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.
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!
Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts
Ingredients
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
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.
I had high hopes for these. I love donuts and make them for my family every weekend. I made these exactly as written and could only eat one. The nutmeg flavor really threw me off. It tasted like I took a pepper shaker and emptied it on my donut. I think I’ll stick to my cake donuts for now on.
These were incredible. The outside made for a beautiful crunch that gave way to a delicious, cakey texture. The glaze was perfect. I added a little lemon juice to add a new flavor to the mix and it turned out great. I’ll definitely be making these again, thanks for the recipe!
These look awesome! Can I make the dough the night before and refrigerate it, and just fry them in the morning?
Hmmmm, loved the photos and the flavours were great. However, as mentioned in some of the other comments, our dough was really dry and turned out cookie-like doughnuts. My husband, who is a scientist at heart, mentioned that the difference in milling between Canadian and American flour (and perhaps other countries as well?) might be partially responsible (especially since he is meticulous about measuring)… Apparently Canadian flour is a finer texture and usually needs more liquids compared to American flour. We tried several different temps (between 325 – 350) and different lengths on each side but didn’t get the fluffy looking doughnuts that I was craving…. more experimenting to follow…
That’s really interesting Ali. I wonder if the other commenters who had a similar issue are using non-American flour as well. What is the brand called that you used?
I just finished making these. I used my bagel cutter, so I only got 7 doughnuts and holes. OMG these are better than I could have imagined! They are my favorite anyhow, Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Really very simple to make and fry. Very decedent! The best I have ever had.
Oh my goodness! These look so good and they are my husband’s favorite type of donuts. He used to buy them at Winchell’s Donuts, but there aren’t any near to us now. I am going to make these as a “sweet surprise” for him. Thanks so much for the recipe and lovely (mouth-watering) images.
Made these this morning! Definitely did not get a dozen doughnuts but the flavor is spot on. These were simple and very yummy! I will be making these again (& doubling the recipe)! 😉
Total amateur here, and the doughnuts came out looking just like the photos. I’m excited just to have made doughnuts! That said, the time quoted is a total lie – hard to believe anyone can chill the dough for an hour per the recipe and have doughnuts ready in 60 minutes. My total prep time was more like 120 min, plus an hour to chill. But I’m an amateur, and I’m sure I could be faster. I also thought the nutmeg was really strong. I would use half as much or not at all next time. I may be an amateur fryer, but I am nigh pro on doughnut eating, and I strongly disagree with the statement that nutmeg is the key flavor in a sour cream doughnut. Krispy Kreme makes my favorite sour cream doughnut, and I think theirs has no nutmeg at all.
Thanks for the recipe!
In General, great pics and recipes! Those glazzy drippy sourcream doughnuts made my palate start to water. You can certainly know exactly what those are going to taste like just by looking at them…..tender crunch, delicate inside, buttery! and the perfect amount of glaze. I’d have to say, you know your consistencies. I am Professional Pastry Chef of 32 years and currently the owner of an Artisan Bread Bakery. I rarely leave comments, and know good stuff when I see it!!
Well done Tessa
Complete fail 1/2 c sour cream to 2 1\4 c flour. Hahaha and you say they suppost to be sticky. Yeah right.
Can replace sour cream with milk??
Hi, I don’t ever use cake flour what’s the equivalent for all purpose flour?