Sunday, February 21, 2010

300th Post! And Sour Cream Doughnuts


Heart shaped sour cream doughnuts!


Wow this is my 300th post! What better way to celebrate that than with doughnuts? My friend and I got together last week to bake and decided on doughnuts - something I've always wanted to make but was a bit scared, because for some reason they seemed daunting and difficult, and I was also frightened at the amount of oil I'd have to use. Well it turns out, doughnuts are extremely easy to make. It did use a lot of oil (probably 2 cups of oil per batch) but it's a small price to pay for delicious fresh doughnuts. We decided on two kinds - beignet souffles and sour cream doughnuts (my favourite!)


Beignet souffles in random shapes


The beignet souffles turned out okay. It was fun piping the dough directly into the hot oil, but the relatively small icing tip we used resulted in very skinny doughnuts instead of nice fat ones. And these doughnuts are definitely only good on the day they're made.


Next were the sour cream doughnuts which were perfect and everything I could have hoped for in a homemade doughnut! Nice slightly crispy edges, perfect cakey insides. So very insanely addictive. The only thing I'd keep in mind next time is to not have the dough too thick because the ones that were too thick didn't get cooked completely on the very middle. Not that it really stopped me from eating them. I'm super happy we made doughnuts, but I don't think I'll make doughnuts again anytime soon - for me they're kind of like croissants, I'm really happy I've made them but don't need to make them very often. Though I think I'd like to try this sour cream doughnut recipe baked.


Can you tell that the doughnut holes are heart shaped? I preferred the doughnut holes to the doughnuts!


The original recipe has cinnamon and orange zest but my friend was wary so we just kept them plain. You could easily modify the recipe to whatever flavours you like. We also opted not to glaze them because they were already perfect as is but you could easily fancy these up with glazes, streusels, chocolate ganache, etc. A coffee sour cream doughnut with a white chocolate ganache sounds good to me. Oh and I totally won my friend over into loving sour cream doughnuts.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Plum Sour Cream Kuchen
Croissant Pockets with Apricots and Brie
Orange Cream Cheese Muffins
Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake

Sour Cream Doughnuts
Adapted from Bon Appétit | October 2004

Use a clip-on deep-fry thermometer to gauge the oil temperature when frying these doughnuts: too low and they'll absorb oil, turning leaden and soggy; too high and they'll burn before the insides are cooked through.

The recipe says it will yield 24 doughnuts and 24 doughnut holes, but we got 12 doughnuts and 12 doughnut holes.

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter, cooled briefly
1 cup sour cream

Canola oil (for deep-frying)

Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in large bowl until very thick, about 3 minutes. Beat in orange peel and vanilla. Gradually beat in butter; beat in sour cream in 2 additions. Gently fold in dry ingredients in 4 additions (dough will be slightly sticky). Cover; set aside 1 hour.

Sprinkle 2 rimmed baking sheets lightly with flour. Press out 1/3 of dough on lightly floured surface to 1/2- to 2/3-inch thickness. Using 2 1/2-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Arrange on floured sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in 2 more batches. Gather all dough scraps. Press out dough; cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used.

Using 1-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Line 2 baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Pour oil into large deep skillet to depth of 1 1/2 inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 365°F to 370°F. Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels. Cool doughnuts and doughnut holes completely.

23 comments:

Tia said...

wow 300!!! keep it up!
those donuts look yummy!!! i can totally tell theyre hearts :)

Rachael said...

Those look so delicious! I love their golden color; I wish I could have one right now!

stephanie said...

Mm, those look delicious! I'll have to try them sometime! xo

Hannah said...

So adorable! I can't believe how perfectly shaped those hearts are. :)

Michelle C. said...

Congrats and let's hear it for another 300!

Love your blog and have tried a number of the recipes you've posted. Keep it up!

Unknown said...

Ugh, I've been having this weird desire to make homemade donuts and this DID NOT HELP! If I end up eating my weight in deep fried, delicious donuts I blame you! :)

FH said...

CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer said...

Congratulations! 300 is great! Love this recipe and your hearts are so adorable!!

grace said...

doughnuts, homemade and heart-shaped. ain't much better than that, period! congrats on a mean feat--300 posts is most impressive!

veggievixen said...

woah, those look ridiculous. and so fun to make!

CookiePie said...

What a fun project!

Chef Aimee said...

Cheers to 300 and 300 more! :) Oh these donuts are a great way to celebrate!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Very cute! I have a pretty deep-seated fear of deep-frying, but I'll gladly be on the receiving end!

Dana said...

A HUGE congrats to you! That is a wonderful accomplishment and a great way to celebrate it. You are a brave woman - I'm scared to attempt donuts. Good to know they are easier than they seem.

Cookie baker Lynn said...

300 excellent posts! Your blog is one of my favorites because you try new things, make delicious food, and, unlike me, make an effort to focus on nutrition.

I'd head straight for those heart-shaped doughnut holes. Adorable!

Deborah said...

there is nothing like a good, homemade, hot doughnut!

Homemade Heaven said...

I have to try these. We're not big on doughnuts, but those heart shaped ones, have stolen my heart! Thank you for the great recipe and the tips - I must say, orange flavour has my interest:)

kimberleyblue said...

Yum, they look adorable! I never like deepfrying in a pot, but sometimes, I guess it's worth it.

And congrats on 300 posts - that's a lot of food you've eaten. :)

Sweets By Vicky said...

I can always count on you to make something awesomely adorable! Minus cheesy. :) Congrats on the 300th post!

Johanna GGG said...

congratulations on the post and on making donuts - great milestones - and lovely looking donuts - I have your fear of donuts but maybe one day I will overcome and try making my fave jam centred donuts - or what about those bombolini with chocolate centres - mmmmmmmmmmm

Ricki said...

CONGRATS on 300 posts (well, by now, even more!)--awesome! I look forward to reading many more from you, too :D

Donuts--yum! I think I'm like youj and would prefer the holes to the actual donuts--but they both look perfect.

Steph said...

I've never tried making doughnuts before. I love deep frying because it always looks so cool, but am terrified of hot oil!

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