Dutch doughnuts

Name: Dutch doughnuts
Prep time: 9 min
Cook time: 17 min
Total time: 26 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 500g Flour; 500ml Milk; 10g Instant Yeast; 10g Salt; 25g Sugar

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 41 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

Place the flour in a large bowl and add the yeast and sugar. If the milk is cold make sure to heat it to lukewarm. Mix your flour mixture bit by bit with the milk until you have a smooth batter. Add the salt and mix with a wooden spoon till the batter is smooth and liquidy.
Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm spot for about an hour to rise.
Heat your deep fryer or add the oil to a large pot. The oil should be a t 180˚C (350˚F) for best results.
Before starting stir your batter through and scoop the batter with two spoons or with an ice cream scoop. Let it drop into the oil carefully. It is easiest to do this if you dip your spoons or scoop into the oil before dipping into the batter. That way it will slide of the spoons easily. Don't over crowd the fryer to prevent the oil cooling down too quickly and everything sticking together. Once one side is golden brown it usually turns around to the other side automatically. If not help it along with two forks.
Take the balls out once golden brown and leave to drain on a piece of kitchen paper.

Why this works on a weeknight

Dutch doughnuts genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Dutch doughnuts actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍮 Sweet Finishes Dessert ⚡ 30-Min Dinner