Makes about 16 donuts, plus donut holes
OF ALL THE DONUTS IN THE WORLD, THE CLASSIC CIDER DONUT TRULY SPEAKS to me. Of course, to speak loud enough to be heard over the heavenly call of a French cruller or Boston cream, a cider donut must be completely on point. That means fresh from the fryer, piping hot with a sparkling, crunchy coat of cinnamon sugar that’s sexier than any mink, with a good grating of fresh nutmeg in the batter to suggest everything seductive about the early weeks of autumn.
Although some recipes for cider donuts actually contain cider, in my mind, the only “cider” necessary with a cider donut is on the side—ice-cold, unfiltered, and preferably sipped at the U-pick apple farm where it was pressed, while on a break from picking said apples. I’ve found buttermilk does a fine job of adding the tang and acidity needed to create a flavorful, tender donut, without the fuss of boiling down cider to add to the batter.
3½ cups/450 g unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup/113 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅔ cup/132 g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup/225 g well-shaken buttermilk, at room temperature
2 quarts/1.6 kg vegetable or canola oil
1½ cups/300 g granulated sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
Prepare the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time—the mixture will look curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients and buttermilk in 5 alternating additions. Finish mixing the dough by hand with a spatula—it will be soft and sticky and somewhat loose, but will hold a shape.
To shape the donuts, dust a work surface with flour. Line a 12 × 17-inch/30 × 43 cm baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn out the dough onto the work surface and dust the top with flour. Pat the dough gently into a disk, and with a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to just shy of ½-inch/1.25 cm thick. (Using a bench scraper to move the dough around the floured surface a bit from time to time at this stage will help with sticking.) Using a floured 3-inch/7.6 cm donut cutter, cut out the donuts, transferring each to the prepared baking sheet, along with the donut holes. You can gather the scraps, reroll them, and cut once more.
Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to let the donuts firm up a bit while you heat the oil. In a deep 5-quart/4.75 L pot, such as a Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, heat 2 inches/5 cm of oil to 365°F/185°C.
Set up your frying station: Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Have ready a slotted spoon and/or a slotted spatula—a fish spatula works well. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt for finishing the donuts.
Fry the donuts in small batches of 2 or 3 at a time, 3 minutes per batch, flipping the donuts halfway through cooking. Transfer the donuts to paper towels to drain briefly. While still hot, toss the donuts in the cinnamon sugar. Allow the oil to come back to 365°F/185°C before frying the next batch. These are best served on the day they’re made, with any leftovers being stored in an airtight container and briefly warmed before serving the following day.