Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: The little bit of nutmeg combined with the sour cream and sweet glaze makes these doughnuts taste just like the ones at your favorite bakery, if not better!
Texture: Slightly crunchy on the outside, cakey and soft on the inside. All the little cracks in these doughnuts just soak up the shiny, crackled glaze.
Ease: There’s no yeast in this recipe so you can have these doughnuts IN YOUR MOUTH in a little more than an hour from start to finish.
Pros: I think the pros are inherently implied, they’re doughnuts!
Cons: Deep fried sugary goodness ain’t too good for your diet.
Would I make this again? Yes, whenever I’m craving these old-fashioned cake doughnuts I’ll whip this recipe out.
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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.
Sprinkle of Science
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:
- Digital Scale – to ensure your ingredients are measured correctly
- Doughnut Cutter – for perfectly uniform doughnuts
- Deep Fry Thermometer – to ensure your oil maintains the correct temperature
- Dutch Oven – perfect for frying!
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Krispy Kreme Copycat Glazed Doughnuts
- Baked Strawberry Lemon Doughnuts
- Chocolate Old-Fashioned Doughnuts
- Pumpkin Old Fashioned Doughnuts
- Classic Cake Doughnuts
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Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 2 1/4 cup (255 grams) cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea 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 fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup hot water
Instructions
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.
Thanks for your tips
Can these donuts be made whole without the hole in the middle? I’m wanting to make ice cream sandwiches out of them?
Can you use applesauce to substitute for the eggs? My daughter is EXTREMELY allergic to eggs and we haven’t had good luck with yeast style doughnuts.
Is it possible to do a baked version of these?
No, I’m sorry. The ridges that are so distinct to this style of doughnuts only happen when the dough hits the hot fry oil. It’s just not the same when baking!
I found your recipe for sour cream cake and I read the comments. I am going to try and make these. What pot os the best to fry the donuts in. Thank you.
I just made these and they came out ok. I used cake flour as directed and only 1/2 tsp nutmeg. I usually don’t weigh my ingredients but for this recipe I did. After refrigerating for the hour the dough was super sticky so much so that I could not roll it out very well or cut out the doughnuts. I think I needed more flour? The doughnuts themselves were good but the icing was way too sweet, I think maybe there was too much on the doughnuts. Next time I will and use a bit more flour and more water in the icing as to not leave so much on the doughnut. Also I will not let the donuts cool before dipping in the icing. I used a deep fryer at about 340°, 2 minutes on each side and they seemed a little oily.
I did not have a paper bag so I drained them in the fryer basket and then on paper towels. If anyone has made these and has some suggestions I am open to them. Old fashion donuts are my fav but these just didn’t seem right to me, maybe it is just me Idk.
These were just alright in my opinion. I’ve definitely had better.
While I did not have the texture issues some mentioned, these donuts had zero flavor. No lingering sour cream tang, no buttery richness. They fried up beautifully, cracked and all for catching glaze, looking like they would be tasty. But, they tasted like nothing more than the oil they were fried in…canola at 325 as called for. Texture was ok, but simply disappointing. Definitely not worth the effort. And yes, the recipe was followed to the “t.”
Hi Heather – did you use fresh nutmeg for this recipe? Also, could your oil be “off?” Those would be my two suggestions to improve flavor. Hope that helps 🙂
Honestly, the best donut I’ve ever eaten in my life. Thank you for the recipe!
I love this recipe & have always baked old fashioned using yeast until Now!!! I will always use this hence forth!!!
Though an Old post – axel @ intoxicology you sexest pig! Get off your lazy fucking ass Andrew cook them your damn self – for the MRS!!!
—Drew
I made these and was disappointed in them.
The recipe says the dough would be sticky and it wasn’t. I was careful to measure the flour correctly. The flavor wasn’t what I was expecting. Won’t make them again.
These are the most perfect sour cream doughnuts I have ever seen in my life. I am from Southwest, PA and these are a staple around here (along with apple cider doughnuts) I totally agree when making doughnuts a smidget of nutmeg does make the difference. Your pictures are so awesome that I want to climb through the screen and grab one of your melt in our mouth doughnuts right now. Your technique is impeccable.