Mom's Doughnuts

These old-fashioned cake doughnuts are the kind your grandmother made: simple dough, hand-cut rings, and a quick fry until golden. No yeast, no rising time, no waiting. Baking powder does the leavening, so you can go from mixing bowl to hot doughnut in about 30 minutes.

The dough comes together with creamed shortening and sugar, beaten eggs, flour, milk, and just enough cinnamon and nutmeg to give each doughnut a warm, spiced aroma without tasting like a spice cake. Roll the dough ½ inch thick, cut with a round cutter, punch out the center hole, and into the hot oil they go.

Fry at 375°F (190°C) and turn once. That’s it. They puff up, turn golden, and develop a thin, slightly crisp shell around a soft, cakey interior.

Kitchen Tips

• Keep the dough ½ inch thick. Thinner doughnuts fry too crisp and lose their cakey center. Thicker doughnuts don’t cook through before the outside browns.
• Maintain the oil at 375°F (190°C). Too cool and the doughnuts absorb grease. Too hot and the outside burns while the center stays raw.
• Turn only once during frying. Constant flipping leads to uneven cooking and a rougher surface.
• Don’t overwork the dough when rolling. Handling it too much develops gluten and makes the doughnuts tough instead of tender.

Variations

• Cinnamon sugar coating: Toss warm doughnuts in a mixture of ½ cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
• Glazed: Dip warm doughnuts in a simple glaze of powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.
• Doughnut holes: Fry the punched-out centers alongside the rings for bite-sized treats that cook in about half the time.