Reader, I made more donuts.

And they were good. 

Really, really good. 

Yes!!!!!!!

I adapted a recipe from Glazed, Filled, Sugared & Dipped by Stephen Collucci. He (or his publicist) calls himself “Mr. Doughnut,” and I think he earns the title. Thanks, Mr. Doughnut!

So, what do you need to know so you too can make delicious cake donuts at home?

Give yourself time and space. Making donuts at home is a production. It will take a goodly amount of time, and your kitchen will be a mess. It’ll be worth it. But don’t try to rush it. Also, having an organized set up is helpful. When frying, precise timing is important, and you don’t want to be searching around for a plate to put the hot donut on when you need it. 

Use vegetable oil for frying, and use at least 2 inches of it. I have found that I have a much easier time maintaining a stable temperature using vegetable oil rather than shortening. Also, the resulting donuts are much softer and more tender than those fried in shortening. One of my taste testers loved that crunchiness. I did not. Crunchy is not in my definition of a Good Donut. It’s really important to use enough oil too. We’re deep frying here, so don’t skimp on it. Having sufficient oil makes it easier to control the temperature as well as evenly cooking the donut. It’s going to be a lot of oil. Do not be afraid. 

Aim to keep the temperature around 350 degrees while frying. Sometimes, the temperature will swing up to around 360; sometimes, it will drop a bit below 350. It’s all good. Keeping it in this range will mean your donuts are perfectly fried rather than so overcooked that they look like chocolate (remember my donut holes?). I monitor the temperature using a candy thermometer. 

Use a deep, heavy pot. I use my hand-me-down 4-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven, and it has worked perfectly. You want something deep enough that you’re not at risk of hot oil splashing up out of the pan at you but not so deep that have to peer into it to check on your donuts (peering into hot oil would also be bad). The width of my Dutch oven allows me to cook 3 donuts at a time. If you’re using a narrower pot, you may need to reduce this number. 

Use a skimmer to lower your dough into the oil, flip the donuts, and remove donuts from the pot. This has been an essential tool for me. Some people recommend using chopsticks for this process. I do not have good enough hand-eye coordination to do this safely. A skimmer has a long handle so your hand can avoid hot oil, a relatively flat and wide spoon so it can stably hold a donut, and allows oil to easily drain away. Skimmer for the win! 

Glazes keep donuts fresh. This is a trick I picked up when I sold scones. First, the glaze encapsulates the donut, not leaving any part of it exposed to air which could dry it out. Second, the glaze itself, made from sugar and water, adds moisture to the donut. If you’d like to have your donuts be almost as delicious tomorrow as they were today, I highly recommend dunking the entire thing in a glaze. Even just dunking the top in a glaze (thinking of chocolate here) will help. But if you prefer cinnamon sugared donuts, go for it. Or do halvsies. You do you.

And, finally, remember what I learned from my failed donut attempts: use a 1” cutter for the holes and a 3” cutter for pleasantly plump donuts. Cut a donut and then immediately move it to your baking sheet to wait to be fried, then move on to cutting the next donut. Fry your donuts for less time if your yield is larger than the recipe calls for. Embrace imperfection.

We’re ready, friends. Let make some donuts!

I love the tender, sweet donut this recipe produces. One of my testers said, "I have never eaten a donut that slowly." I get it! These are really something to savor, preferably with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk. I swapped out the lemon zest called for in the original recipe with nutmeg. I also found that it worked just as well to substitute a few other items I already had in my kitchen (all purpose flour for cake flour, clabbered milk for buttermilk). I've added more detailed instructions to the recipe than the original, particularly for the frying portion, to help guide my other frying neophytes a bit. If you need them, (almost) step-by-step photos are below.  

Cake Donuts

Adapted from Stephen Collucci’s Basic Cake Donuts

Ingredients: 
Dough:
3 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for flouring cutters
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (or make clabbered milk: 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar, allowed to stand for 10 minutes)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
A lot of vegetable oil (at least 48 ounces, probably more)

Toppings: (Each one is enough to top a full batch of donuts. Feel free to cut the amounts in half for half batch glazed, half batch sugared.) 
For cinnamon sugar: 3/4 cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
For glaze: 3 cups powdered sugar + up to 1/2 cup water 

Directions:
Make the dough: Place the first 6 ingredients (flour through baking soda) in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, combine on low. Add the egg and mix on lowest setting for 10 seconds until mixture is barely crumbly. Add next 5 ingredients (buttermilk through vanilla extract) and mix on low for about 30 seconds, stopping to scrape the bowl once, until combined into a uniform, thick, stiff dough. 

Place a large piece of parchment paper on the countertop. Scoop the dough out of the bowl onto the parchment, and cover with an additional piece of parchment. Using your hand, gently flatten the dough. Then, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to 1/2” thickness. Place the dough in parchment in the refrigerator, and let chill for 45 - 60 minutes or until the dough does not stick when parchment is peeled away from it. 

Prepare the donut making and topping stations: Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set next to your stovetop. Dust another rimmed baking sheet with flour and place a few tablespoons of flour in a small bowl next to your donut cutters. If using cinnamon sugar, whisk together granulated sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside. If using glaze, place powdered sugar in a medium bowl and add 6 tablespoons of water. Stir together until the consistency of thinnish glue, adding the additional 2 tablespoons of water if needed, and set aside. Place a cooling rack on a large rimmed baking sheet (or on top of a piece of parchment or wax paper) on the counter next to your topping bowl.

Begin heating the oil: About 10 minutes prior to cutting, place at least 2” of vegetable oil in a large, heavy pot outfitted with a candy thermometer. Heat over medium and keep an eye on it. Once it reaches 350 degrees, you’re ready to fry. 

Cut the dough: Meanwhile, when the top piece of parchment can be peeled away from dough without significant sticking, remove it entirely from the dough and set aside. Leave remaining dough on bottom piece of parchment and place on counter. Dip a 3” cutter into flour, cut one donut, then cut a hole in the center with the 1” cutter. Remove the donut to the floured baking sheet, and set the donut hole aside. Repeat this process until you’ve cut as many donuts as possible. Dust parchment paper on counter with flour, gently squeeze the donut holes and scraps together, place dough on floured parchment, and cover with other sheet of parchment. Very gently, roll out dough to 1/2” thickness. Repeat cutting and rolling process until you have 11 or 12 donuts (and perhaps 1 or 2 donut holes). 

Fry the donuts: Once oil has reached 350 degrees, use a skimmer to gently slip one donut at a time into the pot, only adding as many donuts as you can without overcrowding the pan. Cook for 1 minute, then flip donuts over using skimmer. Cook for an additional minute, until both sides are a deep golden brown color (45 seconds per side for donut holes). One at a time, remove the donuts with the skimmer and place on the paper towel-lined pan. Repeat frying with the remaining donuts, allowing the oil to return to 350 degrees before adding more.

Top the donuts: After removing donuts from oil, allow them to cool just until they are no longer too hot to touch (just a few minutes). Immediately, dunk in either cinnamon sugar or glaze, turning over to coat thoroughly. A spoon may be helpful here with the glazed donuts. Place on cooling rack to cool slightly before serving or for glaze to set if using. Yield: 11 - 12 delightfully-sized donuts and just a couple of donut holes.