SWEET THING
BY ANNA THEOKTISTO
ACTIVE TIME 20 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES
SERVES 10
12 glazed yeast doughnuts (about 26 oz. total)
2 large eggs
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1½ cup heavy cream
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. kosher salt
1½ tsp. ground nutmeg
3 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
¼ cup (1½ stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
2 large Honeycrisp apples, chopped (about 3 ¼ cups)
¼ cup packed light brown sugar Vanilla ice cream, for serving
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease a 2-quart or 9-inch square baking dish with butter. Cut doughnuts into eighths. Scatter in baking dish.
WHISK eggs, condensed milk, cream, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a medium bowl until well combined. Pour mixture over doughnuts; toss gently to combine. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature for 10 minutes, stirring twice.
MEANWHILE, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add apples, sugar, and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Cook, stirring often, until apples are crisp-tender and a thick syrup forms, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
SPOON apples and syrup over doughnut mixture. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is browned and custard is just set, about 15 minutes. (If you want a little more browning, broil for 2 to 3 minutes.) Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream.
THE HOLE STORY
We tried a bunch of different doughnuts during testing. Glazed yeast worked way better than cake or apple cider doughnuts, which got mushy when soaked in custard. To lean into the apple flavor and really activate the autumnness of it all, swap in an equal weight of apple fritters for the doughnuts.
Photographs by Fred Hardy; FOOD STYLING BY RUTH BLACKBURN; PROPS BY SHELL ROYSTER; PROP STYLING BY JOSH HOGGLE