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I have huge sweet tooth cravings on the regular. Can you relate?
When I get a doughnut craving, it’s intense.
In my experience, a lot of doughnut shops make pretty bland and greasy doughnuts that leave a weird residue on your tongue.
There are 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.
These Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts are just like the old-fashioned cake doughnuts from the bakery. They’re kind of crunchy and cracked on the outside, making those nooks just perfect for soaking up the thick, shiny, crackled glaze.
We completely dunk the doughnuts in that glaze in the recipe, and it’s amazing. The inside is soft and cakey with a more firm bite than yeast doughnuts. Plus you can’t beat sour cream – it’s good with just about everything.
I don’t always prefer old-fashioned cake doughnuts to yeast doughnuts, but when I do this is absolutely the recipe I use. You can’t beat how much less time these take than yeast doughnuts, too.
Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts Recipe Tips
1. Use a Scale to Weigh Your Ingredients
Using a scale is a smart idea for these sour cream doughnuts. Any issues I hear about the dough being too dry or sticky are likely due to inaccurate measuring! If your doughnuts aren’t as fluffy and light as you’d like, it’s due to compacting too much flour into your measuring cup. You can learn more about how to measure flour the RIGHT way here.
2. Use REAL Bleached Cake Flour
- This is a must for these sour cream doughnuts.
- Purchased cake flour will yield light and delicate doughnuts, just like the ones from a good bakery.
- DIY substitutions don’t really cut it.
- AP flour will not create doughnuts with that same soft texture.
- Bleached cake flour will work best. Unbleached (like King Arthur Flour) won’t absorb as much moisture and you may end up with doughnuts that crumble while frying.
- You can learn more about cake flour here.
3. This Recipe is FRIED
- Yes, you must fry these sour cream doughnuts
- This recipe was specifically designed to be fried and not baked.
- USE FRESH OIL. Oil goes rancid quickly, often before the date on the bottle.
- If it has *any* unpleasant smell, don’t use it, as that flavor will transfer to your doughnuts.
Can I Air Fry These Doughnuts?
I don’t personally own an air fryer, but a reader recently messaged me, letting me know that she had success air frying this recipe. Let us know in the comments below if you have success air frying these doughnuts, too!
My Favorite Doughnut Tools:
For the donuts:
-
2 1/4
cup
(255 grams) cake flour
-
1 1/2
teaspoons
baking powder
-
1
teaspoon
salt
-
1/2
teaspoon
ground nutmeg
-
1/2
cup
(100 grams) sugar
-
2
tablespoons
(29 grams) butter,
at COOL room temperature
-
2
large egg yolks
-
1/2
cup
(113 grams) sour cream
-
Canola oil,
for frying
For the glaze:
-
3 1/2
cup
(350 grams) powdered sugar,
sifted
-
1 1/2
teaspoons
corn syrup
-
1/4
teaspoon
salt
-
1/2
teaspoon
vanilla extract
-
1/3
cup
hot water
For the donuts:
-
In a bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until sandy. Add the egg yolks and mix until light and thick. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream, ending with the flour.
-
Mix for 30 seconds on low speed or until the dough is smooth but slightly sticky. You want to mix enough that the dough doesn't fall apart in the oil, but not so much that it becomes tough. If the dough is unbearably sticky, add extra flour one tablespoon at a time (especially if you live in a warm & humid climate).
-
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour, or until firm.
-
On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Use a doughnut cutter or two differently sized biscuit cutters to cut out as many donuts as possible, dipping the cutters into flour as necessary to prevent sticking. You should get about 12 doughnuts and holes. If the dough gets too loose, sticky, or greasy at any point, return to the fridge to firm it back up before continuing. Refrigerate while you heat the oil so the dough is slightly cold when it fries.
-
Pour 2 inches of canola oil into a heavy-bottomed pot with a deep-fry thermometer attached. Heat to 325°F. Fry the doughnuts a few at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pot. Fry on each side about 2 minutes, being careful not to let them burn. Keep an eye on the thermometer and adjust your stove heat to maintain the correct oil temperature. Let drain on a paper bag to soak up the excess grease.
For the glaze:
-
Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a whisk until smooth. Immerse each doughnut into the glaze. Place on a wire rack above a sheet pan to catch any excess glaze. Let sit for 20 minutes until glaze is set. Doughnuts are best served the day they are made but may be store in an air tight container at room temperature for a few days.
Some readers have complained that 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg was too much. Nutmeg is a crucial flavor component to any doughnut, but if you don't like the taste, reduce it to 1/4 teaspoon or omit it altogether.
From Hand Forged Doughnuts via Completely Delicious
My husband tried to make these for me. The dough was so dry. We double checked all the ingredients, but we couldn’t even roll them out.
Sounds like perhaps an ingredient wasn’t measured or left out, most like though the flour was over-measured. Be sure to fluff up the flour and spoon it into your measuring cup so it doesn’t become too compacted, or better yet use a kitchen scale to ensure perfect accuracy.
I followed the recipe and the dough was not sticky at all
Homemade donuts in a little over an hour! Nice simple recipe with ingredients every baker has on hand. The dough is quite sticky, even after chilling for an hour. Does need to be kneaded 5 or 6 times and then pat out the dough to cut. Yummy!
Hi, could these be made ahead of time and eaten an hour later? Or do they have to be eaten hot?
I thank you for posting this recipe, but it did not turn out well for me. I followed the directions to a T, but they were a major fail. For one thing, they were flat and never puffed up at all; I know they’re cake doughnuts rather than yeast doughnuts, but mine came out more like cookies than doughnuts. And I cannot blame it on rolling them out too thin because I only got 9 doughnuts out of mine, not the 12 of the recipe, so if anything, my rolling was thicker. Also, I felt they were too salty. Overall, I was very disappointed in them.
Hi! I’m sorry you had a fail. However, I am confident it is not the fault of the recipe – I have made it numerous times and so have many others (just look on Instagram!) so it would appear some troubleshooting is needed. For the flatness I can think of two things that may have caused this – expired baking powder or incorrect oil temperature. As for the saltiness did you use kosher salt? I would only use fine salt in baking.
These donuts sound awesome with all those persian favorite ingredients! Bravo idea! Thanks for sharing!
I just made this and put them in the fridge to chill for an hour… my question is this: the dough is SO dry it barely incorporated all the flour. Your recipe says it should be sticky. I checked and rechecked that I put everything in correctly and in the right order, etc. The only difference is I used AP flour with cornstarch to “make” cake flour. Can that really make a difference???
I’m super excited to try this recipe as these are my favorite type of donut!! Just wondering how to use this recipe for a chocolate old fashioned donut? Any suggestions anyone?
Thanks so much!!
Will be making these PRONTO! Thanks so much for sharing! These are my husband & I favorite donut. Bless him, I just fed him one for breakfast that was left over from our Dunkin Donut stop yesterday. I can only imagine these will be soooo much better.
Hi – Thanks for this recipe – a few quick questions (that hopefully aren’t repeats from others). I tried these today and am not thrilled with my results. I want to try again.
*Do you think it’s possible to over-mix the dough?
*Once you cut your circles, do you re-roll the scraps?
*I tried mine in a small deep fryer not a pan – is that okay?
*We usually use peanut oil for frying, but I realized that you said canola. Do you think that would affect the flavor?
*Did you try to soak excess grease from both sides of the doughnut?
Thanks so much!!
Double the recipe. You won’t be sorry. So delicious!
What if I don’t have a mixer with a paddle attachment?
I tried making these this weekend and the dough was SUPER sticky. I couldn’t even roll them out. Should I add more flour? And then I put them in a fryer and they sunk down and stuck to my frying basket because they were so dense and sticky. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Hmmm as mentioned in the recipe the dough is quite sticky but as you can see from that last picture it definitely shouldn’t have prevented you from rolling them out and certainly should not have been so dense. Is it possible an ingredient was incorrectly measured or left out? I had great success with this recipe and many others have too so I’m thinking something went wrong along the way for you. Better luck next time!
Good recipe. FYI, spending $5 to save $10 gives you a $5 savings and $5 worth of free stuff.
can you make these with AP flour? don’t have cake flour at home
You can, though they may be slightly more dense.
Just found this today on Pinterest and am really excited to try them out! I do have a question for you though-I make doughnuts each Christmas as our traditional dessert. However, it comes at the end of a big meal that we prepare and share with our big extended family. Is this a recipe I can make earlier in the day and have ready to fry ahead of time (mixed & cut)? I have been using a yeast doughnut and the difficulty I have is remembering to get them out of the fridge to let them rise before frying! I want something equally delicious and lower maintance:)
Thank you Tessa for that recipe! My doughnuts where a hit but they where also very hard, i must have made an error while doing the dough. Any tip on how to make them softer? Also mine where alot more uniformed than yours although when i look at your picture of the dough, mine where pretty much the same.
Hi! It sounds like either the dough was over-worked or the oil was too cold or too hot while frying. Also as a note – this type of doughnut will be a little more “hard” than the fluffier yeast-raised kind.
Hi! These look super yummy! I was wondering if I could use shortening to fry these instead of Canola oil?
Sure!
My son and I made these for breakfast this morning, and they were delicious! I have been sort of afraid of frying doughnuts, and I decided it was time to get over that. thanks so much for the fantastic recipe! 🙂
So thrilled to here that Michelle. Frying can be a bit intimidating but it’s so worth it isn’t it?!
Munchkin and I are going nuts over these photos. She has informed me that she wants these! LOL
Haha! I would gladly make these for Munchkin anytime 🙂
i live in Scotland but i moved to canada for just over 3 yrs and was addicted to tim hortons sour cream donuts but have never known how to make these im soooo going to try this recipe coz they look juuuuust like them mmmmm thank you sooooo much i miss those so much….its funny the things you miss from somewhere, when i lived in canada i missed Scottish bread lol xx
Isn’t that funny? You always miss what you can’t get!
What type of butter? Salted, unsalted, etc….
It’s such a small amount that it really doesn’t matter salted vs. unsalted!
Made these today. They were excellent!
Glad to hear it!
hey tessa.. these doughnuts look too tempting to try .. i want to make them .. but we dont get sour cream at our place.. is there i can substitute for sour cream ? what about yogurt ?
Can I use dark corn syrup for the glaze??
It would definitely alter the flavor and color, but I think it should work fine.
These look amazing! Quick question, how long did you wait between pulling them out of the oil and putting the glaze on?
I started dipping in the glaze right after the last batch came out of the oil. I just started glazing the ones I fried first that were cool, and by the time I got to the most recent ones they were cool enough to touch.
Can you use all purpose flour or bread flour?
Definitely don’t use bread flour. You can actually make your own cake flour using all purpose flour and cornstarch: http://joythebaker.com/2009/09/how-to-make-cake-flour/
I remember these as a young boy in the early 60s. Can gluten free cake mix be used? Can these be baked to a crunchy exterior with a soft interior?
Thank You
Rod
Hi Rod, I’m really not sure those substitutions would work independently, let alone combined. You might be able to get away with using a gluten-free cake flour (not cake mix) but the only way these will have that wonderful texture you remember is if you fry them. They will taste completely differently if you use gluten-free flour and bake them, unfortunately.
How do you think they’d turn out if I substitute the nutmeg for cinnamon? I’m relatively partial to nutmeg but I super love cinnamon. I’ve never made doughnuts from scratch before though so figured I’d ask before simply substituting all willy nilly. I might just try making them both ways but I was just curious 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Nutmeg is quintessential to that characteristic doughnut flavor! You can totally turn these into cinnamon doughnuts, I’m sure it’d be equally delicious 🙂
Do you think you could substitute anything for the corn syrup?
You can use tapioca syrup instead or just omit the corn syrup, it just helps make the glaze feel just like what’d you find at a bakery.
I was just telling my husband about this type of doughnut yesterday. I used to work in a bakery and the lady that made doughnut made awesome Old Fashioned’s I will definitely try these.
Omg! Recipe for my favorite donut in the whole wide world? My coworker brought donuts to work yesterday and I was the last to get in the box and I was thinking that I was going to be left with a sprinkle or a plain glazed but there was my favorite just waiting for me… Now I can make as many as I want at home! I’m sitting here trying to picture the inside of my cabinets and I think I have everything I need thanks so much!
These look delicious! Question: what size donut cutter did you use?
I used this 3 1/2-inch one from Ateco: http://www.amazon.com/Ateco-2-Inch-Stainless-Doughnut-Cutter/dp/B0000DDYZN/
I love sour cream donuts! Those crispy outside bits and the warm cake inside- yum. I think I’m the only one in my family that like them though. I wonder if the kids would feel differently if they helped make some… I’m going to give it a go sometime this summer and see. I’ll use coconut oil for frying though. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
These are really delicious. One question though: How did you keep them together? Out of the whole batch, I came out with one whole donut and dozens of curved pieces. LOL
Oh really?! That’s strange. What I did was take a kind of flat fine mesh skimmer, place as many doughnuts as would fit on the mesh, then slowly dip the skimmer into the oil so the doughnuts would enter gently and so I wouldn’t get splashed with any hot oil. Then I gently removed the doughnuts with the same skimmer once they were done.
Wow, I guess this is what they call food porn. I’m going to have the mrs make these this weekend. Great recipe, cheers!
Looks great! Question: could the dough be made the night before and left in the refrigerator? I ask because these look great for breakfast but between the prep and chilling it looks like a good couple of hours (and I’m too lazy to wake up any earlier). Thanks in advance!
I think that would work just fine!
YUM!! I have a yeast doughnut recipe that we love, but I think it may be time to try something different! I love a good sour cream old fashioned. For some reason I always thought they were baked? Hmmm.
After you cut these out, do you allow any rise time? Or just fry them right away?
Thanks!!
Nope, no rise time after cutting – just as the recipe is written!
Those look delicious!! I am pinning them now!
Yummy! If I had all the ingredients I think I’d be making these tonight. I’ve been baking too much and I’m out of everything. pinning and sharing.
I want to make these right now..I dont have sour cream on hand, can I use thick greek yoghurt? :s
I don’t see why not!
Thank you Tessa for this great recipe, old-fashioned sour cream doughnuts.
I made them and they turned out super yummy and tasty!!
Have a great weekend! 🙂
Oh that’s wonderful to hear!!
Silly question….what do you do with your oil after you finish? Can it be used more than once?
I will usually strain it with a really fine mesh strainer or even cheesecloth to remove all the little particles that accumulate, funnel it back into an airtight container, store in a cool dry place, and use it a handful of times more. The more particles that become introduced into the oil, the less it can be reused. Once it’s unusable again (too many particles, bad smell, etc.) just throw it away in the trash inside an airtight container. Hope that helps!
Crazy question…can the dough be cut & then frozen? Defrosted & then cooked? I’m looking for fun recipes to bring on vacation & the less work while ON vacation the better! ;o)
I think that should work! As long as you par-freeze the unfried doughnuts on a sheet pan until they’re solid, then place them in an airtight container, they should hold up just fine. I’d allow them to sit at room temperature for a little while before frying. Enjoy your vacation!
I have made the dough then used a small scoop to make mounds on a tray, froze them and them put them in a bag. I can grab out 4 or 6 or 12 to fry up any time! Works great. I usually pull them out of the freezer about the time I am heating up the fryer. It helps that our fryer lives on the counter 24/7 as we use it often!!
mmmm, these look so good. As soon as I kick this cold I am going to make them. a doughnut cutter is on my list!
Hope you feel better soon!
Can I still make these with a hand mixer?
Of course!
Old fashioned doughnuts are my FAVORITE. These look great!
I shouldn’t even be looking at these, but I saw the picture in the sidebar and had to. These look so good. There should be a recipe version that makes just one lol because that’a all I’m allowed to have when I cheat. Can’t imagine a basket of these in my kitchen.
Haha! They’re quite dangerous! Better invite some neighbors and friends over if you make them.
These are every bit as gorgeous and drool-worthy as the old-fashioned doughnuts you find in a bakery, and I love that there’s no yeast!
Reporting back…I just made these and they are amazing!! My family is going to love them!!
Thanks so much for sharing! Hope your family enjoyed!
I am the same way about coupons- the only ones that I consistently use these days are for diapers and wipes because that stuff is ridiculously expensive!
Blah diapers and wipes are outrageously expensive! They make the things you can’t really avoid buying so expensive – printer ink and shaving razors are ridiculous too.
Hi! I just found your site and am on a pinning streak! These look awesome! Can’t wait to try them.
These are my favorite type of doughnuts! They look glorious! Pinned!
These look gorgeous! Do you think it’s possible to bake them, instead of frying? I always thought old fashioned donuts were baked for some reason…
That’s a good question! I haven’t tried baking this particular recipe, however I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The results would probably be quite different in texture, though. I have a few baked doughnut recipes too you may want to check out: https://handletheheat.com/category/donut
What about trying to do it in the air fryer?? Just a thought…
I need at least 6 of these all to myself, so delicious!
I am so excited you posted this…I went on a vacation last year and had sour cream doughnuts for the first time and was not disappointed…they were so good…but I have been stalling on making them at home for some reason yet craving them… this recipe and the gorgeous pictures makes me want to tackle the project this weekend! YUM!
Thank you! I hope you do make them this weekend!
Doughnuts aren’t normally one of my favorite desserts, but delicious homemade ones are definitely a step up from chain-store produced ones. Here in NYC, there are a few excellent doughnut producers, Dough and Dougnut Planet, that make specialty flavors and such– worth a try if you’re ever in the area and like doughnuts.
Uhh, this is killer. I would LOVE to make these. Can’t wait until I’m off bedrest..!
It is early in the morning, but this isn’t make sense to me. The ingredients don’t list shortening, but it’s called for in the second line of the recipe. Is that referring to the butter?
Sorry to hear you’re on bedrest! Oh yes, just a typo. It’s meant to be butter. Thanks for pointing that out, I’ve fixed it.
Can you chill the dough overnight so that it’s ready to go first thing the next morning?
Did you try chilling overnight? I am going to make them that way on Saturday.
These look amazing! Wish I had one for breakfast today 🙂 I’ve never tried frying raised donuts, only cake ones, so I’ll have to put this on my list of things-to-make!
I mean this in the most non creepy way but I am going to marry you. Old fashioned sour cream doughnuts are MY FAVORITE (in face, my hubby and I broke one in half on our wedding day, instead of cutting cake together!) and I never knew how to make them. This is life changing. Pinned!
I made these this morning. They were delicious and so easy to make.