Doughnuts will always remind me of my sweet, hard-working Grandpa. He owned a small doughnut shop in Dallas, Texas where my mom remembers falling asleep on bags of flour after a long day at school. I will never forget the amazing smell of sweet glazes and freshly fried doughnuts upon entering his shop and getting to wake up in the middle of the night to help him start doughnuts for the early morning deliveries. I don't think I have ever eaten a doughnut without the most wonderful memories of him coming to mind.
My favorite doughnuts, if you absolutely MADE me choose... :), are cake doughnuts. I love any type of cake doughnut, really. But, old-fashioned are definitely near the top of the list.
These old-fashioned sour cream cake doughnuts are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and incredibly moist! I absolutely love them! This recipe will forever more be a favorite of mine.
Recipe:
Doughnuts:
2 1/4 cup (255 grams) cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. butter, softened
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream
canola oil
Glaze:
3 1/2 cups (350 grams) powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup hot water
In a small bowl whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, mix the sugar and butter. Add the yolks, one at a time, scraping the bowl often. In about 3 increments, add the sour cream and flour mixture, alternately, ending with the flour. Scrape the bowl between each increment. When the dough comes together, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Pour about 2 inches of canola oil into a dutch oven or a really heavy pot (cast iron works great). Heat over medium heat. Use a candy thermometer to get the oil to about 325ºF.
Lightly flour your counter. Roll dough onto counter to about a 1/2 inch thickness, picking up often to make sure it does not stick to the counter. Use your doughnut cutter or a large round cutter and a small round cutter to cut dough into doughnut shapes.
Place a few doughnuts in the oil and cook for 2 minutes on each side (about 4-5 minutes total) or until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove from oil and place on a brown paper bag to cool. Cook the rest of the doughnuts.
To make the glaze, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Fully immerse each doughnut in the glaze and place the doughnuts on a cooling rack. Allow the doughnuts to sit for about 20 minutes after glazing so that the glaze has time to set.
Eat them all! :) Or, you can place the leftovers in an airtight container for a few days.
