A really great cake doughnut is a thing of beauty: tender, chewy (but never tough), with a puffy, cracked top that's slightly crunchy in spots. These Matcha Doughnuts were such a big hit with our staff during the testing process that we had to pick associate food editor Claire Saffitz's brain. Here are her best tips for the tenderest cake doughnuts your fryer's ever seen.
For the tenderest results, we make these doughnuts with cake flour. It has less gluten than all-purpose flour, which yields a doughnut that's got chew without being tough. (Read more on why this matters in our guide to flour.) But making sure not to overwork the dough is just as important to light and fluffy doughnuts, Saffitz says. When you're kneading the dough and re-rolling your scraps, less is more.
The doughnuts need time to form maximum puffiness and for the centers to cook through, which is why we cook them at a relatively low 325°. If you cook in oil that's too hot, the doughnuts will be too dark (read: tough and dry) by the time they're cooked through. While frying, watch your thermometer—if the oil temp starts to climb, turn it down to low for a little bit.
Since this recipe makes only eight doughnuts, you can take your time—don't overcrowd your pot and instead fry just a couple at a time so you can monitor each carefully for doneness. Frying in small batches also prevents the oil temperature from dipping down too low and gives the doughnuts plenty of room to move around.
Speaking of doneness, there are a few telltale signs of a well-made cake doughnut. You want them to be golden brown, but not too golden brown (like in the photo above), which will leave them dry and tough. You want your doughnuts to have cracks on the tops, which indicate the insides expanded during the frying process to a light, cakey texture.
Saffitz likes to use a bamboo skimmer (also called a spider) to easily flip and scoop out the doughnuts from the pot. "I like the bamboo handle because it doesn't get hot, which makes it very easy to maneuver the doughnuts," she says. Not to mention they're dirt cheap—pick one up for a few bucks at a restaurant supply store.
This recipe isn't overly sweet, so these doughnuts can handle any good, sugary topping you want to throw on 'em. Saffitz suggests whisking everything from maple syrup to coconut milk to lemon juice into confectioner's sugar for endless riffs on a classic glaze. You can add things like citrus zest and small amounts of extract to the dough itself, but don't add any extra liquid, which will make it too loose to punch out into circles.