Lavender Brioche Donuts with Pineapple Flowers

Top and bottom your pineapple (1). Cut away the outside skin. Using a spoon, gently dig into the pineapple flesh and scoop out the pineapple “eyes”, just deep enough to remove the eye. Work around the whole pineapple.

Turn the pineapple on its side. Thinly slice with a sharp knife pineapple slices. Lay these slices on two parchment-lined baking sheets.

Bake the pineapple slices for 2 hours, until very dried out. (To dry out further, turn oven off at this point and leave them overnight).

Store in a sealed container.

In the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add all the dough ingredients (flour (4 ½ cups), egg (1), salt (2 tsp), sugar (½ cup), yeast (1 packet), milk (1 cup), water (½ cup)), except the butter.

Combine all the ingredients on low speed. Then increase to medium-low and knead for 10 minutes.

Add the butter (1 stick), piece by piece, and continue mixing for another 8 minutes.

Transfer dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let proof for 30 minutes at room temperature, then transfer to the fridge to proof overnight.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar (⅔ cup) and cornstarch (½ cup) to get rid of clumps.

Then whisk in the egg yolks (9), milk (3 cups), and salt (½ tsp).

Heat pot over medium-high heat whisking constantly. Once mixer starts to thicken (it’ll happen quickly), turn heat down to low and continue to whisk for 1 minute.

Bring off heat and mix in butter (4 Tbsp), extracts (vanilla (1 tsp) and lavender (1 tsp)), and dye (2–3). Dump onto a quarter-sheet tray or into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, transfer to fridge, and let cool completely.

Cut out 14 parchments squares large enough to fit 3” circles (no need to be precise about the squares). And space them between 2 half-sheet trays.

Press down on dough to remove air. Then scrap onto a lightly floured work surface.

Roll out to about 1/2” thickness. Then using a 3” circle cutter, punch out 12-14 circles (you can also fry the scraps, or bake them off with cinnamon sugar). Transfer 1 circle to each parchment square.

Cover with plastic wrap or a lightly damp tea towel. Transfer to your oven with the light turned on to proof for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, until when you poke them the dough springs back but leaves a slight imprint.

Meanwhile, get a pot out. Add enough neutral oil to come up about 2” up the height of the pot. Preheat over medium-high heat until oil reaches 350 °FF, then lower to medium-low heat.

Drop in 3-4 donuts circles at a time and immediately pull of parchment square. Fry donuts 2 minutes on each side until deep golden, maintaining oil temperature at 350F.

Transfer donuts to a wire rack lined with paper towels.

Once donuts are cool, use a paring knife to make a little incision in the side and swipe the knife around to help create a pocket on the inside for the filling.

Whisk the pastry cream to loosen it, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4” round tip, and fill donuts. Wipe off the excess cream the oozes out, but the cream should be thick enough where it’s not running completely out the donut (if that’s the case, you can stop the flow with a raspberry, kumquat, a little piece of pineapple, etc.).

In a large bowl, add a good amount of powdered sugar (3 cups), then add hot water (2 Tbsp) a little bit at a time and mix until you have a thick glaze consistency that still flows.

Add lavender extract (½ tsp) and food dye (2–3).

Using an offset spatula, smear some glaze evenly across the tops of the donuts. Then before the icing sets completely, top each donut with a pineapple flower (12–14).