Nutty Brown Butter Buttermilk Doughnuts With Lemon-Almond Glaze

Info

• Cook time: 45 minutes
• Total time: 2 hours 45 minutes
• Yield: 5 to 6 doughnuts, each 3 to 4 inches across

Ingredients

For the doughnuts

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups cake flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• Zest from 1/2 lemon (about 1 to 2 teaspoons)
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 large egg plus 1 additional yolk
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 to 3 quarts neutral frying oil, such as vegetable or peanut oil

For the glaze

• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Juice from 1/2 lemon (1 to 2 tablespoons, pulp included)

Instructions

1. Brown the butter. Set a small saucepan over medium-low heat and melt the butter in it. Keep cooking on low, swirling the pan from time to time as the butter crackles and hisses. When the noise dies down and the milk solids have gone golden brown and smell nutty and toasted, take the pan off the heat. This takes about 3 to 4 minutes. Let the butter cool to room temperature.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the cake flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl, then set it aside.
3. Make the dough. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cooled melted butter with the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Beat in the almond extract, the whole egg and the yolk until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the dry mixture along with the buttermilk and mix only until a soft dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap, press it into a flat disc, wrap it and chill for at least 1 hour. If you'd rather split the work, it can stay in the refrigerator overnight and be finished the next morning.
4. Shape and chill again. Set the unwrapped dough on a surface dusted generously with flour and press it out by hand, or use a rolling pin, to a thickness of 3/4 inch. With a 3- to 4-inch glass or round cutter, stamp out as many rounds as possible and transfer them to a baking sheet. Gather and reroll the scraps until all the dough is used. Cut a hole in the middle of each round using a small bottle cap or a round pastry tip; the cutouts can be saved as snacks or used to test the oil. Cover the doughnuts with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Cold dough matters here: it's easier to handle and fries up with a better crust and clearly defined cracks.
5. Heat the oil. Pour 2 inches of oil into a heavy-bottomed pot and bring it to 350 degrees F.
6. Whisk the glaze. Just before frying, stir together the powdered sugar, buttermilk, almond extract, salt and lemon juice in a medium bowl until the mixture is smooth.
7. Fry. Once the oil is hot, lower the doughnuts in carefully, working in batches of 2 to 3 so the pot isn't crowded. They will drop to the bottom and rise again after 15 to 20 seconds; leave them alone during that time. Fry them, turning often, until they are deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Lift them out onto a rack.
8. Glaze and serve. While the doughnuts are still warm but cool enough to touch, dip each one in the glaze, turn it to coat all over, and set it back on the rack to set. They are at their best right away, but because they stay quite moist they hold up well for a day or two.