the very cool thing about commuting to work every day via bus is the 3 hours (give or take) i’m forced to spend reading. it’s usually just the internets, but i’ve been venturing out (i.e. comic books are perfect cause i’m awesome and get carsick… whatever i’m reading needs to be short). i’ve been able to start compiling quite the list of recipes that i want to make and places i want to visit. 

a couple months ago i was fortunate enough to visit tonys donuts in portland, maine for the first time. not that i didn’t already love a good donut before, tonys has totally turned me into a sickly-hooked, diehard and straight-up obsessive donut fan. they are old school and awesome and make donuts how they should be made (i didn’t get any pictures, but i will soon). in my time spent away from tony’s, i’ve craved their cinnamon cake donut more than most things i’ve craved before… and this was my attempt to satisfy that (i think i did pretty ok). 

1 1/4 c. flour 

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 c. white sugar

1/2 c. milk 

1 egg

2 tbs. butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla 

oil for frying (about 3 cups)

in a small bowl, whisk together sugar, milk, butter, vanilla and the egg. set aside. sift flour, powder, salt and spices, then add wet ingredient mixture. whisk together until well combined.

roll out using fingertips (you can either use flour or oil to prevent sticking) to use cookie cutters for your donuts, or roll into balls (i did both). heat oil on medium in a wide pan. for this i used cast iron, which i highly recommend. neat tip: if a drop of water makes the oil crackle, you’re all set. 

fry donuts for 2 minutes on each side, give or take its size. to avoid doughy centers, make sure your oil isn’t too hot… it’ll burn the outsides before cooking the middle! let cool on a paper towel. 

how to make the best donut: the oil thing is really tricky, and to tell you the truth i don’t know how i got a good crust on my donuts… i just kept an eye on them the whole time. it’s pretty important. i don’t know anyone who would leave the kitchen while they were frying, but i figure it’s something i should stress. you can flip them multiple times to see how the underside is browning, and i guess that’s what i did the whole time. also, as you can probably see, i covered some of mine with just plain powered sugar which is a very delicious and easy touch! just wait until they cool off and the oil has run off… or soaked in (eeek) to toss them in the sugar. and again, if you have any questions… just ask.