Sometimes you start the day with a nourishing smoothie, and end it with a doughnut. It’s all about that balance.

Ever since I made these brioche doughnuts, my mind has been swirling with reasons (excuses) to make them again. After one glance over my shoulder at the bushel of almost dried out Thai bird chilies hanging in our kitchen, I knew my next move. Herein, we have the Thai Chili Coconut Cream Doughnuts. As an ode to some of our favorite Thai curries, which are deep with heat, yet balanced by creamy coconut milk, we are steeping the Thai bird chilies in a milky cream of coconut mixture to create the coconut pastry cream that is piped into your freshly fried doughnuts.

The combination of buttery brioche dough rolled in vanilla sugar and the slightly spicy, creamy coconut filling is the one of the best excuses I could ever think of. For your filling, you’ll use some cornstarch to help your custard thicken up like a pastry cream. No Thai chilies? You could definitely omit and stick to a coconut cream. Alternatively, you could experiment with a jalapeno or serrano pepper—just be sure to test along the way to make sure your filling doesn’t end up too fire-y hot.

These Thai Chili Coconut Cream Doughnuts are a great weekend project as the brioche dough is best prepped and shaped a day ahead, left to proof overnight in the refrigerator, and fried up on Sunday morning while you sip your coffee in your jammies.

Because the brioche doughnut dough takes a day to prepare (mostly inactive), it is great to prep the pastry cream the same day to mix the dough so it will be chilled and ready to use as soon as you you fry the doughnuts.

Here’s to a happy weekend!