Mom's Buttermilk Doughnuts are an old-fashioned, deep fried doughnut recipe that are also known as fry cakes. This cake like doughnut is deep fried until golden brown. The vanilla flavored cake encased in the crispy brown exterior is melt in your mouth delicious. And, there is nothing better than a fresh Buttermilk Doughnut and a cup of Hot Fireball Apple Cider!
Deep Fried Buttermilk Doughnuts are a great way to treat your family on the weekend. They are a little time intensive, but so worth the end result. If you have never tried a homemade buttermilk doughnut, then you need to read on, because it an experience that everyone needs to have!
Jump to:
🍩 Mom's Doughnut Recipe
My mom has always been an amazing maker of all things bread-like. Three things she would make regularly in the home were biscuits, bread, and doughnuts. I remember as a young girl, I would watch her make her doughnuts, and anxiously wait until they would come out of the hot grease. We loved to eat them warm, either shaken up with a little powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or dipped in some pure maple syrup.
If you have never eaten a freshly made fry cake, then you are certainly missing out. There is nothing else like it. I felt this method of making an old-fashioned doughnut should not disappear. Because of this, I decided to document my Mom's method of making homemade buttermilk doughnuts.
Donut or Doughnuts?
All of my life a Doughnut was a doughnut! The spelling of donut was always around, but spelling of donut became the more popular version when Dunkin' Donuts came into existence. Neither one of these spellings are incorrect and actually, if you search either word on the internet, you get recipes with both spellings!
Doughnut FAQ's
What is an old-fashioned doughnut?
An old fashioned doughnut is a cake like ring of fried dough that has been leavened with baking powder. It has a tender interior with a crispy exterior.
Is a yeast donut the same thing as a fry cake?
No, a yeast donut is a doughnut made with active yeast. The interior will be more like a sweet yeast bread and exterior is smooth and golden brown.
What is the difference between deep fried donuts and a baked donuts?
Deep fried donuts will have a crispy exterior with a soft interior. A baked donut will have more of a cake like texture all around.
💭 Top Tips
- Use a blender to combine the sugar, eggs, oil, buttermilk, and lemon juice. This will completely mix all the wet ingredients together well.
- Measure dry ingredients and add together with flour in sifter, then sift into a large bowl.
- Start the mixing with a hand mixer, then move to a spoon as the dough becomes stiffer.
- The dough should be pliable when your turn it out onto a floured board. Finish mixing by hand until you have a stiff and workable dough.
- Make sure you refrigerate the dough at least 30 minutes.
- Once the doughnuts are cut, set them aside to rest for 30 minutes.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from affiliate links.
Doughnut Shapes
When you remove the dough from fridge, gently pat out and shape the dough until about 1 inch thickness.
Use a donut cutter or a biscuit cutter. My mom uses a round biscuit cookie cutter for a bigger donut. Then she will cut out the donut holes using the removable center of the doughnut hole cutter.
Deep Frying Tips
Keep in mind when deep frying doughnuts, you will need to keep the heat at a steady temperature. I recommend using a heavy bottomed stock pot or electric deep fryer to fry your doughnuts. I also recommend using a deep fry thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature of the oil.
AKA Lucille Brewer's Doughnuts
The recipe card shown below does not show the recipe the way my mom makes it. She has made this deep fried doughnut recipe for longer than I have been around, and the recipe has evolved with her over the years.
The card is the original recipe my Nanny used and she passed it on to mom. I shared this card with you so you could see the original version. Mom's version is in my recipe card below.
Repurposing Doughnuts
It is very rare you will need to find a way to use doughnuts, other than just eating them. However, there are a couple of different ways to enjoy a doughnut that I thought I would share with you.
Try making Doughnut Bread Pudding! Or, I find this grilled cheese donut intriguing. I'm not sure I would want it with a glazed donut, but a cake donut maybe?
This is a donut sandwich I would eat in a heartbeat! A Maple Donut Breakfast Sandwich would be hard to resist with the sweet maple icing and bacon! Another sweet and savory treat to try is this Donut Monte Cristo Sandwich. A little spicy jam with that sandwich would add another layer of flavor that would make it a killer sandwich!
More doughnut recipes you may enjoy
We love our homemade donuts! My favorite yeast donut is this recipe for Apple Cider Glazed Doughnuts. When I make this recipe, I often will save a few doughnuts to glaze with a maple frosting.
I prefer deep fried doughnut recipes. However, I do bake them often too! Some of my favorite baked donut recipes are for Baked Banana Doughnuts with Browned Butter Rum Glaze, Raspberry Lemon Baked Donuts, and Baked Chocolate Mocha Doughnuts.
What’s new? Check out my Grumpy’s Honeybunch Store on Amazon! Thanks so much for being a part of Grumpy’s Honeybunch!
*If you made this recipe, please give it a star rating*
📖 Recipe
Homemade Buttermilk Doughnuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups flour
- 3 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon
- 2 cups vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift 2 cups of flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
- Using a hand mixer, blend the wet and dry ingredients together until a sticky dough forms.
- Gradually add the remaining 2 cups of flour to the dough until it becomes stiff and pliable.
- Cover dough and place in refrigerator to chill up to 30 minutes.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and pat down and out with floured hands until round and approximately 1" thick.
- Cut out doughnuts with cutter and set aside on floured board.
- Once doughnuts are cut, let rest while you prepare the vegetable shortening for frying.
- Add shortening to a large frying pot and heat until 375 degrees.
- Gently place doughnuts in hot grease. Once they go into the grease, they will sink, then float up to the top, with the hot oil bubbling around them.
- Cook for approximately 2 minutes per side, until golden brown.
- Be sure oil does not get too cool or too hot. Temperature should be maintained at 375 degrees.
- Remove fried doughnuts from hot grease and transfer to a paper towel lined cookie sheet.
- Let any excess oil drain from doughnut and cool at least 5 minutes before handling.
Ellen
Mom's handwritten recipes are the best! It looks well loved with all the stains and creases on the card! The doughnuts look delicious!
Shelby
Ellen, my mom and dad used to go to the Farmer's Market with garden and baked goods, and people looked for them and her doughnuts! Believe me, every time I go home, I'm happy if she has some in her freezer too. They are great thawed and warmed in the microwave a few seconds too!