Old-fashioned doughnut facts for kids
Old-fashioned doughnuts – cinnamon sugar (left), chocolate glazed (centre top) and maple glazed (right)
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| Type | Cake doughnut |
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| Main ingredients | Flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream or buttermilk and leavener |
An old-fashioned doughnut is a special kind of doughnut. It's shaped like a ring with cool, bumpy edges. These doughnuts are made from a cake-like batter, not yeast.
They are usually deep-fried until they get a slightly crunchy outside. You'll often see small cracks and bumps on their surface. After frying, they can be covered in a sweet glaze, sprinkled with sugar, or eaten plain.
Old-fashioned doughnuts are a popular treat in the United States. They are known for their unique texture and rich flavor.
Contents
The History of Doughnuts
Old-fashioned doughnuts are a type of "cake doughnut." Cake doughnuts first appeared in the United States around 1829. Before that, most doughnuts were made with yeast, which makes them light and airy.
What changed? People started using a new ingredient called pearlash. This was a type of leavener, like baking powder. Leaveners help dough rise and become fluffy.
Later, around the 1830s, baking soda and baking powder became common. This made it even easier to bake cake doughnuts. While we don't know the exact date the old-fashioned doughnut was invented, it was definitely after cake doughnuts became popular.
How Old-Fashioned Doughnuts Are Made
The main things you need to make an old-fashioned doughnut are flour, sugar, eggs, and either sour cream or buttermilk. You also need a leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda to make them rise.
Sometimes, people add milk, butter, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Using buttermilk or sour cream gives the doughnut a rich, tangy taste.
These doughnuts are usually deep-fried in hot oil. They are often fried at a slightly lower temperature than other doughnuts. This lower temperature helps create their signature rough, cracked surface. Turning them a few times while they cook also helps with their unique texture.
After they're fried, you can add toppings. Many are covered in sweet glazes, like chocolate or maple. Others are simply dusted with granulated sugar or cinnamon-sugar. The ring shape helps hold a lot of glaze! Old-fashioned doughnuts are known for being crisp and having those cool cracks on top.
Making Doughnuts for Everyone
Many companies make old-fashioned doughnut batter mixes. These mixes are super easy to use. You just add cold water, and the batter is ready!
Some doughnut shops use these mixes. They load the batter into a special machine called a doughnut maker. When they turn a crank, the machine drops perfectly shaped doughnuts right into the deep fryer. These machines are also used for other types of doughnuts, like yeast doughnuts or those filled with cream or jelly.
What's Inside: Nutrition Facts
A plain old-fashioned doughnut
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| Nutritional value per 1 doughnut | |
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| Energy | 420 kcal (1,800 kJ) |
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57
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| Sugars | 34 |
| Dietary fiber | <1 |
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21
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| Saturated | 10 |
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Protein
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4
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| Minerals | Quantity
%DV†
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| Sodium |
17%
260 mg |
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults. | |
It's good to know what's in the foods we eat! One glazed old-fashioned doughnut has about 420 calories. It also contains 21 grams of fat, with 10 grams of that being saturated fat.
For carbohydrates, it has about 57 grams, and 34 grams of that is sugar. You'll also find about 4 grams of protein and a small amount of fiber.
Different Kinds of Old-Fashioned Doughnuts
Companies and bakeries love to put their own spin on the old-fashioned doughnut. For example, Starbucks Corporation sometimes makes old-fashioned doughnuts with chocolate in the batter.
Trader Joe's sells tiny versions called "Old-Fashioned Doughnut O's." Some bakeries get creative with toppings. You might find one with a maple glaze and spicy candied chili peppers!
Other places offer unique flavors like lemon poppy seed. This doughnut might have a lemon-flavored glaze, poppy seeds, and fresh lemon zest.
Some doughnut shops, like Top Pot Doughnuts, offer both vanilla and chocolate old-fashioned doughnuts. You can then choose different glazes, like raspberry, chocolate, or maple. Some restaurants even use old-fashioned doughnut holes in fancy desserts with fruits and sauces.
Gallery
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Glazed old-fashioned doughnuts
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An orange- and pistachio-flavored old-fashioned doughnut
