Treat yourself to the ultimate French cruller with a vanilla glaze experience! Our recipe features a light and fluffy cruller for a sweet, satisfying bite. These heavenly pastries are airy and finished with a rich vanilla glaze—ideal for breakfast or dessert.

You know when crispy, golden-brown French crullers dipped in a luscious vanilla glaze. Easy to make, irresistible to eat! This easy-to-follow recipe will ensure those characteristic piped lines that stay even when fried. The golden brown exterior is perfectly crisp while the inside is tender and practically melts in your mouth.

From start to finish, crullers take about an hour and require a small handful of ingredients – milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and flour.

Choux dough is made from simple ingredients like milk, flour, butter, and eggs. Then, you usually pipe and bake them as cream puffs or eclairs. But In this case, you pipe out and deep fry the choux dough. Also, you can try them with lots of different glaze variations, or perhaps with a filling of custard, pastry cream, or your favorite curd!

What are French crullers?

A cruller is basically a French-style donut made from a special pastry dough called pâte à choux — the same dough used for cream puffs and eclairs. This dough gets fried, which gives crullers a crispy outside and a super light, airy inside. They’re often topped with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or a delicious glaze!

French crullers are meant to be crispy around the edges to soak up all that sweet vanilla glaze while staying soft and tender on the inside — When fried, this dough puffs up beautifully, staying light and airy due to the steam inside. the perfect combination of textures!

Crullers vs Donut, what’s the difference?

Crullers are light, airy pastries made from pâte à choux — the same dough used for cream puffs and eclairs. This dough gives crullers a soft, almost hollow interior and a delicate, slightly crispy exterior. French crullers are shaped into rings with a star tip, creating the classic ridged appearance. They’re often less sweet and have a subtle, eggy flavor that pairs well with a simple vanilla glaze.

Meanwhile, Donuts come in a variety of types, from classic yeast-raised donuts to cake donuts. Yeast donuts are soft, pillowy, and airy due to the yeast fermentation, while cake donuts are denser with a crumbly texture. Donuts can be cut into various shapes, like rings or filled rounds, and are often topped with glazes, powdered sugar, or even filled with creams or jams. They have a straightforward sweetness and flavor that can vary depending on the dough and toppings, making them a versatile treat that appeals to different tastes.

In summary, crullers are lighter, airy, and typically made from choux pastry, while donuts are denser, with varieties based on yeast or cake dough. Both are delicious in their way, and your choice depends on whether you prefer a light, crispy texture (cruller) or a softer, doughier bite (donut).

Now you know the difference between cruller and donut, if you haven’t tried making French cruller, don’t worry cause now it’s your turn to make this fabulous French cruller with Vanilla glaze!

Ingredients of French Cruller With Vanilla Glaze

Crullers

Whole Milk; Milk and water make up the moisture of the dough. Milk gives the dough a richer flavor, make sure you use whole milk!
Water; Water makes up the other portion of the moisture. While milk adds flavor water gives the exterior that crispness.
Butter; I use unsalted butter here, Butter is the source of fat in the dough, giving it that rich and buttery flavor and tender texture.
Granulated sugar; gives the dough a touch of sweetness for a good balance of flavor
Salt; helps to balance out the flavor of the dough.
All-purpose flour; The main ingredient for making cruller, makes up the body of the donut
Eggs; The eggs help make the structure of the donut, allowing it to puff up and become nice and airy. Make sure to use a large egg at room temperature

Vanilla Glaze

Powdered Sugar; Aka icing sugar or confectioners sugar. We need this kind of super-fine sugar as it dissolves quickly forming the perfect glaze. As with other simple glazes, powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar) is the main ingredient of this maple glaze.
Milk; Milk helps to thin out the powdered sugar. If you find that the glaze is too thick to dip your donuts in feel free to add another splash of milk. Keep in mind that a little goes a long way. Full-fat / whole milk works best, but you can also use semi-skimmed milk.
Vanilla extract; Vanilla extract gives the glaze a vanilla flavor of course! You can leave it out if you aren’t a fan, or change it up for a different extract of your choice.

For other variations, you can try to make;

Honey glaze – Same as above, but add 2-3 tablespoons of runny honey into the mix. You can also swap honey for maple syrup.
Cinnamon glaze – Combine icing sugar with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and milk (you can use any of your favorite spices instead of cinnamon).
Raspberry glaze – Add 2-3 tablespoons of raspberry coulis or raspberry reduction to the icing sugar and milk.

Let’s Make French Cruller With Vanilla Glaze

First, in a saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, remove the pan from heat and immediately add all the flour, stirring quickly to ensure no lumps remain. Next, return the pan to the heat and cook the mixture for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the dough pulls away from the sides and doesn’t stick to the pan.

Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and let it cool for about ten minutes. After it has cooled slightly, add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Make sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. The dough should become shiny and form a ribbon-like pattern when lifted with the mixer.

Next, transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and set it aside. While the oil is heating, cut the parchment paper into 20 squares, each about 3 inches wide. Pipe the dough onto each parchment square in a circular shape to form the crullers.

When the oil is hot, carefully place 2–3 crullers, along with their parchment paper, into the oil. After about one minute, gently pull the parchment paper off each cruller. Fry the crullers for 2–3 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown, then remove them from the oil and drain on paper towels.

While the crullers are cooling slightly, prepare the vanilla glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth.

Finally, dip each cruller into the vanilla glaze, allowing any excess glaze to drip off before placing it on a rack to set. Repeat with the remaining crullers. Serve hot and enjoy your delicious French cruller with vanilla glaze!

Recipe Notes;

Cooling the Dough: To speed up the cooling process, consider using a stand mixer. Mix the dough at low speed until no steam escapes and the bowl feels warm (but not hot). This helps ensure the perfect texture for your crullers.
Adding Eggs: It’s crucial to add the eggs only when the dough is completely cool. This prevents the mixture from turning into scrambled eggs, keeping your crullers light and airy.
Shaping the Crullers: For a better cruller shape, after piping the dough onto baking paper, place them in the freezer for a bit. This will help them hold their shape during frying.

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