Name: Cast Iron Drop Doughnuts
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/4 teaspoon Salt; 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1/2 cup whole milk; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 4 cups peanut or vegetable oil , for frying; Confectioners' sugar , for dusting

Why This Recipe Works

The excellent heat retention of cast iron makes it the ideal vessel for frying, since it can keep the oil nice and hot, so we naturally turned to our 12-inch skillet for our simple drop doughnut recipe. For quick, tender, cake-style doughnuts, we first did away with rolling and stamping out the dough into rings. Instead, we merely dropped generous spoonfuls of batter into hot oil, creating round doughnut “holes.” Many doughnut recipes we found called for generous amounts of oil, which is messy, wasteful, and not practical for frying in a skillet. We decided to shallow-fry our doughnuts to minimize the amount of oil needed. This method did require us to turn the doughnuts to ensure doneness, but the benefits of using less oil were well worth it. The perfect ratio of flour to baking powder produced batter that was light but not the least bit bitter—a problem with many chemically leavened baked goods. All-purpose flour gave these doughnuts the right amount of structure, and just 2 tablespoons of butter and a small amount of milk added richness and tenderness without weighing the batter down. The most important factor in preventing greasy doughnuts was making sure we fried them at the right temperature; we were careful to keep the oil between 350 and 375 degrees while cooking each batch. A dusting of confectioners' sugar made a nice final touch.

Before You Begin

You will need a 12-inch cast-iron skillet with at least 2-inch sides for this recipe.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together in medium bowl. In separate bowl, whisk granulated sugar and eggs together until smooth, then whisk in milk, melted butter, and vanilla until incorporated. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture with rubber spatula until just combined.

Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet and line with triple layer of paper towels. Add oil to 12-inch cast-iron skillet until it measures about ¾ inch deep and heat over medium-high heat to 375 degrees.

Carefully drop one-third of batter, 1 heaping tablespoon at a time, into oil. Fry until deep golden brown, 3 to 6 minutes, flipping doughnuts halfway through frying. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 350 and 375 degrees. Transfer doughnuts to prepared rack and keep warm in oven. (Doughnuts can be kept warm in oven for up to 30 minutes.)

Return oil to 375 degrees and repeat with remaining batter in 2 batches. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve warm.