Old-Time Cake Doughnuts

What kind of oil should you use to fry cake doughnuts?

The best oils for frying doughnuts have a high smoke point and neutral flavor to avoid imparting any unwanted tastes into the dough. Safflower oil, vegetable oil, and canola oil are good options because they can withstand the high temperatures required for frying without breaking down or smoking excessively. Peanut oil is a good option too, although it does impart a slight flavor into the doughnuts.

Can you bake cake doughnuts?

You can bake cake doughnuts instead of frying them, although they will have a different texture than a fried doughnut. Baked doughnuts will have more of a scone-like texture. If you don't want to fry doughnuts, it’s better to follow a specific recipe built for the oven instead of adapting a fried doughnut recipe. Both cake doughnuts and yeast doughnuts cook better when they’re flash cooked in hot oil.

What toppings can you put on cake doughnuts?

The sky’s the limit when it comes to topping choices for cake doughnuts. Try mixing together a glaze with confectioners’ sugar (like this maple glaze) or go traditional with a rich chocolate glaze. Have some fun with colorful nonpareils or other types of edible cake decorations like sprinkles, or create visual appeal with drizzles of melted chocolate, caramel or flavored icing.

—Lindsay Mattison, Taste of Home Contributing Writer