Glazed Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts

Glazed Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts - made January 24, 2010 from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMosca and Mindy Fox

The first thing you're going to notice from the picture is that these doughnuts aren't glazed as the title would imply. I wanted to taste them without the glaze first to see how I liked them but once I did, I decided there was no point in making the glaze. These were just "okay". I actually think the first cake doughnut recipe I tried from Bread for Breakfast was better since those were crunchier on the outside. These weren't bad but if I'm going to eat fried food, it has to be spectacular to make the calories worthwhile. These didn't hit me as being in the spectacular category. I can't even put my finger on it as to why but they just weren't. In fairness to the recipe though, I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not a cake doughnut person overall. I'm not a big doughnut person to begin with and these didn't win me to a different point of view. It could be that I just prefer yeasted doughnuts more than cake doughnuts. I'll try a yeasted doughnut recipe sometime in the future but not likely in the near future as I think I've had more than my fill of doughnuts lately.

¾ cup buttermilk
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup grapeseed oil (I didn't have grapeseed oil so I just used canola oil)
3 ¾ cups cake flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Peanut oil, for frying

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, egg yolks and grapeseed oil. Sift 2 cups of the flour into another bowl and set it aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 1 ¾ cups flour, the granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and lemon zest. Mix on low speed just to combine. Add the buttermilk mixture and continue mixing just until the dough comes together. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and using a spatula, gently fold in the reserved flour. The dough will be very sticky.
3. Transfer the dough to a 12 x 14-inch sheet of waxed paper. Place a second sheet of waxed paper on top, and roll out the dough between the paper to an 8 x 10-inch oval, about 3/4-inch thick. Set the dough, still between the sheets of waxed paper, on a baking sheet and freeze until it is firm enough to cut, about 30 minutes.
4. Remove the dough from the freezer and remove the top sheet of waxed paper. Dust the dough with flour and replace the waxed paper. Flip the dough over; remove and discard the bottom sheet of waxed paper. Now the dough is loosened from the waxed paper and is easy to cut.
5. Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
6. Using a floured 3-inch round cutter or inverted drinking glass, cut out doughnuts. Cut out the centers with a floured 1-inch cutter. Transfer the doughnuts to the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps and repeat to make a total of 13 doughnuts and 13 holes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day (if making the dough ahead, bring it to room temperature before frying).
7. Just before frying the doughnuts and holes, prepare the glaze. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and ¼ cup hot water.
8. In a large high-sided skillet or a wide pot, heat 2 inches of oil to 350˚F. Working in batches of 3, fry the doughnuts, carefully turning them with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon halfway through until golden brown, about 1 ½ minutes per side. Transfer the doughnuts to paper towels to drain, and then immediately dip one side of each doughnut into the glaze. Transfer them, glaze side up, to a rack set over a baking sheet, and let sit until the glaze sets, about 3 minutes.
9. Fry the doughnut holes for 1 minute per batch. Drain, dip in the glaze, and transfer to the wire rack.
10. Serve the doughnuts warm or at room temperature on the day they are fried.