Nothing could be simpler. Two bowls, one balloon whisk and one pot for frying is all you need to make these… really. Minimal whisking: add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and form dough. Slap it down on the counter, pat it down with your hands and cut into circles. Chill them while the oil heats up and fry them. You just made old fashioned cake doughnuts with minimum effort and in record time. They are best rolled into cinnamon sugar. But it wasn’t just the two of us today so I glazed a few. The cinnamon sugar doughnut holes were my favourites. We ate them while hot so there is no photo. I made only half of the recipe and I still got 8 fair sized doughnuts and as many doughnut holes. Recipe was adapted from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. I simply LOVE that book.
I grew up with yeast doughnuts myself, but there are a surprisingly large number of people who go for the old fashioned ones. I like the fact that you can cut the recipe in half and make 6 to 8 only. Yeast doughnuts are a lot more work and take time. It doesn't seem to be worth all the fuss to make half a dozen. But these were easy and quick and we had real doughnuts before I could get into the car and go through Tim's for a box of six. A couple were left for the following day and they were still good. This is a brilliant recipe.
BUTTERMILK DOUGHNUTS
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3-1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup 14% sour cream
2 large eggs
3/4 cup 3.25% buttermilk
vegetable oil for frying
• Melt the butter, but not fully. Keep stirring until no chunks remain. Set aside.
• Line one baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the sour cream eggs and buttermilk until combined.
• Add the butter and whisk again.
• Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the liquid ingredients into the well.
• Gently fold the flour into the liquid center until dough forms.
• Sprinkle a cutting board lightly with flour and place the dough on top. Do not kneed.
• Sprinkle flour on the top and press on the dough to flatten out about 1/2 inch thick.
• Using a large and a thimble sized biscuit cutter press out the rounds. Occasionally dip the cutters into flour so they won’t stick.
• Arrange the doughnuts and doughnut holes on the parchment lined baking sheet and place in the freezer while you heat the oil.
• Get a heavy pot large enough to fry 3 doughnuts and add about 1 inch of vegetable oil.
• Place on medium heat and heat the oil to 365F. Do not heat up the oil too fast, because the doughnuts will burn on the outside and remain raw in the inside. If you don’t have a thermometer, it takes about 5-7 minutes to heat up the oil. Drop in a doughnut hole to test it. If the oil sizzles around the doughnut hole and it bobs in the oil you may start frying the doughnuts.
• Fry only 3 doughnuts at a time.
• It takes 2-3 minutes) to fry before turning them over with a slotted spoon.
• Fry them on the other side for 1 minute longer.
• Maintain the correct oil temperature throughout the process.
• Using the slotted spoon transfer the doughnuts to a paper towel lined tray to drain.
• The doughnut holes will cook much faster.
• Dip the hot doughnuts into cinnamon sugar or a glaze.
• Yield 16 doughnuts.
Cinnamon Sugar:
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 tbsp cinnamon
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.
Chocolate Glaze:
4 squares Bakers semisweet [or 4 oz good quality dark chocolate], chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp butter
• Place the chopped chocolate in a medium wide-mouthed bowl.
• In a small saucepan, heat the cream until it is just about to boil.
• Pour the cream over the chocolate and wait 1 minute.
• Whisk until smooth.
• Whisk in the butter.
• Keep the mixture warm.
• Yields glaze for 10-12 doughnuts.
Vanilla Glaze:
2 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 pkg. vanilla sugar
• In a medium sized bowl whisk together ingredients.
• If you prefer a thick white vanilla glaze on the doughnuts, wait until the doughnuts cooled down. I like a lighter glaze so I dipped the hot doughnuts into the glaze.
• Yields glaze for 10-12 doughnuts.
