Black & Tan Donut
“Donuts. Is there anything they can’t do?” questions Homer Simpson. I might question the same thing about beer, Homer’s other love. A man after my own heart. Hmmmm… why not combine the two to make the ultimate BEER DONUT! Could this creation be the perfect hangover breakfast? Push aside the Bloody Mary and start the day off with a beer-infused donut | doughnut that will reward any weekend craving for a fried piece of goodness. This is where the Black & Tan Donut comes in!
Black & Tan: We all know the drink, but have we experienced the donut? Taking a English Pale Ale and making it into a raised yeasted donut and coating it with a Chocolate Stout Glaze. This raised donut | doughnut recipe can also become a base for filled donuts and other Beer Donut | Doughnut creations.
Makes: about 20 donuts
Adapted from BeerAdvocate Magazine: Cuisine à la Bière | May 2009 | Issue #28

Servings | Prep Time |
20 dounuts | 10 minute |
Cook Time | Passive Time |
6 minute | 2 hour |
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Taking a English Pale Ale and making it into a raised yeasted donut and coating it with a Chocolate Stout Glaze to re-create a beer cocktail classic, the Black & Tan Donut!
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- 1/4 cup water warmed to 105°F | 41°C
- 3 tablespoon yeast, active dry, or one package of White Labs - English Ale Liquid Yeast
- 2 tablespoon Dry Malt Extract (DME) available at Beer, Beer and More Beer
- 1 cup beer, British Pale Ale, such as Fullers London Pride or other English Pale Ale
- 1/2 cup sugar or DME, available at Beer, Beer and More Beer
-
2 tablespoon
dried milk powder such as Non Fat Dry Milk Powder, Organic
- 1 teaspoon salt, kosher
- 1 each egg, extra large, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, melted
- 3 3/4 - 4 cup flour, all-purpose
- 1/2 cup Chocolate Stout, such as Young's Double Chocoalate Stout or other Chocolate Stout
-
1 tablespoon
cocoa powder, such as Valrhona Chocolate Cocoa Powder 100% cacao
- 2 cup sugar, powdered
- 1 pinch salt, kosher
-
1 cup
malt balls, such as Mars Maltesers
, slightly crushed
- In a pint glass, mix the water, yeast and DME or sugar together to make a wort. Let still for 5 - 10 minutes as the yeast starts to wake up.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the English Pale Ale, DME or sugar, milk powder, salt, egg and shortening. Add the proofed yeast and mix to combine. Add 3 3/4 cups of flour and mix on low speed till the dough starts to come together. Add flour as needed. The final dough should slightly pull away from the sides of the bowl and still be a little sticky. Let mix for 2 minutes on medium. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl that is about three times the size of the dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 1/2 hours to rise. This can also be done a day in advance and placed into a refrigerator. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before using to warm up.
- Punch down the dough and let rise for another 30 minutes. On a lightly floured board, pour the dough out and roll out to a thickness of half an inch. Using a wide-mouth beer goblet, dip the rim in flour and cut rounds out of the dough, making each round as close to the next as possible. Then, using a shot glass, cut a hole in the center of each round. Remove the donuts to a sheet tray and let rise for another 30 – 45 minutes.
- Preheat a large Dutch oven half full with rice bran | vegetable oil to 360°F | 182°C. Have a cooling rack placed over a paper towel or a paper bag ready. Place the donut into the hot oil and fry on each side for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain.
- In a pie plate, add the beer, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and salt, mixing well to combine. Keep the glaze slightly warmer than room temperature to prevent the glaze from hardening.
- Dip the warm donut into the Chocolate Stout Glaze and then into a bowl of crushed malt balls. The malt balls are optional, if you chose not to use them, that is also fine.
Beer Donut | Doughnut Variations:
- Use the donut recipe, but do not make a donut hole with the shot glass. Instead, fry as you would and drain. Let cool to touch. Using a syringe or pastry bag with a tip, fill with Chocolate Stout pudding to do an inverted Black & Tan. Using a chopstick, make one hole that is halfway up the side of the donut and goes into the center. Fill the hole with the custard or cream.
- Substitute the British Pale Ale with a Hefeweizen in the donut, and for the glaze, remove the cocoa, add lemon juice and zest of one lemon, and same beer to get to a glaze consistency. Now you have a Shandy Donut.
- Coffee and donuts more your thing? Try using a Coffee Stout in the donut glaze instead.
- The Boston Cream Pie: Substitute the Pale Ale with Harpoon IPA. And substitute the Chocolate Stout with Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock. Fill the donut with a Watch City Brewing Co. Hops Explosion IPA custard filling.
- Substitute a English Porter for the British Pale Ale and fill the donut with a seedless raspberry jam, creating a Porter Donut with Raspberry Filling.
- Change the beer to Rogue Hazelnut Brown and shape the donut into a long rectangle to make a bar donut. Fry as normal. Dip the donut into a maple glaze, and while it’s still fresh, top with fried bacon for the Ultimate Bacon Maple Beer Donut! Maple glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon Rogue Hazelnut Brown, 1/4 cup maple syrup. Mix together to form a smooth, thick paste.
Love Beer Donuts | Doughnuts?
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