I don’t know anyone who has met a doughnut they didn’t like, sure everyone has their favorites but I’ve never had anyone turn one down because of where they are from. I was so excited to find out this month’s daring baker’s challenge was homemade doughnuts. This challenge came at the perfect time; Spencer and I had just been talking about homemade doughnuts, how good they were and the fact that we needed to make some! I’ve made homemade doughnuts before but I’ve just made them using store bought biscuit dough, so I was so excited to see that this challenge was not only for homemade doughnuts but to also make them from scratch.
The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of butter me up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.
In this challenge Lori provided us with a few different recipes to choose from; although all of the options looked delicious (and I will be trying them all in the near future) I just had to make the old fashioned buttermilk cake doughnuts. I absolutely LOVE cake doughnuts, I literally have to drag myself away from the bakery section when I see them. I don’t know why I’ve never searched for a recipe and attempted to make my own before, but for some unknown reason I haven’t, so I jumped on the opportunity to try these doughnuts! So thank you soooo much Lori for providing this recipe!
These turned out perfectly, I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything better! The outside was golden and crisp while the inside was soft and fluffy; it was pure perfection. If you’re a cake doughnut lover, like me, you have to try these…you won’t be disappointed, I promise!
Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts
Ingredients:
For the doughnuts-
1/4 Cup sour cream
3 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
3/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon kosher salt (if using table salt, use only 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 Teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 1/8 Teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons buttermilk
1 Large egg
2 Large egg yolks
1 Tablespoon pure, vanilla extract
For the glaze-
2 Cups powdered sugar
4 Tablespoons heavy cream (use more if needed to get desired consistency)
Directions:
For the doughnuts-
Fill a medium saucepan half way with water and place over high heat. Bring the water to a boil and place a heat safe bowl over the top of the boiling water and add the sour cream, heat just until warm.
Heat the oil, in a large pot, to 375F/190C.
Over a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Make a well, hole, and pour the sour cream over the flour mixture. Let set until softened, about 1 minute.
Pour the buttermilk, egg, egg yolks and vanilla into the well. Using one hand, gradually draw in the dry ingredients. Make sure the mixture is smooth before drawing in more of the flour mixture. Mix until the flour and wet ingredients are completely incorporated, the dough will be sticky.
Prepare working surface with flour, be generous with flour to ensure the doughnuts don’t stick to the surface. Dust hands with flour and then remove the dough from the bowl. Sprinkle the dough with flour and gently pat the dough into a circle that is 1/2 inch in thickness. Place cutter in the flour and begin cutting doughnuts, cut them as close as possible and remove cut doughnuts and holes to a floured surface. Continue the process until all the dough is used.
Drop 3 to 4 doughnuts at a time in the hot oil. Once they turn golden brown, turn them and cook the other side. The cooking times may vary, but it typically takes 20-30 seconds per side. Remove from oil to a papertowel lined baking sheet to let cool.
While the doughnuts are cooling, make the glaze.
For the glaze-
In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and whipping cream. Whisk in additional cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, to form a medium thick glaze.
Place doughnuts on a cooling rack that is set on a cookie sheet. Drizzle the doughnuts with the glaze and let stand for 30 minutes before serving.
***pictures to come
Recipe source:
For the cake doughnuts- Nancy Silverton, Serious Eats
For the glaze-Epicurious
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