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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
This is delicious! My husband and I used to live in New York and now that we’ve lived in Stockholm for several years his craving for old fashioned donuts hasn’t gone away. These came out excellent even though it was my first try at donuts and I had to hope that the Swedish equivalents of the ingredients were similar enough. I rolled the dough too thin a couple times but they were just as good as the thicker ones in the end. Thank you!
That’s wonderful to hear! So glad this recipe worked perfectly, thanks for sharing!
Can this dough be made the day before and left in the fridge overnight?
Hi there! We haven’t tried that, though other readers have with success 🙂 Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Everything that could’ve went wrong did.
My dough was still sticky despite adding flour.
It finally got stiff enough to roll and cut.
When it came time to fry it all came crumbling out in the pan….
HELP. What can I do to actually be successful at this recipe?
I’m sorry you had issues with your doughnuts, Lori! Do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients (especially your flour)? Make sure to check out the pink tip box above this recipe for more details as sticky dough is typically due to inaccurate measuring. Crumbly doughnuts can be due to the type of flour used. We also talk about that in the pink box. I hope you give this recipe another try so you can experience these doughnuts the way they’re meant to taste! Let us know how it goes.
Going to make these right now! Thanks, looks easy and delicious.
How did it go?!
I made these! So yummy and easy to make. I added sprinkles to the donut holes so it would be like birthday cake timbits! And I also put sprinkles on some of the donuts!
So fun!! Happy you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Not sure why, but I only got 7 out of the whole batch. Waiting to get them in a bit hopefully they taste good
Interesting! Did you use a scale to measure your ingredients? Please let us know how they turn out!
TESSA AN ALL THE LADIES THAT COME IN THIS SIGHT IS FAMILY AN MEN ME ITS SO WARMING AN JUST READING AN TEXTING IS SO FUN AN COMPLETELY ❤️ IM VERY PROUD TO BE PART OF ALL THIS FAMILY IN HERE ITS MAGNIFICENT HOLIDAYS AHEAD WITH ALL OF YOU SINCERELY BIG DAN’S I LOVE RECIPES AN ITS AMAZING 9/16/21 236 AM MY TIME OF THE EVENING
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID BUY GIVING US THEM PERFECT FLOWER AN OIL TIPS AFTER WE FRIED THEM WE TRIED EVERYTHING YOU TOLD US NOT TO DO AN THE DOG WOULDNT EAT THEM ,WE THREW THE OIL OUT AN IT WAS FILLED WITH S SOGGY FLOUR DOUGH UR A MIRACLE WE HAD A ♦️ CARD PARTY COFFEE AN DONUTS THOUGHT THEY WERE DUNKIN DONOS ITS SO SPECTACULAR IN WITH RECIPE AN VERY PROUD TO TELL THEM FLOWER AN OILSNAFFU I’m in love your magnificent an so special we are holidays HAPPY LOVE YA BIG DAN
So happy to hear your doughnuts were such a hit!
Just a warning to be careful when working with all that hot oil. I’m sitting here with a painful blister because some oil splashed up on my hand. Also, I had a hard time keeping the oil temperature at a consistent degree so most of them burned and were very dry. The first few that didn’t burn were okay but I didn’t like the flavor of the glaze so basically all of them went in the trash. Unfortunately it was a big waste of time and ingredients for me. I hate leaving a poor review; I’m sure all of these issues were my fault. Just be careful with the oil!
Hi! Can I use an airfryer to make these?
Hi Kaya! None of us here at Handle the Heat own an air fryer; however, one of our readers reported in that she had success air-frying this recipe 🙂 Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
So easy and without going to the
bakery results
So happy you loved this recipe, Tom!
Can you use Gravpeseed oil instead of canola oil?
We haven’t tried that! Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
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!
I liked the ingredients listed by weight. That was great.
That was way too much nutmeg. It’s almost overpowering. I wish I had read all the way to the bottom first, I would have halved it for sure.
I followed the instructions to the letter and the dough was absurdly sticky. We couldn’t roll it; we had to use spoons to roll them into little balls.
I made this recipe. The dough came out perfectly. I used cake flour and followed all directions. My only problem was frying them. I hoped they would puff up more and they came out heavy. Then glazed them. Still just too heavy for me. I had fun trying it.
I love trying your recipes. Biscuits were my fave.
Oh no, they certainly should not have been so dense. Did you weigh your flour? Was the oil the correct temp? 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!
Can these doughnuts be baked. If so what temperature and how long
This recipe was specifically designed to be fried. The results would probably be quite different in texture if you baked them. I have a few baked doughnut recipes you may want to check out if that’s what you prefer: https://handletheheat.com/category/donut 🙂
We had this at my aunts house. YOu should know, I am donut crazy and these are my VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY a million “verys” donut! TRY THEM!
I did make the dough the night before and they fried up perfectly the next morning. It was a little tough from the cold at first, but it worked itself out pretty well.
I ended up putting a bit more water in the glaze, as my first two got coated too thickly.
So glad you tried these doughnuts out!
how can i get on your mailing list
Hi Carol, click this link to sign up! Just input your email and make sure to confirm.
Every doughnut recipe I’ve read tells you to fry doughnuts in oil heated between 350-365 degrees. Why do you recommend 325 degrees? Also I think the doughnuts would have been lighter if I used 3tsp.(1tablespoon) baking powder instead of 1 1/2 teaspoons. Appreciate your input. Doughnuts were still very tasty..
Thank you. Angela
Every doughnut recipe I’ve read tells you to fry doughnuts in oil heated between 350-365 degrees. Why do you recommend 325 degrees? Also I think the doughnuts would have been lighter if I used 3tsp.(1tablespoon) baking powder instead of 1 1/2 teaspoons. Appreciate your input. Doughnuts were still very tasty…I fried them @365 degrees.
Thank you. Angela
These looked great- just like the old fashioned ones from the store. Didn’t taste as good as they looked. Tasted the grease, not the sweet.
Made these tonight and they were delicious. Not near as pretty as yours but they didn’t go to waste so apparently looks didn’t matter.
So glad you tried this recipe out!
I love this sour cream cake, the taste is amazing
Glad to hear that!
I am in the middle of making this recipe and got a food scale and the bleach cake flour etc and let it sit in the fridge and when I went to roll out it seemed hard to roll out and when I finally got it…it was way too thin and would only make 6 donuts- i rolled it back up and put back in the fridge but not sure what I did wrong here I really followed everything as perfectly as I could! any suggestions?
Nevermind! Needed to sit in fridge for longer. Came out great! Thank you!
Can you bake this recipe? If so temperature and how long?
I have only tested frying this recipe!
Really liked these donuts.
So glad to hear that!
LOVED this recipe. It’s seems pretty fool proof and turned out amazing. Tasted like a classic old-fashioned donut should!
I’m thrilled you enjoyed this recipe!
Is it supposed to be only two tbsp of butter? My dough won’t even stick together it’s so dry!!
I’m NOT a baker (but a decent cook).
These turned out pretty good. I really don’t understand
some of the comments for folks that said theirs completely flopped.
Especially when they followed the recipe exactly.
No, they are not donut-shop quality, but for a home cook trying this
recipe for the first time (and even fried donuts), they are tasty.
Thanks for the recipe and tips.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Ken!
USER ERROR….WOOOOOW, what a disaster. I’m a great cook and a great baker. Not sure how I missed the mark so much on this recipe. I misread the recipe and added in eggs AND egg yolks, and added all wet ingredients at once which made for a mess.
In the end, after trying to salvage my mess, I made a chocolate icing which the kids loved. This was more like a biscuit with delicious icing.
Oh no! No matter how much experience someone has baking mishaps always happen – trust me, I’ve had my fair share! 😉 Glad you were still able to enjoy a treat altogether.
can dough be made the day before and fried the next morning?
IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Lilly!
CAn I leave dough overnite in. FRIdge
What’s the best way to store these and how long are they “good” for? Can you freeze them after glazing?
Doughnuts are best served the day they are made but may be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for a few days. Unglazed doughnuts are best frozen as soon as they’ve cooled after baking or frying. Refresh in a 300°F oven or in the microwave at 50% power until heated before glazing.
I have a air fryer and was wondering if I could do it in that.
i was unsuccessful making these… the outside was about to burn but the inside was still raw… The only difference was that i didnt have donut cutters and i had trouble doing it by hand so i used cookie cutters. was that the reason the inside was raw?
That sounds more like the oil was too hot.
Hi very nice articale
I’m wondering if the frying temperature is correct in this recipe (325 degrees). There’s a credit pointing to where the recipe originally came from, and that recipe says 375 degrees. Most sites say that donuts should be fried somewhere between 350-375 degrees, so 325 seems a little low. Have people been successful with this recipe when frying at 325?
Can I make several donuts, cook a couple, and freeze remaining for future due?
Can you refrigerate dough overnight?
I weighed all my ingredients and my doughnuts were terrible. I feel like it was likely too much flour. Anyone else have this issue?
These donut are “ Heavenly.” Very simple recipe! I did only use 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg. That was plenty.
Success! Made some changes so that they were vegan and they turned out great!
Can these be oven baked or air fried to eliminate the oil?
The best ever!!!! Easy and super delicious. I’ll make this over and over again. It’s going in my recipe book.
I made my dough into fritters instead of donut shapes and they were delicious. Will make this one again.
I will subscribe
Has anyone baked this recipe yet??