These Classic Maple Donuts are the perfect treat. These donuts are light airy and not too sweet.They are deep fried but don’t give off the heaviness that some fried foods do. The donut itself is not too sweet. It is perfectly paired with this sweet maple icing. The process is very easy and no mixer or deep fryer needed. I used my mixer but you can use your hands to knead the dough and simply a pot and oil and a meat thermometer to make sure the oil was at the right temperature. These doughnuts are easy to make and bring me back to the donuts I grew up eating.
CLASSIC MAPLE DONUT INGREDIENTS:
Whole Milk: Warm milk heated to about 110 F or warm to touch but not hot. If it’s too hot it will kill the yeast.
Active Dry Yeast: Most important ingredient. For this recipe you need active dry. If you only have instant yeast cut the amount to 1/4 of the amount of yeast in this recipe. Add the instant yeast to the dry ingredients no need to proof with warm milk.
Eggs: 2 eggs at room temperature.
Granulated Sugar: A small amount of sugar helps activate the yeast and adds flavor.
Salt: Helps bring out all the flavors.
Unsalted Butter: Helps make the dough butter and rich. The butter needs to be melted but cooled in order to not kill the yeast.
All-Purpose Flour: You will need about 2 3/4 cups of flour. It may need more or less so feel it out as you mix it. You want the dough to be tacky but not sticky. More flour is needed to roll out.
Canola Oil: 2 Quarts are needed in order to fry all 20 donuts.
Powdered Sugar: 1 cup is needed to make the perfect thickness for the icing.
Maple Syrup: 1 tablespoon, just enough to put the flavor and color in the icing. Use pure maple syrup instead of artificial because we don’t need it so sweet.
Vanilla Extract: Round out the flavor.
Milk: 2- 3 tablespoons depending on how thick you want it.
FRIED DONUTS TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Room Temperature ingredients help to make sure the ingredients combine better. Read this great article to read more.
- Make sure the milk isn’t too hot or else it will kill the yeast. If the yeast does not bloom and puff up then pour it all out and start over again. It is not worth it to continue to make the dough because it will not rise. If it doesn’t bloom again and the milk isn’t too hot then the yeast may have gone bad and it’s time to get a whole new pack at the store.
- Storing yeast in a sealed container in the fridge works best, otherwise if it get’s too warm it will die. When this happens it won’t smell like yeast and will have almost like a play dough smell.
- For the maple icing start with less liquid than the recipe says. Stir in small amounts until you get a nice smooth consistency. If you put too much liquid in too quick it will be come chunky and the only way to fix it is to put more powdered sugar in.
SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT FOR MAPLE DONUTS:
- Mixer and dough hook: These make the kneading process a lot quicker and care free.
- Big pot: This allows you to fill it with 2 quarts of oil. You can also use a deep fryer if you have one.
- Thermometer: this one is needed to make sure you are cooking you’re donuts at the correct temperature. If you don’t know you could cook them on too high a heat and they will come out raw in the center.
- Rolling Pin: This will be needed to roll the dough out.
- Glass and shot glass: This is what I used to cut the donuts out. If you have a round cookie cutter even better! Also the end of a wood spoon could work to create a whole in the center.
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Happy Baking Friends!
Classic Maple Donuts
Equipment
- Large pot
- Thermometer
- Rolling Pin
- Mixer and dough hook
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 1/4 Cup Milk
- 2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 2 Eggs
- 8 tbs Unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour Plus more for rolling
Maple Icing
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 2-3 tbsp Milk
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Heat milk until warm but not hot. In a large bowl combine with yeast, mix a little then let sit for 5 minutes until mixture is foamy.
- Beat eggs, butter, sugar, and salt into the yeast mixture. Add half the flour and mix until combined. Then mix in the rest of the flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Knead for a few minutes on a floured surface. Cover the inside of a large bowl with oil. Put dough in large bowl and cover with dish towel. Let rise for about and hour until it is double in size.
- Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and roll out into 1/2 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters or glasses to cut doughnuts. Shot glasses work great as the center cut out. Place cut doughnuts on floured baking sheets with plenty of space in between. Cover with kitchen towels and let sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- About 15 minutes before doughnuts are done rising, place pot with oil over medium heat. Get the oil to 375 degrees use a meat thermometer to make sure. Line cooling racks with paper towels.
- Use a slotted spoon to put a few doughnuts in the pot. Let cook for around 45 seconds and then flip and cook until golden. Take out and let rest on paper towels before icing.
- Prepare icing by mixing powdered sugar, maple syrup, milk and vanilla.
- Dip in icing and let rest on wire racks before serving.
Those look AMAZING and I’m hungry now
Thank you! They were delicious!