Classic Sour Cream Baked Donuts
Try this Classic Sour Cream Baked Donuts recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Classic Sour Cream Baked Donuts recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- for the glaze:
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup full fat sour cream
- 1-2 tablespoons milk (optional)
- Carbohydrate 22.6474823845403 g
- Cholesterol 41.6708333341787 mg
- Fat 22.6917628266483 g
- Fiber 0.617424494479152 g
- Protein 2.62705098784221 g
- Saturated Fat 10.4391575510444 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -8 donut (75g)
- Sodium 4764.45601401953 mg
- Sugar 22.0300578900611 g
- Trans Fat 1.26280046660295 g
- Calories 303 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Lightly grease a donut pan with oil.
- In a medium sized bowl combine the wet ingredients: ½ cup full fat sour cream, 1 large egg, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and ¼ cup vegetable oil. Whisk until fully incorporated.
- Add in the 1 cup all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder, ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix together until fully incorporated and a thick batter is formed. If you feel the batter is a bit too thick, then add 1-2 tablespoons of milk. However, the batter should be on the thick side, and not very thin.
- Using a tablespoon, spread the batter evenly in each donut cavity. Alternatively you can pipe the batter into the donut cavities. I did not fill the donut cavities all the way up to the top, so I was able to get 8 donuts from this batter. However, if you want bigger donuts then you can fill the cavities till about full, but the donut holes will be slightly closed up if you do so.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the donuts are golden brown and springy to touch. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, and then remove the donuts from the pan.
- Combine the 1¼ cups of powdered sugar, ¼ cup milk and vanilla extract in a medium sized bowl. After the donuts have come to room temperature, dip each donut into the glaze and cover completely. Place on a baking rack so that excess glaze can be dripped.
- The donuts can be stored upt o 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
Full-fat sour cream does the heavy lifting in this batter, contributing not only rich flavor but also the essential acid required to activate the baking soda. Dairy chemistry relies on this acidity to produce carbon dioxide bubbles, which give baked donuts their cake-like crumb instead of a dense, muffin-like texture. Using low-fat or fat-free sour cream introduces excess moisture and too little fat, yielding a rubbery interior that stales within hours. Room-temperature eggs ensure the dairy and oil emulsions do not break during mixing.
Piping the thick batter into the donut pan yields cleaner results than spooning, though both methods work if executed patiently. A piping bag fitted with a half-inch plain round tip prevents messy edges that burn during the twelve to fifteen minute bake time. Overfilling the cavities will close the center holes entirely as the batter expands, producing solid rings that resemble mini cakes. Fill each cavity only three-quarters full to maintain the classic torus shape.
Sour cream cake donuts trace their culinary lineage to mid-century American home baking, born from the desire to replicate fried dough textures in standard household ovens. Standard donut pans constructed from dark metal conduct heat faster than silicone alternatives, resulting in a deeper golden-brown crust. Lightly greasing the metal surface with neutral vegetable oil guarantees release without sticking. Cool the baked rings inside the pan for ten to fifteen minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to prevent structural collapse.
Dipping the cooled donuts into a powdered sugar glaze requires total temperature control; warm donuts will melt the sugar coating into a transparent syrup rather than an opaque shell. Whisking one and one-quarter cups of powdered sugar with milk until smooth creates a dense barrier that locks in internal moisture. Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, these baked rings remain palatable for up to four days.
