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Old Fashioned Cake Doughnuts

I thought my yeast doughnuts were delicious, but these are the best doughnuts I've ever had!
Makes: 12 doughnuts
5 from 1 vote
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Author: Preppy Kitchen
Servings: 6
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Chilling Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Print Recipe

Ingredients  

  • 3 cups cake flour (or 2 2/3 cup all purpose flour + 6 Tbsp corn starch)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ⅔ cup white sugar
  • 4 Tbsp butter (room temperature)
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 qt oil for frying (canola, peanut, avocado...)

Glaze:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 Tbsp water
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 1 pinch salt

Instructions: 

Making the Dough:

  • In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
  • In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the egg yolks. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the sour cream and beat until well combined.
  • Add the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until well combined, scraping down the bowl once to make sure everything is incorporated. Scrape the dough down into the bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm, and up to 1 day.

Forming and Cooking the Doughnuts:

  • Pour about 2 inches of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed kettle (like a dutch oven) and heat over medium heat until 335°. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and place a cooling rack on top of it. Set aside.
  • While the oil is heating, lay out a sheet of parchment paper and place the chilled dough on it. Place another sheet of parchment on top and roll to 1/2-inch thickness.
  • Using a 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut circles out of the dough. Cut holes in the center of each circle using a 1 1/4-inch round cutter. (The large end of a piping tip works well too!) Place the doughnuts and holes on another sheet of parchment paper.
  • When the oil is heated, carefully place 2-3 doughnuts in the kettle (or until it's comfortably full but you can still flip them easily). They may sink to the bottom at first, but should float in about 5-10 seconds.
  • Fry for 2 minutes, then flip and fry for another 2 minutes. Flip one more time and fry for another 30-60 seconds, or until golden brown.
  • Remove the doughnuts with a slotted spoon and place on the cooling rack.
    Adjust the temperature as needed to keep the oil at 335° for the remaining batches of doughnuts.
  • Combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl and dip the doughnuts in the glaze while they are still very warm.

Notes:

Make Ahead: The dough needs to be chilled, so you can easily make the dough ahead of time.
These are still super yummy the next day - just heat them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.