boston Cream Donut (Eggless, Easy)

Vegan Boston Cream donut without added fat sounds good to me. Anyone else? This easy air fryer vegan Boston cream donut is filled with vegan pastry cream and dipped in a chocolate glaze.

Boston cream donut with a creamy filling dipped in the chocolate glaze is drool-worthy. They look difficult to make, but once you try them at home, you will make them on repeat mode.

And when they are not dip fried, you can indulge them without guilt. Even though these vegan Boston Cream donuts are air fried, they are pillowy and tender. The pastry cream is smooth, creamy vanilla perfection, and the soft yet firm chocolate glaze takes this recipe to the next level.  

Let’s start!

Why would you love this recipe?

Whether you are vegan or vegetarian, it is hard to find a donut shop selling vegan Boston cream donuts. My craving for eating Boston cream donuts is my inspiration for making this donut at home from scratch.

Here are reasons why you would love this recipe

• Traditional donuts are deep-fried. But these Boston cream donuts are air fried. So, if you want to enjoy Boston cream donuts without the added fat, you will love this recipe
• Even when air fried, these donuts are soft and tender.
• The pastry cream filling is silky, smooth vanilla perfection.
• The chocolate glaze is soft yet firm enough not to make a mess while eating.

Ingredients needed to make Vegan Boston Cream donut

This recipe is 3 step process. So here is an ingredient for each step.

Donut dough

• 1 1/4 cup Bread flour
• ½ tablespoon ground flax/chia seed
• 4 tablespoon neutral oil
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• Pinch of salt

Pastry cream

• 1 cup unsweetened plant milk
• 1 can coconut cream
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 4 tablespoon vegan butter
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 

Chocolate Glaze

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Other things needed

• Air Fryer
• Bowl
• Piping bag with tips
• Saucepan
• Parchment paper
• Chopstick or spoon

How to make an Air fryer Vegan Boston Cream donut?

Making vegan Boston Cream donuts may feel like you have to do so many steps, but trust me, the process is so easy. This recipe is 3 step process.

• Vegan Pastry cream
• Yeast donut dough
• Chocolate glaze

 I have air-fried Boston Cream donuts, but you can deep fry them if you like. Air-fried or oven-basked version is just as delicious as the deep-fried version. Let’s start making vegan pastry cream because it needs to be chilled before you can fill them into donuts.

Vegan Pastry cream

Boston Cream is traditionally made with milk, sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolk. But for vegan pastry cream, we will be using plant-based milk and coconut cream to make delicious vegan pastry cream.

The pastry cream needs to be chilled before you pipe it into your donut. So, you need to first make the pastry cream well in advance to give it enough time to chill. You can prepare pastry cream the day before and leave it in a refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

 For making vegan pastry cream,

In a medium size saucepan, pour unsweetened plant milk. I have used almond milk, but you can use soy milk if you prefer.

Then add cornstarch and mix well until it is lump free and well combined.

Add coconut milk and sugar to the mixture.

Then simmer the mixture on medium heat while whisking it continually. The mixture will slowly start to thicken. Do not stop whisking; otherwise, the mixture will stick to the bottom and ruin the flavor.

Once the mixture is thickened and stick to the whisk, turn the heat off.

Remove from the heat, add vanilla and vegan butter and mix until butter is melted and mixture is smooth.

Cover the mixture with plastic wrap touching the mixture to avoid forming a film on the top. Let the mixture cool down before you place it in a refrigerator.

Leave the mixture in a refrigerator for a couple of hours to chill.

Once the pastry cream is chilled and you find it lumpy, you can smooth it out using a strainer or hand blender.

Yeast Donut Dough

When baking, measurement is critical. For this recipe, I have used bread flour which has higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which helps the dough rise because of lots of gluten production. Also, bread flour makes the donut fluffy compared to all-purpose flour.

I have also added ground flax seed, which increases the texture of the baked donut. If you don’t have ground flaxseed on hand, you can skip the ingredient and replace it with an equal amount of bread flour.  

If you use traditional yeast, you must proof the yeast before adding flour. In a bowl, take lukewarm water and sugar and mix well. Then add yeast and let it proof for a few minutes. Once you see foam forming in your yeast mixture, add flour and other ingredients.

If you are using dry instant yeast, you do not need to proof your yeast. Instead, you can add instant yeast and prepare the dough after adding all the ingredients and then prepare the dough.

Once the dough is prepared, cover the dough with a damp towel and place it in a warm place to rise. It will take approximately 1-2 hours to double in size.

Once your dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and place it on a floured surface.

Punch the dough down to release the air. The dough will feel elastic at this point.

Then roll the dough with a rolling pin. It should be easy to roll. Roll them into about half an inch. Do not roll too thin.

Once rolled, use a donut cutter if you have one. I used a 1L wide-mouth mason jar lid to cut out the donuts. Look around in your house, and you will find something to form your donut if you don’t have a donut cutter.

Place your cut-out donut on a floured baking sheet, keeping space between them for them to rise. Cover it with a damp towel and leave it for about 45 minutes for a donut to rise.

Alternatively, place parchment paper in your air fryer basket tray and put your donut on it. But you can place only 3-4 donuts in your air fryer basket at a time. Then, cover the basket with a damp towel and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes.

Once you are done cutting the donut, bring the leftover dough together and cut more donuts. Keep repeating the process until your dough is used up.

Air Fry Donut

If you have placed your donut directly into an air fryer basket tray or rack, then take out the tray or rack with parchment paper.

Put the basket (without tray) back in the air fryer and preheat the air fryer at 340°F for 5 minutes.

Once it is preheated, carefully put the tray with the donut into an air fryer basket, and air fry them for 8 minutes, flipping them halfway through.

They will turn nice brown on top and be cooked all the way through in 8 minutes.

Finish cooking the rest of the donuts in an air fryer.

And let them rest on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes to cool completely.

Once they are cooled, fill them with vegan pastry cream.

Fill donuts with Vegan pastry Cream

Once the donuts are cooled completely, prep them for filling the cream; poke a hole with the back of the spoon or chopstick, as seen in the picture below.

Now fill chilled pastry cream in a piping bag with the longest tip, so pastry cream goes all the way into your donut.

In a donut hole, place the filled piping bag tip and let it go as far as inside the donut as it can, and squeeze the pastry cream to fill them up.

Finish filling the rest of the donut. Once they are filled with pastry cream, the last step is to dip them in a chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

In a small bowl, add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Microwave it in a 15-second interval for about 1-2 minutes or until melted.

Once melted, add one teaspoon of melted coconut oil and mix well until the texture is smooth.

Dip the donut in a chocolate glaze. Let the excess chocolate drip off.

Then place the donut back onto a wire rack and finish up the rest of the donut.

Tips and Tricks

• Measure the ingredients perfect for the donut dough. Scoop the flour into a measuring cup and level it with a spatula or butter knife.
• If you are using instant yeast, you do not need to activate it before adding dry ingredients.
• Using bread flour is very important for this recipe. The extra protein in bread flour vs. all-purpose flour helps form more gluten which helps donuts rise.
• If you do not have bread flour, use all-purpose flour and add two teaspoons of wheat gluten. It is not the same as using bread flour for donuts, but added gluten will help them rise.
• You can also add ½ teaspoon of baking powder if you are air frying donuts.
• Use good quality vanilla, as vanilla is the main flavor of pastry cream.
• When chilling pastry cream, make sure to press plastic wrap on the surface of the pastry to prevent the film from forming.
• Once chilled, use an immersion blender or run pastry cream through a mess strainer to ensure a smooth, lump-free texture.

How to store leftover vegan Boston cream Donut?

The Boston Cream donuts taste best when eaten the same day. But if you have leftovers, place them in an airtight container and store them in a refrigerator for a day or 2.

Other Air Fryer Dessert : Easy Cheesy Sweet White Sauce Pasta Dessert

Air Fryer Vegan Boston Cream Donut (Eggless, Easy)

Recipe by PiaraCourse: DessertCuisine: American

Servings

7

Donuts (approx.-3.3'' diameter)

Prep time

2

hours 

30

minutes

Cooking time

13

minutes

Total time

2

hours 

43

minutes

Vegan Boston Cream donut without added fat sounds good to me. Anyone else? This easy air fryer vegan Boston cream donut is filled with vegan pastry cream and dipped in a chocolate glaze.

Ingredients

• Donut dough

• 1 1/4 cup Bread flour

• ½ tablespoon ground flax/chia seed

• 4 tablespoon neutral oil

• 3 tablespoon sugar

• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ½ cup lukewarm water

• 1 teaspoon instant yeast

• Pinch of salt

• Pastry cream

• 1 cup unsweetened plant milk

• 1 can coconut cream

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup cornstarch

• 4 tablespoon vegan butter

• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• Chocolate Glaze

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

• Other things needed

• Air Fryer

• Bowl

• Piping bag with tips

• Saucepan

• Parchment paper

• Chopstick or spoon

Directions

• Vegan Pastry cream
• In a medium size saucepan, pour unsweetened plant milk. I have used almond milk, but you can use soy milk if you prefer.
• Then add cornstarch and mix well until it is lump free and well combined.
• Add coconut milk and sugar to the mixture.
• Then simmer the mixture on medium heat while whisking it continually. The mixture will slowly start to thicken. Do not stop whisking; otherwise, the mixture will stick to the bottom and ruin the flavor.
• Once the mixture is thickened and stick to the whisk, turn the heat off.
• Remove from the heat, add vanilla and vegan butter and mix until butter is melted and mixture is smooth.
• Cover the mixture with plastic wrap touching the mixture to avoid forming a film on the top. Let the mixture cool down before you place it in a refrigerator.
• Leave the mixture in a refrigerator for a couple of hours to chill.
• Once the pastry cream is chilled and you find it lumpy, you can smooth it out using a strainer or hand blender.
• Yeast Donut Dough
• If you use traditional yeast, you must proof the yeast before adding flour. In a bowl, take lukewarm water and sugar and mix well. Then add yeast and let it proof for a few minutes. Once you see foam forming in your yeast mixture, add flour and other ingredients.
• If you are using dry instant yeast, you do not need to proof your yeast. Instead, you can add instant yeast and prepare the dough after adding all the ingredients and then prepare the dough.
• Once the dough is prepared, cover the dough with a dump towel and place it in a warm place to rise. It will take approximately 1-2 hours to double in size.
• Once your dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and place it on a floured surface.
• Punch the dough down to release the air. The dough will feel elastic at this point.
• Then roll the dough with a rolling pin. It should be easy to roll. Roll them into about half an inch. Do not roll too thin.
• Once rolled, use a donut cutter if you have one. I used a 1L wide-mouth mason jar lid to cut out the donuts. Look around in your house, and you will find something to form your donut if you don’t have a donut cutter.
• Place your cut-out donut on a floured baking sheet, keeping space between them for them to rise. Cover it with a damp towel and leave it for about 45 minutes for a donut to rise.
• Alternatively, place parchment paper in your air fryer basket tray and put your donut on it. But you can place only 3-4 donuts in your air fryer basket at a time. Then, cover the basket with a damp towel and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes.
• Once you are done cutting the donut, bring the leftover dough together and cut more donuts. Keep repeating the process until your dough is used up.
• Air Fry Donut
• If you have placed your donut directly into an air fryer basket tray or rack, then take out the tray or rack with parchment paper.
• Put the basket (without tray) back in the air fryer and preheat the air fryer at 340°F for 5 minutes.
• Once it is preheated, carefully put the tray with the donut into an air fryer basket, and air fry them for 8 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
• They will turn nice brown on top and be cooked all the way through in 8 minutes.
• Finish cooking the rest of the donuts in an air fryer.
• And let them rest on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes to cool completely.
• Once they are cooled, fill them with vegan pastry cream.
• Fill donuts with Vegan pastry Cream
• Once the donuts are cooled completely, prep them for filling the cream; poke a hole with the back of the spoon or chopstick, as seen in the picture below.
• Now fill chilled pastry cream in a piping bag with the longest tip, so pastry cream goes all the way into your donut.
• In a donut hole, place the filled piping bag tip and let it go as far as inside the donut as it can, and squeeze the pastry cream to fill them up.
• Finish filling the rest of the donut. Once they are filled with pastry cream, the last step is to dip them in a chocolate glaze.
• Chocolate Glaze
• In a small bowl, add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
• Microwave it in a 15-second interval for about 1-2 minutes or until melted.
• Once melted, add one teaspoon of melted coconut oil and mix well until the texture is smooth.
• Dip the donut in a chocolate glaze. Let the excess chocolate drip off.
• Then place the donut back onto a wire rack and finish up the rest of the donut.

Notes

• Measure the ingredients perfect for the donut dough. Scoop the flour into a measuring cup and level it with a spatula or butter knife.
• If you are using instant yeast, you do not need to activate it before adding dry ingredients.
• Using bread flour is very important for this recipe. The extra protein in bread flour vs. all-purpose flour helps form more gluten which helps donuts rise.
• If you do not have bread flour, use all-purpose flour and add two teaspoons of wheat gluten. It is not the same as using bread flour for donuts, but added gluten will help them rise.
• You can also add ½ teaspoon of baking powder if you are air frying donuts.
• Use good quality vanilla, as vanilla is the main flavor of pastry cream.
• When chilling pastry cream, make sure to press plastic wrap on the surface of the pastry to prevent the film from forming.
• Once chilled, use an immersion blender or run pastry cream through a mess strainer to ensure a smooth, lump-free texture.