Old Fashioned Donuts - Nutmeg and cinnamon scented sour cream donuts dipped in a delicious brown butter glaze and finished with flakey sea salt!
Old fashioned donuts are by far, my favorite! There's just something so charming about the imperfect craggy edges. These homemade donuts are perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. You will be shocked to see how easy it is to make these incredible donuts.
INGREDIENT NOTES
- Unsalted Butter - We'll be using room temperature butter.
- White Sugar - Sugar adds the perfect amount of sweetness.
- Brown Sugar - I like adding a little bit of brown sugar to add extra flavor and moisture.
- Egg Yolks - The egg yolks make the donuts tender and rich.
- Sour Cream - Sour cream not only provides moisture, but it also helps thicken the batter.
- Vanilla Extract - I forgot to add it to the photo!
- Cake Flour - Cake flour makes the donut nice and tender.
- Baking Powder - The leavener will help the donuts rise.
- Nutmeg & Cinnamon - Spices add depth of flavor.
- Salt - Just a bit to to balance the flavors.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
MAKE THE DOUGH
- In a medium sized bowl, sift cake flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add white sugar, brown sugar and room temperature butter. With a hand held mixer, whisk until well combined. About 2 minutes.
- Combine yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add room temperature sour cream and vanilla and mix until well combined.
- In 2 additions, add your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. I like to sift the dry ingredients again as cake flour clumps up easily.
- With a rubber spatula, gently mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- The dough will be very sticky and will need to chill for at least 1 hour to firm up. Cover with cling wrap.
CUT YOUR DONUTS
- Remove the dough from the fridge and transfer to a generously floured work surface.
- Using a rolling pin, roll to a ½ inch to ¾ inch (1.27 to 1.9 cm) thickness.
- Generously flour your 3-inch (7.2 cm) cookie or biscuit cutter and cut out your donuts. Gently gather the remaining dough, reroll and cut out more donuts. Using a 1 to 1 ¼ inch (2.5 cm) cookie cutter, cut a hole in the center of each donut. I ended up with 9 donuts and 9 holes. Transfer donuts to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure to dip your cutters in flour each time you cut out your donuts. The dough will be quick sticky, so you may need to shake the cutter to get the donuts and donut holes out.
- Remove any excess flour off the donuts with a pastry brush. Place donuts back into the fridge to firm up for at least 30 minutes. This is important as it will make it easier to handle during the frying process.
- As the donuts are chilling, fill a heavy-bottomed pot with oil 2 inches deep. Place over medium/low heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350ºF (176ºC). We will also be making the glaze during this time.
MAKE YOUR BROWN BUTTER GLAZE
This brown butter glaze is incredible and so easy to make!
- Place butter in a light-colored saucepan and over medium heat, brown your butter. It will foam up after 3 to 4 minutes. Keep swirling the pan until it reaches an amber brown color. It's ready when it smells nutty and you will see tiny brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Immediately transfer your brown butter to a medium sized glass bowl.
- Immediately add your confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk. Start with 3 tablespoons of milk and you can add more (1 tablespoon at a time) depending on how thin you would like your glaze. Keep in mind that this donut is not very sweet, so you can go a little thicker on the glaze if you wish. Whisk until smooth and creamy.
FRY YOUR DONUTS
- Fry 2 to 3 donuts at a time, making sure to monitor your oil. You want it to stay around 350ºF (176ºC). The donuts will initially sink, but will float after 10 seconds or so. Fry for 1 and half minutes on each side and transfer to a wire rack.
- While still warm, dip your donuts into the glaze and set them on a wire rack to cool. Top with flakey sea salt and enjoy!
TIPS FOR MAKING OLD FASHIONED DONUTS
- Measure flour correctly - Baking in grams is the best way to measure your ingredients, as measuring by weight, rather than volume is the most accurate. Unfortunately, not all measuring cups are created equally. If you do not own a kitchen scale, spoon your cake flour into your measuring cup and then level off with the back off a butter knife. A cup of cake flour is about 110 grams.
- Double sift your cake flour - Cake flour is naturally lumpy. Sifting will help the flour absorb more easily and will create a lighter donut.
- Room temperature ingredients - It's important to use room temperature ingredients as it will emulsify better.
- Don't skip double chilling the dough - The dough is VERY sticky, so it's vital to chill the dough before and after shaping the donuts.
VARIATIONS
These old fashioned donut are so versatile and would compliment a variety of different glazes. Here are some ideas.
- Chocolate glaze
- Vanilla glaze
- Lemon glaze
- Maple glaze
- Roll in cinnamon sugar
- Roll in confectioners' sugar
Impress your family and friends with these amazing homemade old fashioned sour cream donuts!
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📖 Recipe
OLD FASHIONED DONUTS W/ BROWN BUTTER GLAZE AND SEA SALT
- Total Time: 1 Hr + 40 Mins
- Yield: 9 Donuts and 9 Holes
Description
Nutmeg and cinnamon scented sour cream donuts dipped in a delicious brown butter glaze and finished with flakey sea salt.
Ingredients
Sour Cream Donuts
- 3 Cups (330 g) Cake Flour + extra for rolling dough
- 2 Tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ Tsp Nutmeg
- ¼ Tsp Cinnamon
- ½ Tsp Salt
- 4 Tbsp (57 g) Unsalted Butter, room temp
- ⅓ Cup + 2 tablespoon (92 g) White Sugar
- ⅓ Cup (67 g) Brown Sugar
- 3 Large Egg Yolks, room temp
- 1 Cup (227 g) Full-Fat Sour Cream, room temp
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- Oil for Frying
Brown Butter Glaze
- 8 Tbsp (113 g or 1 Stick) Unsalted Butter, browned
- 2 Cups (227 g) Confectioners' Sugar
- ½ Tsp Vanilla Paste or Extract
- 3 to 6 tablespoon Milk or Water
Optional
- Flakey Sea Salt
Instructions
Sour Cream Donuts
- In a medium sized bowl, sift cake flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add white sugar, brown sugar and room temperature butter. With a hand held mixer, whisk until well combined. About 2 minutes.
- Combine yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add room temp sour cream and vanilla and mix until well combined.
- In 2 additions, add your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. (I like to sift the dry ingredients again into the wet ingredients as cake flour clumps up easily) With a rubber spatula, gently mix the flour mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.
- The dough will be very sticky and will need to be chilled for at least 1 hour to firm up. Cover with cling wrap.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and transfer to a generously floured work surface.
- Using a rolling pin, roll to a ½ inch to ¾ inch (1.27 to 1.9 cm) thickness.
- Generously flour your 3-inch (7.2 cm) cookie or biscuit cutter and cut out your donuts. Gently gather the remaining dough, reroll and cut out more donuts. Using a 1 to 1 ¼ inch (2.5 cm) cookie cutter, cut a hole in the center of each donut. I ended up with 9 donuts and 9 holes. Transfer donuts to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure to dip your cutters in flour each time you cut out your donuts. The dough will be quick sticky, so you may need to shake the cutter to get the donuts and donut holes out.
- Remove any excess flour off the donuts with a pastry brush. Place donuts back into the fridge to firm up for at least 30 minutes. This is important as it will make it easier to handle during the frying process.
- As the donuts are chilling, fill a heavy-bottomed pot with oil 2 inches deep. Place over medium/low heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 340ºF (171ºC). We will also be making the glaze during this time.
Brown Butter Glaze
- In a light colored saucepan and over medium heat, add unsalted butter. Swirl the pan and keep the butter moving around constantly. Once completely melted, the butter will foam and sizzle and gradually start to brown and deepen in color. You'll notice a nutty aroma and tiny brown specks at the bottom of the pan. The whole process should take about 5 to 7 minutes. Be careful not to burn it.
- Immediately transfer your brown butter to a medium sized glass bowl.
- Immediately add your confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk. Start with 3 tablespoons of milk and you can add more (1 tablespoon at a time) depending on how thin you would like your glaze. Keep in mind that this donut is not very sweet, so you can go a little thicker on the glaze if you wish. Whisk until smooth and creamy.
Frying Your Donuts
- Once your oil reaches around 340ºF to 350ºF (171ºC to 176ºC), remove your donuts from the fridge. Carefully transfer 2 to 3 donuts into your hot oil. The donuts will initially sink, but will float after 10 seconds or so. Fry for 1 and half minutes on each side and transfer to a wire rack. At this point, it's important to monitor your oil. You'll want the oil to come back to 340ºF to 350ºF (171ºC to 176ºC) before adding the next batch of donuts. Donut holes will only take about 40 seconds on each side.
- While still warm, dip your donuts into the glaze and set them on a wire rack to cool. Top with flakey sea salt and enjoy!
Notes
- When frying your donuts, make sure to monitor the oil after each batch. It should hover around 350ºF (176ºC) Using a deep-fry thermometer is highly recommended.
- These homemade donuts are best consumed the same day. Store any leftover donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes + 1 ½ Hours to Chill
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