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+ servings

Sour Cream Doughnuts

Dense and crispy on the outside, moist and cakey on the inside, these sour cream doughnuts are your favorite cake doughnuts that are ready in half the time as yeast doughnuts!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time31 minutes
Servings: 12 doughnuts and holes

Ingredients

For the doughnuts:

  • 2 1/4 cup cake flour plus more for dusting
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter unsalted, softened
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • canola or vegetable oil for frying

For the glaze:

  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup hot water

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, add cake flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Whisk together. Set aside.
  • In the bowl fitted for a stand mixer, add butter and sugar. Mix on low (with paddle attachment) until mixture turns sandy. Add egg yolks and increase speed to medium until mixture turns light yellow and smooth.
  • Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture. Beat just until combined. Add 1/2 of the sour cream and mix just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, if needed. Repeat once more. Finish off with last 1/3 of flour mixture and beat just until combined. Cover mixture with plastic wrap, making sure to place wrap right on top of the dough to prevent drying. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  • Remove chilled dough from fridge. Place dutch oven on stove and add oil so that it's about 2-3 inches deep. Turn heat to medium and insert candy thermometer to monitor temperature.
  • Dust counter with cake flour and scoop out dough onto surface. If dough is sticky and hard to manage, knead a little more cake flour into the dough so it's not sticky anymore. Roll our dough with rolling pin until 1/2 inch thick - don't make it too thin or the doughnuts will turn to hockey pucks!
  • Using a doughnut cutter (or a large and small biscuit cutter), cut out doughnuts and centers. Roll out scraps and cut out more doughnuts until the majority of the dough is used.
  • Check the temperature of the oil. Once it's 350 degrees, add doughnuts into hot oil in batches so the pan doesn't get crowded. Cook for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown (45 seconds for doughnut holes). If you notice the doughnuts getting too brown, turn down the heat a little. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels until room temperature.
  • Add ingredients for glaze into deep bowl. Whisk together until smooth. Carefully dunk tops of doughnuts into glaze and place on wire rack to drain off excess glaze. Let them sit for 20 minutes to let the glaze harden. Serve immediately. Doughnuts are best served on the same day they are fried.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Handle the Heat