25 August 1956 “Awww, nutz…NO, Doughnuts!”

This morning I made doughnuts for hubby and my breakfast. I made the cake doughnut as opposed to the yeast-raised doughnut. Both are very good ( I am partial to a hot plate of fresh yeast-raised dredged in sugar!) but the cake is an easier and quicker doughnut to make, as there is no waiting for the dough to rise.
This is the good advice from my Betty Crocker Cook Book and here is their recipe for Cake Doughnuts.
(Click to enlarge) It is a very good recipe. Today I used this version which makes less doughnuts overall.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 3/8 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 quart oil for deep frying
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Stir the vinegar into the milk, and let stand for a few minutes until thick.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture alternating with the vinegar and milk. Roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/3 inch thickness. Cut into doughnuts using a donut cutter. Let stand for about 10 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fry doughnuts in the hot oil until golden, turning over once. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners' sugar while they are still warm, and serve immediately.

However, in both recipes I use either Butter or Lard never shortening. I have stopped using it awhile ago and prefer butter and lard, as they are both more natural and I think taste SO much better.
Here they are being rolled out. Here is a lovely close up showing the softness of the dough as it waits it’s 15 minutes before it is popped into its hot oil bath: I thought this shot of our demolished plate of doughnuts was rather cute, as you can see the fun starburst pattern on my platter. And here are two close-ups showing the texture and color of these delicious little deadlies. I use my mother’s vintage 1950’s donut cutter (which has the little removable center for the hole so I also use it for my biscuits and scones.) Not only does this give me an authentic vintage doughnut size, it is wonderful for your appetite, because two of these doughnuts are propably not as big as a modern doughnut, but you feel as if you are eating more. These are also good in the glaze made of melted butter, confectioners sugar and vanilla extract. As well as just confectioners sugar or cinnamon and sugar or even plain.
I think a cake doughnut, such as these, have a longer shelf life/taste ratio. These will be fine tomorrow and the next day kept under my cake plate, while a yeast raised tends to not taste as good the next day. The chickens love these, when there are ever any left for them (which is not often!)
This movie from the 1950’s about doughnuts is a riot. It  is funny and fun to watch, so take some time to do so. I love the tongue in cheek approach of the narrator as he discusses the ‘streamline looks and various exteriors’ available for this mass produced product. Saying such things in a great booming voice as “ A Free Man in a Free World, Free to Dunk!” And discussing the Dunking addict the “Dunkomaniac” who ‘can’t take one dunk and quit”. And of course, the Donut of Tomorrow, The “Super Absorbent Atomic Donut”! It is all quite funny, so do watch.
There are also some great images of 50’s Diners indoors and good shots of vintage dishes and vacuum pots of coffee and some cute hats.

In all seriousness, though, the chain donut shop was born, among many of our modern things, in the 1950’s. The local bakery was soon to see the stiff competition of the ‘chain restaurant’ and this included that Pure American Food: The Donut.
In my neck of the woods, there is Dunkin Donuts: that behemoth of a donut chain that has seem to swallow up every corner in various towns here on the Cape, unfortunately. The very first Dunkin Donuts, shown in the image above, was created in 1950 in Quincy Massachusetts, by William Rosenberg.
This year, in 1956, Mister Donut was started. It was meant to be competition for Dunkin Donuts. It later was bought out by the company and today its now owned and run in Japan and the Philippines. Krispy Kreme (Which I have to admit I love much more than Dunkin Donuts but sadly have been all but run out of MA) was mainly in the south and south-eastern US. I would not have access to them in 1956 unless I were to travel that direction.
Some of the small mom and pop places did survive. Here in my home state of Massachusetts, Kane’s Donuts, which was started in 1955 in Saugus, is still going today.
No matter how you eat it, dunk it, or prefer it :Plain or Coated in everything, The doughnut is definitely an American Institution.
Try making some of your own, because a hot doughnut in the morning is wonderful. And the look on faces as they head to the kitchen and get a wonderful scent of those cooking delights is worth the work.