Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts
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These Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts are rich, tender, and perfectly crisp on the edges with that classic crackly top. A nostalgic cake-style favorite.
These are cake-style donuts — try this other version if you want a soft Easy Fried Yeast Donut! And pumpkin lovers really go crazy for my 3 Ingredient Baked Pumpkin Donuts.
Why This Recipe Works
So craveable — These old fashioned sour cream donuts just hit the spot when you’re craving a nice, warm, soft, sweet, delicious donut.
Easy — Making donuts isn’t nearly as hard as it may seem. In fact, you can have these old fashioned donuts in front of you in the next 75 minutes if you start right now.
Sour cream — Sour cream makes all the difference in these classic bakery donuts. They offer just a hint of sour/tanginess, like when you make a sour cream glaze or sour cream icing. The perfect complement to a sweet cake donut.
Dense and cakey texture — All of these ingredients come together to make a dense cake donut that has the perfect texture and tastes just like you got it fresh from the bakery!
Ingredients
Cake flour — I use cake flour instead of all purpose flour in these old fashioned cake donuts because it provides a more airy texture and a softer, lighter crumb to the donuts.
Nutmeg — I love a hint of nutmeg in this recipe but you can skip it if you like or substitute cinnamon for a different hint of flavor.
Granulated sugar — Regular white sugar is great in these sour cream donuts.
Shortening — If you don’t have shortening you can substitute butter at a 1-to-1 ratio.
Egg yolks — Egg yolks only give these donuts a nice yellow color.
Sour cream — Sour cream is key in these crackly top donuts. I use full-fat.
Vegetable oil — I fry these donuts in vegetable oil but you can also use canola or peanut oil.
Powdered sugar — Mix powdered sugar with a hint of vanilla and melted butter for a lovely donut glaze.
Here’s How You Make It
- The first step is to whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg (if using) together in a medium-size bowl.
- Next, in the bowl of your stand mixer or another large bowl, slowly mix together the sugar and shortening until you’ve reached a “sandy” texture.
- Add the egg yolks and mix on medium speed for 1 minute or until the mixture is light colored and thick.
- Now, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then add the sour cream and mix it all until just combined into a sticky-like cookie dough.
- Add the dough to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel, and place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hours).
- Add 1 inch of oil to your frying pan or skillet and heat the oil to 325 degrees F. Lay cooling racks lined with paper towels near the frying pan.
- Flour a flat surface and roll out the chilled dough into a 1/2 inch thickness. (Brushing the top of the dough and the rolling pin with flour will help keep the dough from sticking.)
- Use a round donut cutter or cookie cutter (with 2 sizes, one for the outer ring, one for the inner ring) to cut out as many donuts as you can. When you run out of room, roll the dough into a ball, then roll out and cut again, repeating as necessary).
- Shake any excess flour off the donuts before carefully adding them to the hot oil a few at a time, making sure not to crowd them in the pan. Once the doughnuts float, fry for an additional 15 seconds, and then gently flip them over with tongs. Fry the donut for another 1-2 minutes or until they become golden brown and cracked, then flip and fry the first side again for 1-2 minutes until golden brown and cracked on that side.
- Transfer the fried donuts to prepared cooling racks and allow them to cool for about 5-10 minutes before glazing.
- For the glaze, heat the butter until it’s melted, remove it from the heat and add to it the powdered sugar and vanilla, stirring till smooth. Then, stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
FAQs
All-purpose flour has a higher protein content which makes it a great choice for baked goods like bread that needs a chewier, bouncier texture.
Cake flour has a lower protein content which makes it good for lighter, airier, more tender baked goods like cake and donuts.
Sour cream donuts are called as such because sour cream is mixed into the donut batter, giving them a slightly tangy flavor as well as giving them that cakey texture around the edges and on the top.
Sour cream donuts often get dipped in a vanilla glaze which works to complement the tanginess of the sour cream.
It’s best to not pour oil into your drain as it can clog the drain and pouring it directly into the trash can melt and burn the plastic bag or other trash.
The best way to dispose of frying oil is to let it cool completely in the pan or skillet and then pour or scrape it into a sealable container like a plastic bottle or metal can that you plan on throwing into the garbage.
Expert Tips + Tricks
- Want a thicker glaze? Allow the donuts to cool for about 3-5 minutes after their first dip, then double-dip them into the glaze again.
- These old fashioned sour cream donuts will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for a couple days.
- Donuts are best eaten fresh!
More Recipes to Try
- Shortbread Cookies – literally melt in your mouth good!
- Cake Mix Sour Cream Coffee Cake – simple to bake but irresistibly rich and crumbly.
- Salted Caramel Pecan Oatmeal Fudge Bars – it’s impossible to stop just with one.
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups cake flour , (plus extra for rolling and cutting)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- 2 large egg yolks
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- vegetable oil (or canola oil) , for frying
Glaze
- ⅓ cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 4-6 tablespoons hot water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together.
- In a large bowl, mix the sugar and shortening on low speed for 1 minute. (texture should become “sandy”) Add egg yolks and mix on medium speed for 1 minute or until the mixture is light colored and thick.
- Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Add sour cream and mix until just combined. (the dough should become sticky like cookie dough) Transfer dough to a clean bowl, cover, and chill for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hours).
- Fill your frying pan/skillet with 1 inch of oil and heat to 325 degrees F. Lay out cooling racks lined with paper towels near the frying pan.
- On a generously floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to 1/2 inch thickness. (brushing the top of the dough and the rolling pin with flour will help keep from sticking) Use a round donut cutter or cookie cutter (with 2 sizes, one for the outer ring, one for the inner ring) to cut out as many donuts as you can from the dough. When you run out of room, roll the dough into a ball, then roll out and cut again. (repeat as necessary)
- Shake any excess flour off the doughnuts before carefully adding them to the hot oil a few at a time. (don’t crowd them) Once the doughnuts float, fry for 15 seconds, then use tongs to gently flip them over. Fry for 1-2 minutes more until golden brown and cracked, then flip and fry the first side again for 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to prepared cooling racks. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before glazing.
- For the glaze, heat butter until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency. I recommend allowing them to cool for about 3-5 minutes, then double-dip them so the glaze is thicker! Store at room temperature in airtight containers (they are best eaten fresh though!)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe slightly adapted from the messy baker
Thats VARY Nice And Healthy
Wondered if you ever experimented with gluten free flour on these? I found an earlier post from 2014 asking about it but not another one post since. I really miss this type donut!
I wish I had more experience cooking with gluten free flour! Sorry. I’d love to hear your experience if you give it a try though!
You show a lot of pictures of the finished product but none of the process of making them. That would be helpful for people who haven’t done this before. I’d like to see a picture of them frying at the very least!
Yaaassss! These donuts were a HUGE hit with my family! The delicious smell of them cooking made everyone in the house suddenly appear in the kitchen. Seeing their faces after their first bites was the best! Awesome recipe! Thank you!
Hi Tiffany! These were fantastic! My only problem was the some of the donuts breaking, while turning them. Do you think I did something wrong? Maybe I added too much flour….hmmm…..I guess I’ll have to make these again! Everyone loved them….even the broken ones! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Ed, Dang, I’m not sure why they would break, the only thing I can think is that maybe they needed a little bit more frying time before turning over?? So glad you loved them though, we are huge donut fans in this house!!
This recipe looks great! Do you think they would turn out the same if I rolled out the dough and cut the circles and kept them in the fridge and then fried them after dinner couple hours later?
Hi Emily! You know I’m not totally positive since I haven’t chilled them before frying them but I think they’d be okay. You might want to pull them out of the fridge 20 minutes or so before frying just to let the dough come to room temperature.
These look so good! I’ve never made old fashioned donuts, but they are a favorite of mine.
They’re sooooo beyond worth making at home!
Oooh these look so delicious!! Both my parents favorite donut’s are old fashioned – chocolate for my dad, glazed for my mom. So good! Love this homemade version.
Doughnuts are the way to my heart! Seriously these are just yum! And I wish I could have one right now! Last night I was having such a bad craving for doughnuts so my hubby and I ran out to get some….at midnight. (Did I just admit that?!) And now here I am looking at your doughnuts tonight and thinking I just might need to whip these up real soon. Pinned 😉
Oh my word – your husband is a KEEPER!!! Sounds a lot like mine, he’s made midnight ice cream runs for me many, many times. 🙂 🙂
The sour cream donuts were a great hit they were. Yummy 🙂
Could these be baked instead of fried?
Hi Nicole! I bet you could bake them – they might not have the same texture but they would probably still be yummy!