Brioche Dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warmed milk and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. Whisk to combine.
2. Next, whisk in the yeast and cover the bowl with a large plate or clean kitchen towel.
3. Allow yeast mixture to sit untouch for 8-10 minutes or until mixture takes on a foamy, bubbly appearance with a fermented aroma.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, add all of the bread flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, remaining sugar and salt. Whisk ingredients together to combine.
5. In a separate small dish/bowl, add and whisk the egg.
6. With the dough hook attached, add whisked egg into the bowl with the activated yeast mixture and mix at medium speed (4 on stand mixer), about 30-60 seconds to combine.
7. Reduce mixer speed to low (2 on stand mixer) and add all of the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture. Continue to mix on low until dough starts to come together and form into a shaggy looking ball, about 1 minute.
8. At this point, start to add and mix the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time into the dough allowing the previous piece of butter to be fully incorporated before mixing in the next piece of butter.
9. Increase mixer speed to medium (4 on stand mixer) and knead dough for 6 minutes. Dough will be quite soft and tacky to touch.
10. If brioche dough is too soft and difficult to handle, add the remaining 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon at a time. May not need to use all of the additional flour, just use enough to prevent dough from being too sticky and more manageable to work with. (See troubleshooting brioche doughnut section of blog post for more details.)
11. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball.
12. Grease a large mixing bowl with 1 teaspoon of oil. Place shaped dough in the greased bowl.
13. Use your hand to turn and flip brioche dough in the greased bowl. You want all sides of the dough to be coated in oil.
14. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm part of the kitchen to rest and rise until it has doubled in size. This can take up to 1 hour or more depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
15. Gently deflate dough with a fisted hand, place a dampen sheet of paper towel over the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough overnight. (Do not skip this step, brioche doughs require overnight refrigeration.)
16. The next day, cut a large sheet of parchment paper into 8 (for larger doughnuts) or 10 (for smaller doughnuts) squares, about 3 x 3 inches. It does not need to be precise.
17. Retrieve brioche dough from the refrigerator and transfer to a generously floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough.
18. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife to cut dough into 8 equal pieces. For smaller doughnuts, cut dough into 10 equal pieces.
19. Shape each piece of dough into a ball by rolling dough against a clean surface under a cupped hand.
20. Place each ball of brioche dough onto pre-cut squares of parchment paper and evenly arrange on a large baking sheet. Loosely cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap.
21. Place the baking sheet in a warm part of the kitchen and allow balls of brioche dough to rest until doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes.
22. Line a cooling rack with two layers of paper towels. Place the cooling rack near the side of the stove where doughnuts will be fried.
23. Attach a candy/fry thermometer to a deep bottom medium sized pot. Fill the pot with 6-8 cups of oil and heat oil under medium heat to 325-350F (163-177C). Carefully monitor oil. You do not want the temperature to go above 350F(177C).
24. In batches of one to two, carefully place risen balls of brioche dough top side down into oil.
25. Use kitchen tongs to peel parchment square off the back of dough. Fry brioche dough for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes per side. Doughnuts will appear puffed with a rich golden-brown color when ready.
26. Using a slotted/spider spoon, transfer fried brioche doughnuts to prepared cooling rack and continue this process until all the doughnuts are fried.

Strawberry Sugar Coating 

1. Blend or grind whole slices of freeze-dried strawberries into a powder using a coffee grinder or food processor. 
2. Reserve 1 1/2 teaspoons of the powdered freeze-dried strawberries for dusting on top of assembled doughnuts.
3. Add the sugar and 1 tablespoon of the powdered freeze-dried strawberries into a shallow dish. I used a 9 inch pie dish. The remaining powdered freeze-dried strawberries will be used in cheesecake filling.
4. Use a fork to mix sugar and powdered freeze-dried strawberries together to combine. Seat aside until ready to use. 

Strawberry Cheesecake Filling

1. In a medium mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, strawberry jam, and all of the remaining powdered freeze-dried strawberries (about 1 1/2 tablespoons). Whisk ingredients together until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 1-2 minutes.
2. In a separate large mixing bowl, add the heavy cream, vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar. With a hand or electric mixer, whisk cream mixture together until it starts to thicken up and has soft not stiff peaks.
3. With a spatula, fold half of the soft whipped cream into strawberry cream cheese mixture. Repeat with remaining cream. You should end up with a smooth, light and airy strawberry cheesecake filling.
4. If not using right away, cover the top of cheesecake filling with plastic/cling wrap and store in the fridge until ready to use. 

Assembly

1. Coat all sides of slightly warm brioche doughnuts in strawberry sugar.
2. Place coated doughnuts on a large serving plate or cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature, about 10-15 minutes.
3. Using a small paring knife, make a slit into the top of each of the doughnuts pushing the knife about 2/3 the way down into doughnuts. Take care to not have the knife go through the opposite end of doughnuts.
4. Transfer cheesecake filling into a large pastry or Ziplock bag and cut off 1/2 inch from the tip of the bag.
5. Fill each of the doughnuts with the strawberry cheesecake filling just until the filling starts to slightly pop out of the slit opening. Doughnuts will start to feel slightly heavier once it is properly filled.
6. Transfer filled doughnuts to a baking or serving dish with the opening of the doughnuts faced in an upright position. This will make it easier to pipe whipped cream topping onto doughnuts. 
7. In a small mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar. Using a hand or electric mixer at medium high speed, whisk cream mixture to stiff peaks, about 2-3 minutes.
8. Transfer whipped cream to a pastry or Ziplock bag fitted with a round pastry tip. I used the Wilton 2A pastry tip. Alternatively, you may cut off 1/2 inch from the tip of bag in place of using a pastry tip. 
9. Pipe a dollop of the whipped cream over the opening of each doughnut.
10. Dust each dollop of whipped cream with the reserved 1 1/2 teaspoons of powdered freeze-dried strawberries and top with sliced fresh strawberries before serving.