A miniature size doughnut fryer has a portable hopper easily removed from the frying machine and which is automatically positioned in an aligned cutting position when installed on the machine. An improved safety cut-out device is provided for a belt drive to assure that the doughnut conveyor stops in an overload condition but which signals the operator that the overload condition is existing. The drive and safety cut-out are provided housed within the heater housing adjacent the frying tank of the machine for ease of assembly and manufacturing cost. The heater element housing is mounted on pivots which allow easy pivotal removal of the heating elements from the frying tank as well as providing a wide stance support for the heating elements when pivoted out of the tank. The drive and control circuitry for the conveyor and the cutter head are interlocked to prevent repetitive cycling of the cutter head during a conveyor overload position. An improved dual head doughnut cutter is also provided.