King Cake Crullers

I love donuts (we've talked about this before). When I was making eclairs (peep the last reel I did), I realized I had never made crullers (both start with choux, and I've made churros, which, close, but, no donut shape), and that felt wrong (mostly bc of my love of doughnut-centric desserts) so, to make some that took on the feel of Mardi Gras, with the essence of King Cake (minus the plastic baby doll) seemed pretty appropriate! The crullers are made with a recipe adapted from Bigger Bolder Baking. They're topped with pecans, and added to a citrus cinnamon glaze, with the iconic green, purple, and yellow sanding sugar. You can see the process video here.

For the choux dough:

½ cup (115ml) whole milk
½ cup (115ml) water
½ cup (115g) butter
1 TBS granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup (142g) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, room temperature

In a large pot, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil
Turn off the heat, dump the flour in all at once, and stir vigorously
Turn the heat back on to medium, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes. It will become a thick dough, like play-doh, and you will be turning and pressing it onto the pan for a few minutes
Once the dough is smooth and you see a thin film left behind on the pot, remove from the heat and pour the dough out in the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl to cool quickly (using a paddle attachment, I like to just turn the mixer on for a couple seconds every few minutes to release steam from the dough)
After about 15 minutes, once the dough is just a touch warm, add one egg at a time until fully incorporated (it should now have a nice shine to it)
Place the dough in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least an hour, to fully chill
Cut parchment paper into 18 3-inch squares (after piping I only got 15 crullers, but better to have extra squares ready in case you need them)
Once the dough is chilled, place it in a piping bag with a large open star tip (I used a Wilton 8B)
Pipe a 3 inch circle of dough on each square of parchment paper, making sure the ends of the dough connect (I also used some non-stick spray to adhere the squares to a baking sheet so they don't move around when you pipe the dough)
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, pour 2 inches of oil in, clip a thermometer to the side of the pot and heat to 350°F (180°C)
Place a wire rack on a baking sheet next to the pot
Once the oil is at temperature, place a square of parchment with the cruller on it on a slotted spoon and slowly lower it into the oil. Add one or two more crullers to the pot (you can leave the paper on, it will detach moments later and you can use tongs to take it out)
Fry 2-3 minutes on one side, until golden brown, flip and fry the other side for another 2-3 minutes
Using the same slotted spoon, remove the crullers from the oil and let drain and cool on the wire rack

For the glaze and toppings:

2 cups confectioners sugar
2-3 TBS milk (or water is ok)
1 TBS lemon juice (or just sub with water/milk- I like the lemon hint to cut the sweetness)
1 tsp cinnamon
Pecan pieces (choose your own amount)
Green, Purple, Yellow sanding sugar (choose your own amount)

Mix the confectioners sugar and cinnamon with the liquid until smooth (if too thick add a bit more liquid, if too runny add more confectioners sugar- it's so easy to fix either way!)
Using a piping bag, or spooning on, or even from a cup/measuring cup, drizzle the glaze over the cruller (one at a time or else the glaze will set before you can add the toppings)
Sprinkle on pecan pieces on and then a little glaze on top of those to set them in
Sprinkle on the green, purple, and yellow sanding sugar in 3 sections
Let dry for a few minutes and then enjoy!

These are best eaten they day that they’re made!