Dulce de Leche Cronuts

How to Make the Vanilla Cream

In a saucepan, heat milk and 50g of sugar over medium heat.
Then in a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, remaining 50g of sugar, flour, and salt.
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.
Stir in the vanilla extract, mix well, and pour the mixture through a cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl.
Then with your cream done, just wrap up the bowl in cling film and pop it in the fridge!

How to Make the Cronut Dough

In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the water and milk and heat for 30 secs (or until lukewarm). Whisk in the yeast and let it stand for 5 mins until bubbling.
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. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for another minute.
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 it rise until doubled in size (about 45 mins).
Once doubled, punch down the dough, then cover and chill for 1 hour.
While that’s going on, 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. Pop in the fridge.

How to make the Dulce de Leche Cronuts

Once your butter block and dough are chilled, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12 x 12-inch square.
Place the butter square on top of the dough square and line up the corners as perfectly as you can.
Fold the corners of the dough over the butter block to meet in the centre like an envelope. Use your fingers to pinch together the dough at the seams so the butter block is completely sealed.
Roll the dough out into a 20 x 8-inch rectangle. If the dough is too stiff, give it a good seeing to with your rolling pin.
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, giving your dough those distinct croissant layers!
Once the dough is chilled after its final fold, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 6 x 18-inch rectangle.
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.
Roll out the stack into a 6 x 18-inch rectangle.
Using doughnut ring cutters, cut 12 doughnut shapes out of the dough and place them on a parchment-lined surface. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

How to Fry the Cronuts

Frying time! Add the oil to a large pot and heat to 175ºC. Fry the cronuts for about 1 1/2 minutes, flipping them in the oil halfway through until they are golden brown all over. And for best results, do so in small batches!
Place the cronuts on a paper towel-lined plate to cool
In a bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a long narrow tip with the chilled vanilla pastry cream.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the icing and water. Add more water if necessary, but make sure the glaze is not too watery.
Inject the cronut at 4 different points with the vanilla cream, roll in cinnamon sugar, and drizzle the glaze over the top. Enjoy!