Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts are coated in glaze and taste just like the cakey ones at your favorite bakery! No yeast makes this recipe quicker and easier.
There’s a few local shops that I LOVE, but I rarely have an excuse to make a trip to one of them. This recipe honestly takes about the same amount of time that it takes to drive across town to my favorite bakery, so it’s kind of perfect. Plus, if you only eat doughnuts when you make them from scratch, you can’t really go overboard right? That’s my logic at least.
Dropping beautiful dough into a too-hot oil or a too-cold oil can do bad stuff to the beautiful dough that you have spent hours with. I found that the best way to ensure your oil stayed at a consistent 350°F was to have a thermometer right in the oil at all times. If you happen to have a pan large enough for frying 3-4 donuts at once, the addition of the dough can decrease the temperature significantly. If you see the temperature lower, you can immediately add heat and get it back up to temp. I used a large dutch oven with enough oil to reach 2 to 3-inches deep. I don’t recommend adding more than that. And make sure your pan is bigger than you would think you would need.
INGREDIENTS
CAKE DONUT
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 large egg, room temperature and lightly beaten
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups vegetable oil, about 2 or 3-inches deep in your pan
GLAZE
4 cups 500g confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon McCormick vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup milk
INSTRUCTIONS
CAKE DONUT
In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt.
Add in milk, egg, butter, and vanilla extract. Stir by hand until ingredients are fully incorporated. It will be sticky. Cover with a damp towel and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Roll out the dough to 3/4 inches to 1-inch thick. It is important to make sure the dough is at least 3/4 thick or your donuts will be too flat.
Once rolled out, use a donut cutter to cut out shapes. If you do not have a donut cutter, use a round tool like a kitchen glass or a jar lid that is about 3-inches across. You can use a bottle cap or small shot glass for the smaller hole.
Set cut-out donuts on a baking sheet.
PREPARE GLAZE
Mix all ingredients in a medium to large bowl. Whisk until they are smooth and you have reached the desired consistency. (I think the perfect consistency is the same as the corn syrup, not too runny but loose enough for it to fall beautifully over all the nooks and crannies of the donut.)
BEGIN FRYING
Starting with the first pan of donuts you cutout (meaning that those donuts have been allowed to rise a bit more while you cut out the rest) drop one donut at a time into vegetable oil that has been heated to 350°F.
Allow each donut to brown for 45seconds to 1 minute on one side, and then flip over so that the other side may brown.
Carefully remove donut from oil (I prefer and hand-held strainer) and set on a plate lined with paper towels.
While donuts are warm, submerge into the glaze one side of the donuts into the glaze. Lift and let drain into the bowl, then move the donut to a baking sheet with a cooling rack in it. (You can also place on parchment or wax paper but the glaze might pool.)
Donuts can be enjoyed immediately or you can double dip them depending on how much glaze you like.
Store donuts in between parchment paper in an airtight container for up to two days.