Cake Doughnuts

These old-fashioned cake doughnuts are delicious and there are quite different ways that you can serve them. You can serve them plain, dusted with powdered sugar or you can dip them in a chocolate glaze. This doughnut is made with a cake-like batter and rises from baking powder. Start with beating two-room-temperature eggs along with granulated sugar on medium-high speed until they are thick with a pale yellow colour. Add in pure vanilla extract and beat that in.

For the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, you will have all-purpose flour then add baking powder, salt and ground nutmeg then whisk everything and set aside. For the wet ingredients, you will need milk with cooled melted butter. Start by adding the dry ingredient to the batter mix the milk then butter and beat the mixture after each addition until you are done. Once your dough is ready, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit for around 30 minutes just until it gets firmer, not sticky.

Get a generous amount of flour on your work surface then roll the dough to about a quarter of an inch thick then use a cutter to cut the doughnuts out and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let the doughnuts sit while you fry your oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the size of your deep fryer, gently place the doughnuts into the oil and it will sink to the bottom then slowly rise.

You can use a slotted spoon or chopsticks to flip the doughnuts over. Once teh inside the ring of the doughnuts starts to get golden brown, flip your doughnuts so the other side can also cook. To remove the doughnuts from the oil, gently lift it then hold it for a second to get rid of excess oil then place the doughnuts on a paper towel.

If you have your oil at the correct temparature, your doughnuts won’t absorb too much oil when frying. You can make a chocolate glaze to glaze your doughnuts or coat them with powdered sugar. You can cover your doughnuts and store them for a few days. Otherwise, enjoy the rest.

Ingredients;

Cake Doughnuts;

• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2/3 cup (165 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons (40 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk, room temperature

Chocolate Glaze;

• 4 ounces (115 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) half-and-half cream or light cream (cream with a 12% butterfat content)
• 1 tablespoon (13 grams) butter
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups (240 grams) confectioners sugar (powdered or icing sugar), sifted

Instructions;

1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and freshly ground nutmeg in a separate bowl.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs and sugar until thick and pale yellow.
3. Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture (in three additions), with the milk and melted butter, beginning and ending with the flour.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes (or until the batter is firm enough to roll).
5. Place the dough on a floured surface, and with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
6. Cut the dough into 3-inch rounds, using a lightly floured doughnut cutter or cookie cutter.
7. Place the doughnuts on a lightly floured baking sheet, lined with parchment or wax paper.
8. Gather up the scraps, roll, and cut out the remaining doughnuts. If you like, you can keep the doughnut holes to fry separately. Let the doughnuts sit at room temperature while you heat the oil.
9. Clip a candy thermometer to the inside of a large, deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan and at medium-high heat, bring about 2 inches (5 cm) of oil (canola, vegetable, peanut, or corn) to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
10. Carefully place the doughnuts into the hot oil, about 2 to 3 at a time depending on the size of your saucepan, do not overcrowd.
11. Fry each side until golden brown, about 60 seconds per side. The doughnut holes will only take about 30 seconds per side.
12. Carefully remove the doughnuts from the hot fat with the end of a wooden spoon, tongs, slotted spoon, or bamboo chopstick.
13. Place on a baking sheet lined with clean paper towels. Let the oil return to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) before adding more doughnuts.
14. After the doughnuts have cooled for about a minute or two, you can roll them in granulated white sugar. Let cool completely and then dust with powdered sugar or dip in the chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze;

1. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan heat the cream and butter just until boiling.
2. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and stir gently until the chocolate has melted.
3. Stir in the vanilla extract. Then whisk in the confectioner’s sugar. Strain if needed.