Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts
Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts are crumbly, tender, and easy for beginners with no yeast. Crisp nooks & crannies soak up a sweet vanilla glaze with a hint of warm spice. Serve with coffee.
Servings: 6 donuts
Calories: 255kcal
Cost: $10
Equipment
- Thermometer for oil
- Donut Cutter ***See note about sizing.
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
For the Doughnuts
- 2 ¼ cups Bleached Cake Flour Plus more for floured surface
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter softened to room temperature
- 2 Egg Yolks large
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- Non-stick cooking spray
- Parchment Paper
- 3 cups Vegetable oil blended vegetable or canola oil, approximate measurment since you will need to fill a pot 2-3 inches deep.
For the Glaze
- ¼ cup Milk
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg yolks and sour cream and combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. With a spoon or spatula (do not use an electric mixer), stir by hand. The dough should be flakey but not overly dry or wet.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, spray the top of the dough with non-stick spray and put in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Remove the plastic wrap and roll the dough out on floured parchment paper until it's ½-inch thickness. Make sure not to over-knead the dough. Use a donut cutter or 2 concentric circle cutters to cut out all the donuts. Reroll the dough as needed to get about 6-8 donuts and holes. Put the donuts back in the refrigerator while heating the oil.
- Make the glaze. In a medium saucepan over low heat, add the milk and vanilla extract. Gradually add the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Put the saucepan in some warm water and occasionally stir to keep a hardened layer from forming while you fry the donuts.
- Into a large, deep pan, add about 2 inches of oil and heat to 325 F. Two or three at a time, add the donuts so they do not touch. Fry on each side for 2 minutes until they are golden brown and transfer to a wire rack over paper towels or a baking sheet. Donut holes only need about 45 seconds per side.
- The oil temperature will decrease when you add the donuts. Let it come back up to 325 degrees between batches.
- As soon as the donuts are cool enough to touch but still warm, dip them into the glaze and flip to cover the entire donut. Transfer to the cooling rack for about 5 minutes until glaze is set and cooled. If necessary, you can put the donuts in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to warm them up again.
- Donuts are best eaten the same day but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days.
Notes
- Baking recipes are best in measured in weight (grams) rather than volume (cups) but you can get away with it in this recipe. It might be a bit more inconsistent from one baker to the next.
- Cake flour is HIGHLY recommended for a light texture and loose crumb. I have made this recipe by substituting ¼ cup cornstarch and 2 cups all-purpose flour. The texture was denser and coarser than I would expect it to be. However, it does work in a pinch.
- A doughnut size is about 3.5 outer circle and 1.25 inner circle. If you don't have a doughnut cutter, use anything close to that.
- Sifting the cake flour and powdered sugar is recommended if you notice any lumps.
Nutrition
Serving: 1donut | Calories: 255kcal | Protein: 3.4g | Fat: 6.5g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 218mg | Sugar: 28.3g | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1.3mg