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Golden-brown, super light, and irresistibly fluffy, this bomboloni recipe is your ticket to Italian pastry perfection! These delightful dough balls, filled with vanilla bean speckled pastry creamy, are perfect for breakfast, brunch, childbirth, or while operating heavy machinery!
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Almost every culture has its style of donut making, from Malaysian Cekodok Pisang, to Korean Kkwabaegi and Peruvian Picarones. So, as an award-winning donut maker, I knew I was also gonna have to help you crack the code for perfect Italian Bomboloni!
These are sorta like softer big brothers of zeppole, filled with a smooth vanilla custard.
Don't freak out, but did I mention these golden pastry cream-filled donuts are completely free of animal products and cholesterol? Yep, you heard that right! In no time, you'll have a plate full of golden, pillowy doughnuts that are practically begging to be devoured.
🤷♀️ Why the heck should you learn how to make bomboloni from me?
I have been professionally making donuts since 2008, and my vegan donut recipes have won countless awards, including the prestigious NYC Vendy Award for my Vanilla Bourbon Creme Brûlée donuts. My apple cider donuts and other vegan dessert recipes have been featured in the New York Times, and I have made donuts and vegan apple fritters on the Food Network. Do you doubt that vegan donut recipes might be BETTER than non-vegan ones? So did the judges of several competitions I won, until they tried mine. So keep an open mind, ya big goof!
Grab your apron, roll up your sleeves, and let's embark on this Bomboloni-making and make lightly golden fluffy bites of joy!
Jump to:
- 🤷♀️ Why the heck should you learn how to make bomboloni from me?
- 🥰 Why you will adore this bomboloni recipe
- 🧈 Ingredients for bomboloni donuts
- 🤯Variations
- 📖 How to make this bomboloni recipe
- Step Ten
- Step Eleven
- 👉Top tips
- 🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
- ✌️My fave meals to finish with this bomboloni recipe:
- Bomboloni Recipe (Vegan Cream Filled Italian Donuts)
🥰 Why you will adore this bomboloni recipe
✊Vegan AF: Like all my vegan Italian recipes, this is made without butter, eggs, or milk. Well, we use a dog egg mixture with fish milk in it… OK, just kidding!
🍩 Fluffy Perfection: The precise combination of ingredients, the specific rising process, and tested and derailed in frying temperature result in the most irresistibly fluffy Bomboloni.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all my plant-based recipes, this Italian donut has been put to the test by a massive crew of recipe testers I work with from all around the world. I didn't publish it without seeing success by both expert chefs and novice home cooks alike.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🧈 Ingredients for bomboloni donuts
Plant-Based Milk
Using vegan milk for the dough and optional pastry cream provides the right balance of protein and fat for perfection. You can choose your favorite unsweetened plant-based milk, such as almond, soy, or oat.
Sugar
Granulated sugar sweetens both the dough and the pastry cream, adding sweetness and helping with moisture retention. I like to use evaporated cane juice to make these. If you want something even more minimally processed, you can use coconut sugar, or palm sugar (which is my sweetener of choice in Southeast Asian desserts like Klepon, Bubur Sum Sum and Kolak Biji Salak).
Cornstarch
Cornstarch acts as a thickening agent, achieving a velvety consistency in the pastry cream. Arrowroot powder or tapioca starch can be used as alternatives. If you have leftover tapioca starch after making this, you can use it to make the jellies for bubur cha cha, or use it to make Malaysian-style chocolate and peanut stuffed pancakes (martabak manis).
Vanilla
While you can definitely use vanilla extract, my preference is to use vanilla powder so that these Italian cream donuts are speckled with little black bits of vanilla bean (it's the same reason why I use the stuff in my Filipino mochi donuts too). It's the same ingredient I use to make Banana leaf-steamed Filipino rice cakes, AKA suman.
Active Dry Yeast
You can't get away with using baking powder to make nice airy bomboloni. You need a stronger leavening agent that can help the strong glutenous dough to stretch, and that's where active dry yeast comes in.
Olive Oil
While many modern bomboloni recipes call for butter, I use olive oil in mine, like I do in my vegan ladyfingers, to impart more of the rustic simplicity found in the best Italian desserts. You can substitute it with other plant-based fats, but a good quality, slightly fruity olive oil is what I think makes the best Italian donuts!
00 Flour
This finely milled, higher gluten pizza-making flour ensures the dough is silky and elastic, that allows for neat shaping and less oil absorption during frying. You can somewhat mimic Italian 00 flour by using a blend of bread flour and all-purpose flour, but the crumb will be a little different due to the coarser milling of those flours.
Oil for Frying
The best oils for frying donuts have high smoke points such as canola oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil and sunflower oil. A lot of commercial donut making is done with awful hydrogenated fryer grease, because when it cools to room temperature, the donuts appear less greasy, because the oil solidifies as it cools. Imagine what that does to your internal organs!
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
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🤯Variations
🍫🌰Chocolate-Hazelnut Stuffed Bomboloni
Embrace the Italian tradition of adding a luscious chocolate ganache filling to your Bomboloni. After frying, let them cool slightly, then use a piping bag to inject a mixture of crushed toasted hazelnuts and vegan chocolate spread or ganache into the centers. Roll them in cinnamon sugar, and you've got a seriously heavenly fusion of Italian and chocolaty goodness on your hands, and likely a little bit all over your face.
🍋 Lemon-Mascarpone Bomboloni
After frying, allow them to cool a bit. Using a piping bag, fill them with homemade vegan mascarpone, then drizzle with a tangy lemon glaze made from lemon juice and powdered sugar. While the glaze is still tacky and drying, sprinkle freshly grated lemon zest on the donuts. Thank me later! 😘
📖 How to make this bomboloni recipe
Nail these classic Italian doughnuts perfectly on your first shot by following these step-by-step instructions with helpful tips. Or you can follow along with the easy-to-print recipe card towards the bottom of this page. You are about to see why this is one of my most popular vegan Italian recipes!
Step One
Pastry Cream Dreams:
In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine plant-based milk, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla (powder or extract), salt, and a dash of turmeric. Gradually heat it over medium flame, stirring often.
Watch as the warm milk mixture thickens and reaches a boil, stirring diligently. Once thickened, remove from heat and mix in the vegan butter until it's completely melted and incorporated.
Allow the pastry cream to cool thoroughly before using it to fill your Bomboloni.
Step Two
Activate Yeast:
Begin by activating the yeast in a small bowl. Combine active dry yeast, a tablespoon of sugar, and lukewarm plant-based milk. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast bubbles up and froths.
Step Three
Mix & Knead:
In a large mixing bowl, add the remaining sugar, flour, olive oil, lemon zest, vanilla (powder or extract), and salt. Pour the yeast mixture into this bowl. Mix until you have a sticky dough, then knead it on a floured surface or use a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5-7 minutes on medium speed until it's smooth and elastic.
Step Four
Bulk Rise & Double:
Place the balled yeast dough back into the large bowl, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm, draft-free spot for 1-2 hours until it doubles in size.
Step Five
Punch & Form:
Once doubled, punch the dough to release excess air. On a lightly floured work surface, with clean, floured hands, divide the dough and shape it into small, approximately 2-inch (5 cm.) diameter balls. Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with lightly oiled parchment paper.
Step Six
Rest & Rise Again:
Cover the balls with a kitchen towel and allow them to rest for another 30 minutes to rise slightly. This gives just enough time for each donut to reach its maximum fluff-potential without developing a skin on the outside from drafty air.
Step Seven
Heat Oil:
While the dough balls are on their second rise, heat your canola, vegetable, or sunflower oil in a deep fryer or a large, heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F (175°C).
🌡️ Use a frying thermometer if you aren't using a deep fryer to ensure this is the exact oil temperature at which your donuts will fry. A lower temperature will cause the donuts to absorb excess oil, and a higher temperature will yield donuts that are overcooked externally with undercooked dough inside.
Step Eight
Fry to Golden Perfection:
Taking care not to stretch or compress the dough balls as you handle them, gently place the risen balls into the hot oil, a few at a time. Fry them until they achieve a beautiful golden brown hue on all sides, typically about 2-3 minutes per side.
✅ Do not overcrowd your fryer with donuts as this will make them harder to flip, and may also cause ruptures in the surface of the dough, which will let in oil.
✅ If frying on the stovetop, it's a good idea to use a Dutch oven or thick-bottomed pot with high sides to prevent spills and splatters. I promise you, homemade donuts CAN be made without making a gross mess in your kitchen!
✅ Make sure there is just enough oil in the pot so that the donuts don't come in contact with the surface of the pot as they fry.
Step Nine
Drain & Cool:
Remove the deep-fried dough balls from the oil and let them drain on a wire rack suspended over a pan to catch any excess oil, ensuring your countertops stay clean.
Step Ten
Sugar-Coat:
While they're still warm, roll the Bomboloni in the sugar coating or powdered sugar for that irresistible sweetness.
Step Eleven
Fill Your Bliss:
To add that optional pastry cream or your preferred filling, you can use a piping bag with a bismark tip to inject the creamy goodness into the centers.
✅ I like to poke into the donuts with the pastry bag tip, then make a few circular motions to open up a pocket of space before injecting them with the filling. That way, they can hold as much filling as possible!
✅ Store the filled bomboloni with the injection side facing up, so that the filling doesn't spill out.
👉Top tips
- Temperature Matters: When frying the Bomboloni, use a candy thermometer (deep-frying thermometer) to keep the temperature of the oil at a steady 350°F (175°C) for that ideal golden result.
- Yeast Activation Confidence: When activating the yeast, ensure your plant-based milk is lukewarm (around 110°F or 43°C). It should feel comfortably warm but not hot. The yeast should froth up visibly within 5-10 minutes. If it doesn't, your yeast may be inactive, and it's best to start with fresh yeast, rather than start the whole project with dead yeast that will never let your dough rise!
- Proper Frying Technique: Avoid overcrowding the oil to ensure even cooking. Fry just a few Bomboloni at a time, giving them ample space. Use a slotted spoon or spider strainer to gently turn and remove them from the hot oil, ensuring they're beautifully golden on all sides.
- Don't make a mess of your whole kitchen! When frying on the stovetop, don't mess with a frying pan. Always fry in a pot with high sides, such as a Dutch oven, to prevent oil splatters from making a mess of your stove. When cooling donuts, let them drip dry on a wire cooling rack positioned over a baking pan to catch drips, so your counters stay nice and clean.
- Timing is Everything: After frying, let the Bomboloni cool for a couple of minutes on a wire rack to allow any excess oil to drip off. This prevents them from becoming overly greasy. Then, while they're still warm, roll them in sugar or powdered sugar.
- If you fill them, don't let them deflate! Whether using pastry cream, jelly or chocolate ganache, stack your filled bomboloni with the injection side facing up, so that the filling doesn't spill out.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can make the Bomboloni dough ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight.
This process of slowing the fermentation process by letting the dough ripen at a lower temperature is called retarding. This process not only makes morning time prep easier to handle, but it provides a more developed dough flavor, and relaxed gluten, which makes shaping the dough easier.
Just make sure to store the bulk fermenting dough in a container that has room for expansion so that the rising dough doesn't spill out overnight and dry out.
Store any leftover Bomboloni in a breathable container or a paper pastry box at room temperature for up to 24 hours, but they are never as amazing the next day. Honestly, I believe that fried desserts really lose their magic when they are no longer fresh. You can sorta give them a new lease on life by warming them in an oven for a few minutes before serving them.
Non-yeasted fried treats like Mexican Buñuelos, and Indonesian Pisang Goreng have a slightly better shelf life than raised donuts.
I have heard from some of my customers and recipe testers that they have had success freezing unfilled, cooled Bomboloni in an airtight container for up to one month. When ready to enjoy, reheat them in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 10 minutes, dust the outside with sugar and then fill them with your preferred filling.
The oil used for these Bomboloni can be used for other fried dishes like Tempe Mendoan, Bakwan Sayur, Vegan Fried Chicken, Thai Spring Rolls, or crispy Filipino turon.
If you aren't planning to use it within 24 hours, strain it to remove debris, let it cool, and store it in an airtight container in a cool, dark spot. Use it within a few weeks, but avoid excessive reuse for health reasons. Once even a little bit dark in color, the oil should be disposed of.
You absolutely can make these without deep frying! Simply prepare the yeasted dough and form and proof the twists as you would for regular frying first.
To cook Italian donuts in an air fryer:
Preheat Air Fryer: Preheat your air fryer to around 350°F (about 175°C).
Prepare Doughnuts for Air Frying: Lightly brush or spray the doughnuts with a thin coat of oil to help them brown.
Place in Air Fryer: Arrange the doughnuts in the air fryer basket in a single layer, ensuring they don't touch each other.
Air Fry: Cook the doughnuts for about 4-6 minutes, then flip them and cook for another 4-6 minutes, or until golden brown.
✌️My fave meals to finish with this bomboloni recipe:
Learn to make award-winning vegan donuts in this super-fun cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Bomboloni Recipe (Vegan Cream Filled Italian Donuts)
Equipment
- Slotted spoon or spider strainer
Ingredients
For the Pastry Cream (optional):
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened plant-based milk
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder or vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric or less
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter
Bomboloni dough:
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ⅓ cup lukewarm plant-based milk around 110°F/43°C
- 4 cups 00 flour (or a mix of bread flour and all-purpose flour)
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest optional
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For Frying and Finishing:
- 3 tablespoons sugar or powdered sugar
- 2 cups canola oil (or vegetable, or sunflower oil)
Instructions
Optional Pastry Cream (for filling):
- In a saucepan, whisk together plant-based milk, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla powder (or vanilla extract), salt and a pinch of turmeric.
- Gradually heat the mixture over medium heat until it's boiling, whisking regularly.
- Once the mixture has thickened, remove it from the heat and stir in the vegan butter until it's fully melted and mixed in.
- Allow the pastry cream to cool completely before filling the Bomboloni.
Bomboloni Dough:
- In a small bowl, combine the active dry yeast, sugar, and lukewarm plant-based milk. Stir gently and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast blooms and becomes frothy.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, olive oil, lemon zest, vanilla powder (or vanilla extract), and salt. Pour the yeast mixture into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Mix everything together until a sticky dough forms. Knead the dough on a floured surface or use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for about 5-7 minutes, or until it becomes smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough back into the mixing bowl, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1-2 hours, or until it doubles in size.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to remove excess air. Roll the dough into small balls, typically 2 inch (5 cm) in diameter, and place them on a baking sheet lined with lightly oiled parchment paper.
- Cover the dough balls with a kitchen towel and allow them to rest for another 30 minutes to rise again slightly.
Frying and Finishing:
- While the dough balls are rising, heat the canola oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil in a deep fryer or a large, heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F (175°C).
- Gently place the risen dough balls into the hot oil, a few at a time, and fry until they turn golden brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Remove the fried Bomboloni from the oil and drain them on a wire rack suspended over a pan to catch the grease (so you don't make your countertops gross).
- While they are still warm, roll the Bomboloni in sugar or powdered sugar.
- To fill the Bomboloni with the pastry cream, or another filling of your preference, you can use a piping bag with a bismark tip to inject the filling into the centers.
Notes
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Maggie says
Brought this to a holiday dinner and was a big hit! It was my first time making fried doughnuts and was much easier than I thought it would be. I made both the pastry cream filling and the mascarpone filling. They were both great!