Day 36, Extremely Belated Canadian Thanksgiving

Happy (very belated) Canadian Thanksgiving!
I went to a small liberal arts school in Michigan. A good number of our foreign students were Canadians, so I have some fond memories... like watching The Red Green Show's Thanksgiving episode, eating Canadian thanksgiving dinner at the home of some ex pats, and (happy sigh) eating a "Canadian Thanksgiving dinner"  of seafood pasta at a restaurant in Rome while studying abroad.
Although I've never really eaten donuts at any Thanksgiving, Canadian or otherwise, doughnuts and beer and poutine are some of my favorite Canadian foods. So in honor of Canadian Thanksgiving, here's a cake donut recipe. Cake donuts are my favorite kind; especially the cider doughnuts from one of our local orchards. They're light, fluffy and fresh, unlike the revolting glazed-to-disguise-staleness specimens at the grocery store.

Background on this recipe- I found it one brisk autum day when reading through Beard on Bread and trying to figure out what to make. A regular obsession of mine with cookbooks; I hate the idea of keeping a cookbook for only one or two recipes. With James Beard, this is less of a problem than with other celebrity cooks. He's full of solid knowledge and helpful suggestions. The first batch I made was very greasy but I persisted and found out two things are very important for this recipe:

•  oil temperature - 370 F; don't use olive oil because it will smoke and burn. Vegetable shortening or corn oil, you can try canola oil but use caution
•  flipping the doughnut at just the right time: too soon, and it's half cooked; too late and it's burned- and the difference can be as little as second

James Beard's Cake Donut Recipe
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 stick (1/4 c) butter
2 eggs
4 c sifted all-purpose flour
1 tbls baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground mace or nutmeg
3/4 c milk
Corn oil or vegetable shortening for deep frying

Add butter and sugar together and cream them with mixing spoon until well combined. Beat one egg at a time, adding both. Combine dry ingredients and add gradually to the sugar/butter mixture, alternating with adding the milk. Once added and at a uniform consistency, cover with saran wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 1/2 hours. Take dough out of refrigerator and portion off one-quarter; put the rest back in fridge. Roll out dough until 1/4 inch thick and cut with donut cutter. NOTE: I like to cut them into squares with a sharp knife; it's faster and less fiddly. When oil has reached 370 (Mr. Beard recommends using an electric skillet because it's more precise), fry two or three doughnuts at a time, using doughnuts to turn each one as they rise to the surface. When nicely browned on each side remove with tongs and set on a plate with paper towels. Take another quarter of dough from the refrigerator, and do the same until all the dough is used.
These are really good with cinnamon and a little confectioner's sugar.