Recipe: You’ll Never Miss Fried Doughnuts Once You Taste My Delicious, No-Fry Doughnuts!

The only things these lack are all the calories and artery clogging grease from frying. 

Deep-fried, raised doughnuts are delicious, but are not exactly healthy. However, with the recipe that I’m about to share with you, you will be completely fooled that these light as feather imitators aren’t the real thing.  The only difference is that mine are much healthier since they are baked instead of fried.  My No-Fry Doughnuts practically melt in your mouth with a hint of nutmeg through its airy texture, topped to perfection with cinnamon-sugar that adheres perfectly due to melted butter.

In case you don’t own a doughnut cutter, you need not worry.  Here’s what you can do to improvise.  Get a large size lid from a food jar (like from the lid of a 64-oz. jar of peanut butter) for the main circle (about 2-1/2 inches) and a small whisky glass for doing the hole.  This works out to solve the problem without any need to rush to the store to buy one.  

My Yeast-Raised Crumb Cake Will Have the Family Demanding Seconds!

Here is a piece of my Yeast-Raised Crumb Cake.

I can’t believe how fast summer is flying by. Instead of most of the country having beautiful warm weather, we have been dealt a bad hand with too much rain, severe storms, and unseasonably cold temperatures lately.  So the next time you find yourself staring out your window and watching those big drops ruin yet another weekend, I thought you might be in the mood to try my delicious Yeast-Raised Crumb Cake!
        
My recipe is quite easy to make as well as economical. Using just one teaspoon or packet of dry yeast, I am able to make three cakes without eggs and milk, which is great with the price of eggs and milk rising with each trip to the store. Although you can add an egg or two and replace one cup of the water for milk, I honestly don’t think you will miss them.

My cake has a nice, soft texture that is complimented with my scrumptious crumb topping.   With the portions that I am sharing, you will have enough topping for all three cakes for the thickness of the crumb layer that I like.  If you want a thicker layer, you will need to increase the amount so just do the math.

By all means, I only use a butter not margarine for the crumbs.  A margarine has too much water for crumbs, which always seem to sink into dough.  Butter, however, gives a wonderful sweet, pastry-like nugget that stays intact.

One last piece of advice, if you are afraid of working with yeast because you have never done so–then now is the time. Mary B. will take you through it so just read carefully and before you know it, you will never think it was hard to bake with yeast in the first place!


My Yeast-Raised Crumb Cake

2 cups of very warm water with 1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of dry yeast
½ cup of canola or corn oil
½ cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
6-1/2 to 7-1/2 cups of sifted flour

Crumb Topping:

2-1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of brown sugar (light or dark), firmly packed
3/4 cup of butter (not a margarine)
1-1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon

To make the dough:

Pour two cups of very warm water (not hot) in a large mixing bowl.  Test the temperature on the back of your wrist as you would for a baby.  Add the one teaspoon of sugar and the teaspoon of dry yeast to it.

Allow the yeast to feed on the sugar for a few minutes to proof it.  When you see some bubbling action, you will know it is time to add the flour.

Take out a wooden spoon because you will need it to combine the dough.  DO NOT ADD ALL THE FLOUR AT ONCE because you may need more or less of the amount I gave you depending on the weather, etc.  Sift a few cups, then stir in the salt.  Gradually, you keep adding and stirring the flour in until the dough feels soft, but not sticky. 

Knead on a floured surface or even in that large mixing bowl, which I do to cut down on dishes.  You won’t be playing with the dough forever, only until nothing sticks.  

Cover your bowl and allow the dough to grow for about two hours.
 
When that time is up and the dough is rising, you will grease three sheet cake pans approximately 15" x 10" x 2" in size. You can use larger pans.  I use the smaller sizes because I like to store some in the freezer.

Divide the dough into three pieces of the same size.  You can roll out for a prettier appearance or just pat a piece of that dough into each cake pan.  

Top each cake with some of the crumb mixture and let grow in the pan for about 1-1/2 hours.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how your oven is regulated.

To prepare the crumb topping:

Prepare as you would pastry by rubbing the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter together until you mix into yummy nuggets.  This is enough to top all three of your cakes.

ENJOY!

This is how many of my Yeast-Raised Crumb Cakes you might expect from this recipe.