Ingredients
- For the Crumb
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
- 3 1/2 cups cake flour
- For the Cake
- 1 1/4 cup cake flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Spray two 6-cavity donut pans with cooking spray (I use these Norpro pans because the cavities are nice and deep compared to others I’ve tried!)
First, make the crumb. In a large bowl, combine the sugars, cinnamon and salt. Pour the melted butter over the mixture and stir until fully incorporated. Stir in the cake flour until a smooth dough forms and set the bowl aside.
In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Using a hand mixer, add in the butter and beat until the mixture resembles moist crumbs.
In a small bowl, combine the egg, egg yolks, vanilla extract and buttermilk. Mix until smooth, and then add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until the batter is light and fluffy.
Spoon the batter into the donut molds. Make sure each cavity is only about 1/3 full. It’s better to under-fill each one, and then go back and add more with any excess batter.
Evenly distribute the crumb dough over the top of each donut. Be careful not to press the crumbs into the batter, just give them a generous sprinkling. Pile on that crumb!
Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into one of the donuts comes out clean. If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate the pans halfway through. If you want the crumbs to brown, move your trays to the top rack under the broiler when there’s about 5 minutes left on the clock. Watch them carefully if you do this because they can easily burn!
When you remove your trays from the oven, let them cool for about 5 minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack and placing them crumb-side up. Once the donuts have cooled, dust them with powdered sugar, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy