basic cake donut
Sift the flours, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon together into a medium bowl.
In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the shortening and the sugar. Mix on slow until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add the egg and mix on slow until well combined and uniform in color.
Add the potato, a third of the flour mixture and a third of the milk. Mix on slow until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue adding the flour and milk in intervals. Stop when just combined. Try not to over-mix.
Transfer to a shallow casserole dish that’s been coated with cooking spray. Press the batter down to an even layer. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
Heat 3 inches of canola oil to 360 degrees in a fryer or a heavy pot.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Sprinkle the top lightly with flour. Pat the dough down to a ½-inch thickness. Cut out donuts and donut holes. Gather dough remnants into a ball and pat down again to make more donuts.
Carefully slide 2 or 3 donuts at a time into the oil. As soon as the donuts float, flip them over using two chopsticks. Cook until the underside is lightly browned (about 40 seconds). Flip and cook the other side to golden brown (about 30 seconds).
Transfer completed donuts to stacked paper towels.
Be sure the oil is at 360 degrees again before frying another batch.
Make sure all donuts have cooled to room temperature before icing.
This recipe explains the homemade donut making process in rather simple terms. Refer to the end of this article for more detailed instructions.
Snowman Cake Donuts
Snowmen Donuts
For these snowmen donuts, I used a simple vanilla icing. You can get the recipe for that (and some icing tips) from a post I did a couple weeks ago called Christmas Cake Donuts: Chocolate With Crushed Candy Canes.
The mouth and eyes are chocolate chips and the nose is a Reese’s Pieces candy.
I made snowman faces. If you wanted to make a full snowman body, just ice 2 donuts with no other decoration and use those to make a body for your snowman face.
Christmas Wreath Donuts
Christmas Wreath Donuts
To make these, I used the leftover vanilla icing from the snowmen and stirred a couple drops of green food coloring into it. To make the flavor more interesting, I stirred in a handful of melted white chocolate chips. Instead of dipping the donuts in the icing, I put the icing in a piping bag and applied it that way. Green and red jimmies added a beautiful final touch.
Reindeer Cake Donuts
Reindeer Donuts
I wish I could take credit for the design of these cute little guys, but I’ve seen many variations on the internet in different shapes and sizes. The antler are broken mini-pretzels. The eyes are white chocolate chips. The nose is red peanut M&M. For the icing, I used my go-to chocolate recipe…
Chocolate Icing
1/4 cup butter
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup powdered sugar
additional milk or water as required
Combine the butter, milk, corn syrup and vanilla in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stirring often, cook until butter is melted and ingredients are combined. Reduce heat to low and add the chocolate chips. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted. Add chocolate mixture to powdered sugar and whisk until very smooth. If icing thickens over time, add more liquid to thin it out.
Cake Donuts Decorated For Christmas
For all these donuts, make sure you adhere the decoration (eyes, sprinkles, etc.) before the icing has a chance to set. (I keep my bowls of icing warm over pans of hot water so I’ll have plenty of time to work before the icing hardens.) The only exception is the reindeer pretzel antlers. I let the icing completely set on those so I wouldn’t smudge the icing while poking the pretzels in.
I hope you’ll have fun making your own Christmas cake donuts.
May your days be merry and bright… and may all your Christmas donuts be white… snowmen, green wreaths or chocolate reindeer!
This concluded the article for the casual reader. For those really into making great donuts, I think you’ll find the following tips helpful…
Cake Donut Cooking Notes:
If you have it, try replacing 2 Tablespoons of the all-purpose flour with soy flour. With that that small amount, you’ll notice that the donuts absorb less oil when they fry.
I suggest having your better chill in a casserole dish rather than a bowl (as other recipes tend to advise). This is so that the dough is already partially flattened and shaped when you turn it out later. The less you have to work the dough right before frying, the better your chances of success.
When cutting donuts, I uses a 2 and 1/2 inch biscuit cutter to make the donuts and a 1-inch cutter to make the holes. I have a small bowl of flour near my work station and dip the cutters into the flour between cuts to prevent sticking.
I like to cut the dough in two batches, so half of the dough remains chilled and firm in the refrigerator as I work the first half. Once the donut batter gets warm, it becomes sticky and difficult to work with.
When you gather the dough remnants to get more donuts from the scrap, you’ll need to incorporate a bit more flour for the dough to be workable. Add only as much as you barely need. If you add too much flour, the donuts become more biscuit like in texture. However, they they will still taste great and look as pretty as the first batch when they’re decorated.
When frying, be sure not to overload the fryer or pot. If it’s a l
View line-by-line Nutrition Insights™: Discover which ingredients contribute the calories/sodium/etc.
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Serving Size: 1 Serving (31g) | ||
Recipe Makes: 20 Servings | ||
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Calories: 24 | ||
Calories from Fat: 13 (54%) | ||
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Amt Per Serving | % DV | |
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Total Fat 1.5g | 2 % | |
Saturated Fat 0.6g | 3 % | |
Monounsaturated Fat 0.6g | ||
Polyunsanturated Fat 0.1g | ||
Cholesterol 12.2mg | 4 % | |
Sodium 2122.3mg | 73 % | |
Potassium 42.3mg | 1 % | |
Total Carbohydrate 1.7g | 0 % | |
Dietary Fiber 0.1g | 1 % | |
Sugars, other 1.5g | ||
Protein 1g | 1 % | |
Powered by: USDA Nutrition Database Disclaimer: Nutrition facts are derived from linked ingredients (shown at left in colored bullets) and may or may not be complete. Always consult a licensed nutritionist or doctor if you have a nutrition-related medical condition. |
Calories per serving: 24
Get detailed nutrition information, including item-by-item nutrition insights, so you can see where the calories, carbs, fat, sodium and more come from.
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