Nothing can beat a fresh, fluffy doughnut dipped in sweet sugar icing. Soft on the inside, golden on the outside, and finished with that glossy, crackly coating — these ring doughnuts are pure happiness in every bite. Perfect with a cup of coffee, for sharing with friends, or as a weekend baking project that kids will love to join. They are easier to make than you might think.

Tips for Perfect Doughnuts:

Dough texture – your dough should be soft and slightly sticky, but not too wet. This ensures fluffy doughnuts without being dense.
Proofing – let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled — rushing this step can lead to heavy doughnuts.
Frying – Keep your oil around 165–170°C (329–338°F). Too hot, and they brown too fast; too cool, and they soak up oil.
Icing glaze – dip the doughnuts while they’re still slightly warm so the sugar icing sets beautifully with that signature shine.
Toppings – add sprinkles, crushed nuts, or even a drizzle of chocolate on top for fun variations.

There’s nothing like biting into a soft, fluffy ring doughnut dipped in crispy sugar icing. Simple, sweet, and so addictive — these homemade doughnuts are the kind of treat you’ll want to make again and again!

Ring Doughnuts with Sugar Icing

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Proofing 2

Total Time 2 50

Servings 12 doughnuts

Ingredients

Dough

150 g lukewarm milk
60 g granulated sugar
300 g plain flour
3 egg yolks
40 g butter (melted)
1 sachet dried yeast
pinch of salt
oil for frying (sunflower or vegetable)
250 g icing sugar

Sugar icing

2 tbsp milk
2-4 tbsp water

Instructions

Add lukewarm milk, sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl and let it rest for about 10 mins until the yeast activates. Once your yeast mixture is ready add the rest of the ingredients and using a dough hook, knead the dough on low speed using standing mixer. You should get nice soft dough. Shape it into a ball, return into mixing bowl and cover with cling film (I use showering cap) and let it proof for about an hour or until doubles in size.
Take your proofed dough out of the bowl and roll it out using a rolling pin. Cut out doughnut shapes using cookie or doughnut cutter. Place each of them on a smaller piece of baking paper, cover with kitchen cloth (or muslin) and let them proof for another 20 mins.
Pour oil into deep frying pan or a pot and bring to about 165ºc/329ºF. Make sure you have enough oil in the pan so the doughnuts won't touch the bottom when frying, you want them to float. Fry each doughnut for about a minute on each side, you can drop them into the oil with the baking paper they proof on, it will separate as soon as the doughnut hits the oil.
Add icing sugar into a bowl and mix with milk, add one tablespoon of water at a time as that will allow you to control the thickness. It needs to be thick enough so it doesn't slip off the doughnut straight away but it has to be able to drip down and cover the sides. You can do one test doughnut and if necessary add more water it it's too thick. Dip doughnuts while they're still warm and rest on cooling rack until the icing sets.