By Alison Roman
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- 4(398)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Making doughnuts at home might seem like a dream, but it’s an attainable dream. Golden brown on the outside with a tender, cake-like crumb inside, these classic cake-style doughnuts rely on buttermilk and baking powder for their lift and rise. The dough is slightly sticky, but resist the urge to over-flour and over-knead. Like working with biscuits, the dough must be handled delicately or the doughnuts will have difficulty rising as they fry, becoming tough and dense. Be sure to use a thermometer to determine the temperature of oil – too hot and the doughnuts get too dark before cooking all the way through; not hot enough, they’ll be greasy without that signature rise. These versatile cake doughnuts can be glazed, dusted in powdered sugar or tossed to coat in cinnamon sugar, but are their absolute best soon after they’re fried.
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Ingredients
Yield:8 doughnuts
- 4cups/960 milliliters vegetable oil, for frying, plus 3 tablespoons
- 2⅔cups/339 grams all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- ½cup/101 grams granulated sugar
- 2¼teaspoons baking powder
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½cup/113 grams sour cream
- ½cup/120 milliliters buttermilk
- 1large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- 2cups/204 grams confectioners’ sugar
- ¼cup/60 milliliters buttermilk, milk or water, plus more as needed
- ¼teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛teaspoon kosher salt
- Sprinkles, toasted coconut flakes or chopped nuts, such as pecans, pistachios or hazelnuts
- 1½cups/185 grams confectioners’ sugar
- ½cup/47 grams cocoa powder
- ¼cup/60 milliliters buttermilk, milk or water, plus more as needed
- ⅛teaspoon kosher salt
- Sprinkles, toasted coconut flakes, flaky salt or chopped nuts, such as pecans, pistachios or hazelnuts
For the Doughnuts
For the Vanilla Glaze
For the Chocolate Glaze
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
716 calories; 31 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 106 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 69 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 416 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Make the doughnuts: Heat 4 cups/960 milliliters of oil in a large heavy bottomed pot (preferably wider than taller) over medium heat to 375 degrees.
Step
2
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, kosher salt and nutmeg.
Step
3
In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, buttermilk, egg, egg yolk and 3 tablespoons oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, using a wooden spoon to gently mix just until a dough comes together (you want to keep it rather shaggy; do not overwork the dough).
Step
4
Transfer dough to a floured work surface and knead 4 or 5 times, just until no wet or dry spots remain, sprinkling in additional flour as necessary (dough should feel supple but not wet).
Step
5
Pat dough (no need to use a rolling pin here) to a thickness of about ¾-inch. Using a 3⅛- to 3¼-inch ring cutter, punch out as many circles as you can. Using a 1 ¼-inch ring cutter, punch out the center of each circle. (Dipping the rings in flour before each cut helps to avoid sticking.) The scraps of dough can be gathered and gently pressed again two more times to cut the rest of the doughnuts, continuing to flour your work surface as needed.
Step
6
Working in batches, gently lower doughnuts into the oil (no more than 4 or 5 at a time). Fry on one side until deeply golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip with tongs or a skimmer and continue to fry until golden brown and cooked through, another 2 minutes.
Step
7
Drain doughnuts on a wire rack lined with paper towels and proceed with remaining doughnuts, making sure the oil returns to temperature between batches.
Step
8
To make the vanilla glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract and salt until no lumps remain. Add additional buttermilk if necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin the glaze.
Step
9
Remove paper towel from wire rack. Dip each doughnut into the glaze on one side, letting excess drip back into the bowl, and return it to the wire rack. Sprinkle immediately with sprinkles, chopped nuts or toasted coconut.
Step
10
To make the chocolate glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, buttermilk and salt until no lumps remain. Add additional buttermilk if necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin the glaze.
Step
11
Remove paper towel from wire rack. Dip each doughnut into the glaze on one side, letting excess drip back into the bowl, and return it to the wire rack. Sprinkle immediately with sprinkles, flaky sea salt, chopped nuts or toasted coconut.
Ratings
4
out of 5
398
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Cooking Notes
emilyg
This is a great recipe, and I’m making them again. Just thought I’d mention to anyone else who wonders about whether they work as a do-ahead: I mixed up the dough, cut the donuts (and a few holes of course), then laid them out on cookie sheets, wrapped them in plastic, and popped them in the freezer. One week later, I moved them to the fridge the night before, then fried in oil the next morning. I had no complaints from the crowd that devoured them!
Nancy Charlton
Brings back memories and pushes buttons. My bro and sis and I made fries and doughnuts (my late husband called them duff nuts) all the time. Now I’ll have to get a big can of Crisco, or try coconut oil, and drum up an occasion for them. Why use two cutters? Don’t the make concentric cutters any more? And why not fry up some of the “holes”?
Anne
Baked (aka “cake”) donuts use a cake-like batter rather than a dough. But you could always make the recipe and try baking 1 or 2 as if they were biscuits, say 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes. If that didn’t work you could always fry up the rest.Would love hear how they come out.
Isabella P.
An easy cake donut recipe for beginner's... don't be overwhelmed by the amount of steps! I added a tad bit more nutmeg, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I made the chocolate glaze, and also used the maple brown-butter glaze from another NYT recipe for pumpkin bundt cake. The maple glaze was the winner... try it!
kelsey
My husband and I just made these without a thermometer — you can do it, but you need to make sure the oil is at low-medium heat. We found that “low and slow” worked pretty well. Turned out so good. I scraped a vanilla bean and added it to the glaze and it was divine.
Nercon5
These are ok! Their chief virtue is that they can be whacked out quickly and on a whim. I’m a buttermilk goblin, so I often have on hand. Glaze is great. High alt adjustment: 350 fry, 1 tsp baking powder
Penny A
Really good! I ended up adding almost a cup extra of flour…
june
Followed recipe as written, but added vanilla with the wet ingredients. Took ~ 1 T dough in the hand and rolled it into a ball, then poked a hole in the dough ball with index finger and fried as directed. Voila! Mini-donuts.Dangerously delicious!
Kurt
If the dough is messy and gross, that means you did something wrong. Just follow the recipe to a T and nothing will happen.
Helene
Deep-fried these from frozen since I had some leftover - worked a charme. Just make sure the oil is not too hot so they don‘t tan too much before they‘re done.
sgs
Fantastic! Followed recipe exactly I weigh my ingredients had no problem with the dough. I let it sit a bit then gave gentle turning/ kneading. I have my mother’s biscuit/ doughnut cutter worked perfectly as it has for over fifty years. I prefer them plain or with a little powdered sugar. Very light so very dangerous- LOL. A perfect New Year’s Day treat. Moderation in all things.
Gabriella
Excellent recipe! I didn't have sour cream so I used vanilla greek yogurt instead!
Paul Lingeman
This recipe produced the largest, gooiest mass I have ever dealt with in my life. The dough was completely unmanageable. Stuck to everything. Note. Prep time 45 minutes. Clean-up time 1:45 minutes.
emilyg
This is a great recipe, and I’m making them again. Just thought I’d mention to anyone else who wonders about whether they work as a do-ahead: I mixed up the dough, cut the donuts (and a few holes of course), then laid them out on cookie sheets, wrapped them in plastic, and popped them in the freezer. One week later, I moved them to the fridge the night before, then fried in oil the next morning. I had no complaints from the crowd that devoured them!
gaaaa
Can I fry these in a cast iron skillet?
Ella
yes, you should be able to if it's deep enough! i have a large cast iron that i fry my doughnuts in and it's always worked beautifully
Jean Wonsetler
My mother made donuts like these, except she had a donut maker. It was made with red and cream color plastic and worked like a cookie press. She always rolled them in cinnamon/sugar. Yum! I use and old fashioned cutter that has a detachable middle.
Rachel
We've made these twice now, and I absolutely love the way they taste. But: our dough comes out so goopy that there is no way to cut it, so we resorted simply to dropping balls of dough into the oil. What might we be doing wrong, because no one else seems to have this problem. Is it a matter of using European ingredients (we're in Germany) that are somehow more liquidy? Does anyone know of a way to compensate?
Paula
Hmm. My dough was goopy, too. I added more flour, which may be why mine were a bit tough?
Su
You're weighing the ingredients? European flours tend to be much lower in protein than American all-purpose flours, which might contribute to the problem along with any differences in the fermented dairy.
Gabriella
I weigh my flour on a scale. Do not mix the dough too much, just enough so that you can pour it out on a floured surface and knead it. Also, remember to use a little extra flour when you pat it.
Peter
Made the recipe for the first time with my 14 yo son driving. It was easy, turned out great. We fried in Crisco, and used a thermometer to keep the temperature right. If the temperature is right, you will get a better product. We made the glaze from the recipe as well.We made a few donut holes from the left over dough. We cooked them for half as long.Easy, fun, delicious. Will make them again.
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