Description
This recipe for Homemade Plain Cake Doughnuts delivers light, tender doughnuts with a perfectly crisp exterior using a simple deep-frying method. Made from scratch with basic pantry ingredients like flour, sugar, butter, and milk, these doughnuts are easy to prepare and customizable with cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, or glaze toppings.
Ingredients
Doughnuts
- 1 quart neutral oil, such as canola or safflower (for frying)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, more as needed
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg, beaten
Optional Toppings
- Cinnamon sugar
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Glaze
Instructions
- Gather Ingredients: Assemble all ingredients required for making the doughnuts.
- Heat Oil: Heat 1 quart of neutral oil in a deep fryer or tall stockpot to 360°F (182°C), the ideal temperature for frying doughnuts.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: Sift 2 cups of all-purpose flour into a large bowl. Resift with sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg to evenly combine the dry ingredients.
- Add Butter and Wet Ingredients: Crumble 2 tablespoons of melted cooled unsalted butter into the flour mixture using your fingers. Stir in 1/2 cup milk and 1 beaten large egg until just combined.
- Form Dough: Lightly work the dough with floured hands just until moistened. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead two to three times to bring it together. Pat the dough with fingertips into a 1/4-inch thickness.
- Cut Doughnuts: Dip a doughnut cutter or two biscuit cutters (one 1-inch for the hole and one 3 to 4-inch for the outer ring) in flour. Cut out doughnuts, gathering scraps to rework and cut more doughnuts.
- Fry Doughnuts: Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower 2 to 3 doughnuts at a time into the hot oil. Fry for 2 minutes on the first side, then flip and fry for an additional 1 to 2 minutes until evenly browned. Allow the oil to return to 360°F between batches.
- Drain: Remove fried doughnuts with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels or a cooling rack to remove excess oil.
- Add Toppings: While still warm, sprinkle doughnuts with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or drizzle with your preferred glaze.
Notes
- You can adjust the sugar quantity between 1/3 and 1/2 cup depending on your sweetness preference.
- Do not overcrowd the fryer; doughnuts need space to float and cook evenly without touching.
- For lighter, more tender doughnuts, substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups).
- If you don’t have doughnut cutters, shape doughnut holes by rolling tablespoon-sized dough balls and fry 5 to 6 at a time for 2 to 3 minutes until golden.
- Handle the dough gently to maintain tenderness and avoid overworking.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: American
