These Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts are just like the old-fashioned cake doughnuts from the bakery. They’re kind of crunchy and cracked on the outside, making those nooks just purrrrrfect for soaking up the thick, shiny, crackled glaze. We completely dunk the doughnuts in that glaze in the recipe, and it’s amazing. The inside is soft and cakey with a more firm bite than yeast doughnuts. Plus you can’t beat sour cream, it’s good with just about everything.

I don’t always prefer old-fashioned cake doughnuts to yeast doughnuts, but when I do this is absolutely the recipe I use. You can’t beat how much less time these take than yeast doughnuts, too.

Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts Recipe Tips
1. USE A SCALE TO WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS
Using a scale is a smart idea for this recipe. Any issues I hear about the dough being too dry or sticky are likely due to inaccurate measuring! If you doughnuts aren’t as fluffy and light as you’d like, it’s due to compacting too much flour into your measuring cup. You can learn more about how to measure flour the RIGHT way here.

2. USE REAL BLEACHED CAKE FLOUR
This is a must for the recipe. Purchased cake flour will yield light and delicate doughnuts like the ones from the bakery. DIY substitutions don’t really cut it, and AP flour will not create doughnuts with that same soft texture. Also, bleached cake flour will work best. Unbleached (like King Arthur Flour) won’t absorb as much moisture and you may end up with doughnuts that crumble while frying. You can learn more about cake flour here.

3. THIS RECIPE IS FRIED