Best Black And White Donuts Recipes

BLACK AND WHITE DONUTS

Steps:

• For the donuts: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 12-cavity donut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
• Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and zest in a large bowl. Whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, almond extract and 1/4 cup water in a medium bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined.
• Fill a piping bag or resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped off with the batter and pipe the batter into the donut pan, filling each cavity halfway. (If you have any remaining batter, you can bake it in a second batch.)
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in a donut comes out clean, about 12 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a rack and cool completely. (A mini spatula helps remove them from the pan!)
• For the vanilla glaze: Mix together the powdered sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, salt and 3 tablespoons milk in a medium bowl. Add additional milk little by little until the mixture is pourable, up to the remaining tablespoon. (Be careful not to add too much milk, because the glaze should be thick and opaque, but if the glaze is too thick it will have a hard time sticking to the donuts. You can always make adjustments by adding more powdered sugar to make it thicker or more milk to thin it out.)
• Place a baking sheet or piece of parchment paper underneath the rack with the donuts and dip each donut halfway into the vanilla glaze, scraping off any excess glaze from the bottom and returning to the rack. Let the vanilla glaze dry 20 to 30 minutes if you're impatient like me, but more like an hour or so if you want it to really be nice and solid.
• For the chocolate glaze: Stir together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, corn syrup, salt and 3 tablespoons milk in a medium bowl, using the same method as you used for the vanilla glaze. Carefully dip the unglazed half of the donuts into the chocolate glaze. (For the chocolate side, I find it's helpful to use a spatula to help the glaze nudge right up against the vanilla.) Scrape any excess glaze off the bottom, then place back on the rack, and let dry 1 hour. Enjoy!
• These are best the day of, but they keep for an additional couple of days at room temperature in an airtight container.

THE BEST OLD-FASHIONED DOUGHNUTS

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons of the salt and the nutmeg in a large bowl until completely combined. Whisk together 2/3 cup of the buttermilk, the sour cream, eggs, yolks, 1 tablespoon of the vanilla paste and the oil in a medium bowl until completely combined. Fold the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients just until a soft and sticky dough comes together (do not overwork).
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and liberally dust with flour (about 1/3 cup).
• Scrape the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Dust your hands and the top of the dough with more flour, then gently pat the dough to 3/4-inch thick.
• Working on the baking sheet, punch out as many rounds as you can with a 3 1/4-inch cutter. Then use a 1 1/4-inch cutter to punch out the center of each round. Dip the cutters in flour before each cut to avoid sticking. Gather the dough scraps and gently re-roll without overworking the dough. Repeat cutting until all the dough has been used (you should have 8 doughnuts).
• Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and line a second rimmed baking sheet with several layers of paper towels. Fit a large heavy pot with a deep-fry thermometer and pour in oil to a depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium-high until the thermometer registers 375 degrees F.
• Fry the doughnuts in batches until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the wire rack and let cool slightly. Fry the doughnut holes until deep golden brown, about 90 seconds per side. Transfer to the wire rack and let drain for 1 minute. Then transfer to the paper-towel lined baking sheet to cool for 10 minutes before glazing. (This two-step process gets a lot more oil out of the doughnuts than using only one method.) Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure the oil returns to temperature between batches.
• Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, the remaining 6 tablespoons buttermilk, the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla paste and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until the glaze is smooth and the consistency of honey; add more confectioners' sugar or buttermilk if necessary.
• Dip each doughnut into the glaze on one side (we like the craggy side, it has more texture for an appetizing appearance), letting the excess drip back into the bowl, then return it to the wire rack. Toss the doughnut holes in the glaze to coat completely and return to the wire rack. Let the glaze set for 10 minutes before serving.