We all love donuts and there are so many different varieties to choose from. But it seems like no matter how creative one gets with their donut recipes we always come back to the classic Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donut. There is just something about that light crunch of the sweet glazed outside and the moist cakey inside that makes us say Yay!
No Waiting For The Dough To Rise
If you're like me you don't want to wait until tomorrow to eat your donuts, you want them now! The great thing about making these donuts is that they are relatively fast and easy to make. Traditional yeast donuts have to rise overnight, these donuts only need an hour to rise. You can go from wanting donuts to eating fresh, hot, delicious, homemade donuts in under two hours.
How To Make Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts
Once the dough has rested, it is time to roll it out and start cutting. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is about ½ inch thick. If you have a doughnut cutter that's great, but you do not need any fancy equipment for this next part, just grab your favorite drinking glass and press down firmly until the glass touches the surface below the dough. You should now have a circle of dough around 2-3 inches in diameter.
Now it is time to give the donut its signature shape. Take the cap from a soda bottle and push down directly in the center of the circle of dough just like you did with the drinking glass. They should look like this.
Carefully pull out the middles and save them to use as donut holes! Ready to fry?
Frying the Donuts
There are two important rules to remember when frying kosher Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts:
1. Use a good quality heavy bottomed pot or cast iron skillet.
2. Make sure the oil is at the correct temperature 325ºF
A couple degrees in either direction will be ok but if the oil is too hot your donuts will burn on the outside and be raw in the middle. if it's not hot enough you end up with soggy, oily donuts.
It is absolutely essential to know the temperature of the oil before you start frying. I have been using this candy thermometer for years and it is always spot on.
Frying times will vary slightly depending on how close you are to the target temperature of 325º F but 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes per side is a good range. You can tell if a side is done if, when you flip it, it is a light golden brown. Once both sides are done, remove the donut from the pan and place on a rack to dry. We like to use this one. Use paper towels under the racks to catch drips. Do not place directly on a paper towel to cool; the paper towel absorbs the oil and then sends it right back into the donut making it oily. A rack allows the excess oil to drip down away from the donut. Once the donut has cooled it is time for the last part. Glazing.
Glazing the Donut
When making the glaze, you don't want it to be too thick. There is a lot of sugar in the glaze and a thick glaze will make the whole donut taste too sweet and unbalanced. You can add some water to thin the glaze out until it is the consistency of maple syrup. It should run off of the donut easily and look more translucent than thick white frosting. if it sticks to the donut like frosting you will want to thin it out with water.
Take the donut and submerse it completely in the glaze. Let the excess run off for a few seconds and then place it back on the cooling rack for about 15 minutes. This will allow the remaining excess glaze to drip down and for the remaining glaze to firm up and dry.
Last but not least, time to dig in and enjoy. Yay!
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📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts
Equipment
- Heavy bottom pot or cast iron skillet
- Candy/Deep Fry Thermometer
Ingredients
For Donut
- 2 ¼ cup cake flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon butter room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks
- ½ cup sour cream
- canola oil for frying
For Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoon corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup water
Instructions
To make the donuts
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until crumbly.
- Add the egg yolks and mix until pale and thick.
- Mix in baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
- Alternate adding flour and sour cream until dough is smooth but still sticky. If dough is way too sticky add flour one tablespoon at a time until good but still sticky consistency. Do not over mix or dough will become tough.
- Cover bowl with plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour to firm.
- On a floured surface, roll out dough to about ½ inch thickness. Using a donut cutter, a biscuit cutter, or the rim of your favorite round glass, cut out as many donuts as possible, dipping the cutter into flour as necessary to prevent sticking. If not using a donut cutter, a 2-liter bottle cap works perfectly to cut out the hole.
- Pour 2 inches of canola oil into a heavy bottomed pot with a candy/ deep fry thermometer attached. heat oil to 325ºF. Fry the donuts a few at a time, careful not to overcrowd the pot. Fry each side for about 2 minutes on each side, taking care not to let them burn. Watch the thermometer closely and adjust heat to maintain correct temperature. Drain donuts on wire rack with a paper bag or baking pan lines with paper towels underneath.
To make the glaze
- Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well with a whisk until smooth.
- Immerse each donut into glaze flipping over to coat all sides, nooks, and crannies.
- Place dipped donuts back on wire rack with paper bag or paper towels underneath to catch sugar drips.
- Allow donuts 10-20 minutes to allow glaze to set.
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