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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
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.
Free Baking Science Mini-Course!
From cookies that spread to undercooked brownies, this FREE 5-day Baking Science course helps you conquer common baking challenges and make bakery-worthy treats every time.
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
Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts
Email This Recipe
Enter your email, and we’ll send it to your inbox.
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.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
Amazing recipe!! Flavor was out of this world. Mine ended up coming out a little dry, but I’m sure it was an error on my part..perhaps I over-mixed. I will still definitely make this again!
Hi Sophie! We’ve got tips in the pink box above this recipe that might help next time you make these doughnuts 🙂 So glad to hear you enjoyed them still!
How can I make flour? I only have regular flour
I’ve never tried that, sorry! Just keep in mind that bleached cake flour is a MUST for this recipe (see the pink tip box above the recipe for more details).
Hi:)
Can i substitute corn syrup with another thing?
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.
WOW! These look so delicious. I wish I could be a taste tester for you.
haha! They’re honestly not that difficult to make, I hope you give them a try sometime! 🙂
these are delicious. will be making more. just one question though…I followed the recipe exactly and found using a 3 and half inch donut cutter im only getting 5 donuts. made a 2nd batch and same issue. recipe states around 12. what could I be doing wrong?
Strange, I haven’t heard of this issue before! I also use a 3 1/2 inch doughnut cutter (linked above the recipe), and as long as the dough is rolled out to about 1/2 inch thickness, you should get about 12 doughnuts and holes.
I had the same problem. Made the recipe exact measuring everything. At 1/2” size I got about 5-6 donuts so I made them about 1/4” and they are delicious but don’t have much of a middle, they’re thin
The flavor was amazing! My dough was tough. I used coconut sugar and yogurt because it’s what I had on hand. Not sure if that contributed to a very dense result. I’ll try again!
Your substitutions could very well be the issue. I’d also make sure you’re not adding too much flour! I’d recommend getting a digital scale if you don’t already have one to ensure accurate measuring 🙂
Can the dough or the fried doughnuts be frozen? The recipe is too much for me to use at a single time. Wondering how to best keep the extra.
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!
I am a huge fan of nutmeg and added DOUBLE the amount called for. I ground it fresh, too. Excellent. I didn’t use canola as I don’t like the rapeseed plant, but found a mix of coconut and avocado to work well. Other than that I followed the recipe to a ‘T’ and everyone at my house loved it! I’ve made them many many times.
So happy you loved this recipe, Nara!
I can’t have milk, due to an allergy, however, I substituted cashewmilk yogurt for the sour cream and it worked very well. Was really sticky and I didn’t add more flour until after but it still worked in the end and they tasted amazing! I appreciate the tip of 2 min for frying. This was my first time frying anything and first time making donuts. Very happy! Thank you!
So happy your substitution worked with this recipe!!
Trying this in air fryer. Taste of them is ok but came out very dry. Cooked just until got a nice folded color so don’t think was over cooked. Not sure where to adjust. Maybe more sour cream next time.
Hi Chris, I talk about inaccurate measuring of ingredients in the pink box above the recipe contributing to the dough being too dry…I’m wondering, do you have a digital scale to measure your ingredients?
Can I freeze this dough?
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. Good luck, and enjoy!
AMAZING!! I have been asked to make these so many more times!
I’m so thrilled you love these doughnuts, Stephanie!