The real name for this Old-Fashioned Amish Winter Doughnuts recipe is "lard cakes." But there are several problems with calling these "lard cakes." One, many people would be turned off from these delightful doughnuts because they would just see the name and stop. Two, I don't know that that many people are searching on Google for "lard cakes", so I would choke off search traffic. And, three, the name "lard cakes" is a little misleading because there is no lard in them.
You'd think there'd have to be a better name for this recipe. But, alas, many Amish call these lard cakes. It's an old doughnut type recipe from the Swiss Indiana Amish and the only reason they are called lard cakes is that they can be fried in lard, but you can use any other type of shortening too.
I thought "winter doughnuts" was a good name for this because it pays homage to the time of year when most Amish eat these. This particular doughnut is most popular on hog butchering day, which usually occurs in late winter (February or March). Hog butchering is hot, messy work and you don't want to be doing it in the middle of June or July, that is for sure. So hog-butchering is usually a task saved for after the holiday and New Year's rush during one of the quietest times of year. So I am sure these lard cakes are being fried up in some Amish kitchens right about now somewhere.
I remember being on WHO radio in Des Moines back in the mid-90s talking about this recipe and the host just thought it was a hilarious name. He didn't think I was serious but, I told him, lard cakes is the name.
An Amish baker who gave me the recipe had this to say about them:
Mom would have a bowl full of them as a mid-morning snack for those helping with the work.
They were usually served with coffee.
They are really more like a doughnut, and they don't require yeast. They are called “lard cakes” but they don’t have any lard in them. They are called that because they were always deep-fried in lard, although I used vegetable shortening and had great results.
They need to be eaten quickly because by evening they will be soggy.
The Amish Cook column ran the lard cakes recipe once back in the mid-90s. That is when the Amish Cook made a brief one-column run in The Flint Journal in Michigan. The food editor thought the recipe was fascinating and decided to do a contract to run The Amish Cook one time in the paper. SIGH, I was hoping I could persuade him to carry it permanently, but no luck.
Lard cakes get their rather unappealing name because they're traditionally deep-fried in melted lard, but this recipe works just as well with vegetable shortening. Oh well, here is this well-traveled, funny-named recipe that is basically just a doughnut.
As is typical with so many Amish baked goods, this recipe is very, very basic in terms of ingredients which makes it simple to pull together.
Your dough, by the time you are done, should be the consistency of pie dough. If it is too liquidy or sticky, add more flour until you get a nice, elastic dough.
You can make these into any shape you want, cut a slit into the dough that goes all the way through, whatever shape you make them. You can roll them in sugar, but you could also try a cinnamon-sugar mixture. And, geez, I suppose you could put frosting on them. I've not seen that done, but, why not?
These are some old-fashioned Amish winter doughnuts, aka "lard cakes" in an Amish home. Sorry, the photo isn't larger. But, again, gives you a good idea of the shape.
🍩 Old-Fashioned Amish Winter Doughnuts
- 1½ c heavy cream
- 2¼ c sour milk
- 2 heaping teaspoon baking soda
- 3 lg eggs
- 3 to 4 c all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoon sugar, plus sugar for rolling
- Lard or vegetable shortening, for frying
📋 Instructions
- Combine the cream, sour milk, baking soda, eggs, and flour in a large bowl.
- The consistency should be similar to that of a pie dough, so add a little more flour if needed.
- Add the salt and sugar.
- Roll out to a 1 /4-inch thickness and cut up into any shapes as big as you wish, or into 2 by 4-inch pieces.
- Cut a 2 ½-inch slit in the center of each cake. Make sure the slit goes completely through the cake.
- Heat the lard in a deep kettle or pan to a depth of about 2 inches until very hot.
- Fry the cakes in batches until golden, about 1 minute on each side.
- Roll the cakes in a pan of sugar while still warm.
🍩 More Amish Doughnut Recipes
Long John Rolls
🖨️ Full Recipe
Old-Fashioned Amish Winter Doughnuts
Ingredients
- 1½ cup heavy cream
- 2 ¼ cup sour milk
- 2 heaping tsp baking soda
- 3 large eggs
- 3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- plus sugar for rolling
- Lard or vegetable shortening, for frying
Instructions
- Combine the cream, sour milk, baking soda, eggs, and flour in a large bowl.
- Add the salt and sugar.
- Roll out to a 1 /4-inch thickness and cut up into any shapes as big as you wish, or into 2 by 4-inch pieces.
- Cut a 2 ½-inch slit in the center of each cake.
- Make sure the slit goes completely through the cake.
- Heat the lard in a deep kettle or pan to a depth of about 2 inches until very hot.
- Fry the cakes in batches until golden, about 1 minute on each side. Roll the cakes in a pan of sugar while still warm.
Nana
Lard does have a negative connotation and oddly enough it has gotten more expensive than the vegetable shortenings. My mom always fried her doughnuts in lard and lard cannot be equaled for pie crusts.
sherron melinchuk
love, love this recipe