Sonho de Creme

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4-liter pot
• •Candy or frying thermometer
• •Whisk
• •Rolling pin, optional
• •Bench scraper or sharp knife
• •Piping bag or clean zip-top bag
• •Wire rack
• •Tongs

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the cream

   Put the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it is hot and tiny bubbles gather at the edge. Don't boil it hard. Hot milk wakes up the cream gently; boiling milk bullies the eggs later, and scrambled cream is not the dream.

2. 2

   Thicken the cream

   In a bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until smooth and pale. Pour in the hot milk a little at a time, whisking constantly, then return everything to the pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking, until the cream thickens, bubbles slowly, and holds a clear line when you drag the whisk through it, about 3 to 5 minutes. That bubbling matters because cornstarch needs heat to lose its raw taste and set properly.

   Whisk like you mean it, especially at the bottom corners of the pan. Cream catches there first, and burnt milk flavor is stubborn.
3. 3

   Chill the cream

   Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla until glossy. Scrape the cream into a shallow dish, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and chill until cold. The wrap keeps a skin from forming, and the shallow dish cools faster, which keeps the cream firm enough to pipe instead of sliding out like a bad decision.

4. 4

   Mix the dough

   In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the warm milk, eggs, softened butter, and vanilla. Stir until a rough dough forms, then knead for 8 to 10 minutes by hand, or about 6 minutes in a mixer, until soft, stretchy, and slightly tacky. Don't bury it in flour. A soft dough gives you a soft sonho; a dry dough gives you a little bread helmet.

5. 5

   Let it rise

   Set the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Look at the dough, not just the clock. If your kitchen is cool, it will take longer, because yeast has its own schedule and no respect for your plans.

6. 6

   Shape the sonhos

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and press it gently to release the big air pockets. Divide into 12 equal pieces, roll each one into a smooth ball, and set them on small squares of parchment. Cover and let rise until puffy and light, about 35 to 45 minutes. The second rise makes the inside airy; skip it and the center stays heavy.

7. 7

   Heat the oil

   Fill a heavy pot with 2 1/2 to 3 inches of oil and heat to 175°C (350°F). No thermometer? Drop in a tiny scrap of dough. It should float up, bubble steadily, and turn golden in about a minute. If it browns too fast, the outside will color before the middle cooks. If it sinks and sulks, the dough will drink oil.

8. 8

   Fry until golden

   Lower 2 or 3 dough balls into the oil, parchment side up, then pull the parchment away with tongs. Fry until deeply golden, about 2 minutes per side, turning once. Don't crowd the pot. Too many at once drop the oil temperature, and then you're soaking dough instead of frying it.

   Keep the oil calm and steady. Angry, dark bubbles mean too hot. Lazy, pale bubbles mean too cool.
9. 9

   Sugar the dough

   Lift the sonhos to a rack or paper towel and let them cool just until warm, about 10 minutes. Roll them in sugar while the surface still has a little sheen, because warm dough holds sugar better than cold dough. Let them cool completely before filling, or the cream will loosen.

10. 10

    Fill and serve

    Whisk the chilled cream until smooth, then spoon it into a piping bag or a clean zip-top bag with one corner snipped. Split each sonho across the middle without cutting all the way through, pipe in a generous line of cream, and dust with a little more sugar. Eat the same morning if you can. Yesterday's sonho is a different, sadder dessert.

Chef Tips

• •Use real milk, egg yolks, cornstarch, butter, and vanilla for the creme de confeiteiro. Powdered filling is not a shortcut, it's surrender with perfume.
• •The dough should be soft and a little tacky. Add flour by the tablespoon only if it is truly unworkable, because too much flour makes dense sonhos.
• •A thermometer makes frying calmer. If you don't have one, use the dough scrap test and adjust the heat between batches.
• •The honest shortcut: make the cream the day before and chill it overnight. The cost is planning, not flavor. That's a shortcut I will hand you myself.
• •Don't fill them hot. Warm dough melts the cream, and then you have a sweet leak instead of a sonho.

Advance Preparation

• •The pastry cream can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface.
• •The dough can rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight after the first mix. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before shaping.
• •Fried unfilled sonhos are best the day they are made. If needed, store them loosely covered at room temperature for a few hours, then fill close to serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 135g)