Old-Fashioned Cake Donuts

These old fashioned cake donuts taste like the ones from a small-town bakery: a crisp, craggy outside, a soft and tender inside, warm nutmeg and a thin, shiny glaze.

Quick answer: Old fashioned cake donuts are made from a sour cream dough with egg yolks, nutmeg and cinnamon. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour, roll it 1 cm (⅜ inch) thick, cut rings and fry at 350°F for about 1 to 1½ minutes, turning once, then dip in a milk and icing sugar glaze.

Old Fashioned Cake Donuts Ingredients

For the donut

• 1 ¼ cup (240 grams) white sugar
• 2 ½ tablespoons (35 grams) butter
• 5 egg yolks (90 grams)
• 1 ½ cups (375 ml) sour cream
• 4 ½ cups (600 grams) all-purpose flour
• To find out how much flour to use, click here
• 15 grams baking powder (about 1 tablespoon)
• 10 grams baking soda (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) nutmeg (be careful… very very tasty!)
• 12 grams salt (about 2 teaspoons)
• Frying oil (canola or vegetable)

For The Glaze

• 3 ¼ cups (400 grams) icing sugar
• ⅓ cup (100 ml) 3.25% milk
• 4 grams salt (about ¾ teaspoon)

How to Make Old Fashioned Cake Donuts

For a more textured donut, make 3 light triangle-shaped incisions in the surface of the dough before frying, before frying.

In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, beat the sugar, butter and egg yolks until the air in the mixture gives it volume – about 2 minutes. Add sour cream and beat on medium speed until smooth.

In the same bowl, add the dry ingredients, 1 tablespoon at a time. Do not beat the dough too much because it will develop the gluten and the preparation will be less fluffy. In plastic wrap, wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to a week)

Flour your work surface well as well as the surface of the donut dough. Roll the old fashioned cake donuts dough to 1 cm (⅜ inch) thick. With a pastry brush, remove the excess flour. With a glass or a cookie cutter, cut out donuts and remove a small ball in the middle – which you will fry too!

Preheat the oil to 350°F. You need at least 5 cm (2 inches) of oil in your pan or deep fryer. Place 2 or 3 at a time (they should not overlap). When the donut rises to the surface of the oil, cook for another 30 seconds before turning it over. Cook for about 1 to 1:30 minutes. Let cool on a baking rack. When cool enough to handle, dip in glaze.

Glaze for Old Fashioned Cake Donuts

In a bowl, beat the icing sugar, milk and salt until smooth. If you want a finer glaze, heat in a bain-marie while whisking.

Enjoy.