How could I have lived this long and not discovered cake donuts?

A cake donut is made with a sweetened dough or essentially, cake batter. It gets its lift from baking powder and/or baking soda. It is cooked … ummm fried in oil. It’s firm, with a slightly crunchy exterior and a tender, soft, moist and crumbly cake-like interior.

A yeast donut, on the other hand, is your classic donut ― the kind you get from Krispy Kreme or Grumpy Donuts or Short Stop or Donut King (you’re getting the picture here?) A yeast donut is made with a yeast dough. It’s cut out into a shape before being fried. It’s light and airy, but has a bit of a chew and a slight yeast flavour. They are almost always glazed, frosted, sprinkled or filled.

So, how did I happen upon cake donuts? Those of you who read my blogs know that I got on the covid sourdough starter bandwagon and I use my starter (named Louis) to make the most delicious focaccia. But there’s only so much focaccia one can eat, right? That’s when I decided to google my way to the hundred other baked goods you can make from sourdough starter. Louis was going to be litt!

Who’d have thought you can use sourdough starter to make donuts…and not just any old donuts, but the most delicious, luscious, mouthwatering donuts ever? But don’t worry, if you don’t have a sourdough starter, I’ll give you an easy subsititute. So, back to their taste - they kind of remind me of fried icecream - or at least the warm crispy exterior part of the donut does. If you grew up in the 70s, you would have tried fried icecream at least once, at your local Fortune Palace, Golden Dragon or Peking Garden.

So, now that I’ve got your attention about how ‘Must. Eat. Now’ these donuts are, here’s the recipe. Oh, and their easier to make than those yeast ones - much easier.

donut ingredients 

8 tablespoons softened butter 

1/2 cup sugar 

2 large eggs

1 cup sourdough starter (or sour cream or plain greek yogurt)

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups refined coconut oil for frying

for the cinnamon sugar 

Do I really need to tell you this?

1 1/2 cups sugar - raw or white 

2 tablespoons cinnamon

do this

1. In a small bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl use a mixer to cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs, sourdough starter, vanilla and milk and mix well.

4. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and beat just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Do not overmix.

5. Allow the dough to sit 2 to 3 minutes to firm slightly. The dough should be soft but workable.

6. Lightly flour your counter and turn out the dough. Dust the top with flour and roll about 2cm thick.

7. Use a round cutter to cut circles about 3 inches wide and a smaller cutter to cut out the centres. You can see from mu pics that I didn’t cut out the centres.

8. Heat the oil over medium high heat in a heavy pot or skillet to a depth of about 3 inches. Just deep enough that the donuts don't stick to the bottom until the oil reaches 375 degrees.

9. Add the donuts in batches of 3 or 4, turning when golden brown on one side – about 2 minutes. Cook 1 to 2 minutes more then transfer to the cinnamon sugar and toss to coat.

10. Serve warm or at room temperature and may also be frozen for up to 2 months.