Soft Baked Strawberry Donuts with fresh strawberries dipped in a cream cheese strawberry glaze. An easy, healthier breakfast or dessert ready in 20 min.
When it comes to food, my husband is happy to eat his favorites over and over. He especially loves going out to eat. So, when he asks me to make him something, it’s a big deal. One of the things he asks me to make are these baked strawberry donuts.
One of our local bakeries makes, what my husband calls, a “Pink Donut”. Whenever he asks for it, the sales clerk always corrects him by asking, “You mean a strawberry iced donut?” My husband usually replies with, “Oh, yeah. That’s what I want.” These interactions never stop being funny to me.
Now, that we’ve been spending more time at home together, my husband is inspired to try making new foods with me. Recently, we attempted to make homemade yeast donuts with strawberry glaze.
Unfortunately, the recipe we used was not the easiest to follow. We were SO frustrated. Plus, frying foods is one of my least favorite tasks in the kitchen. To be clear, I love spending more time in the kitchen with my husband. But for now, I think we’ll stick with these strawberry baked donuts.
When baking strawberry donuts, you don’t need any oil. This automatically makes the process faster and easier. Plus, they are healthier and have fewer calories.
Baked Strawberry Donuts Ingredients
Most of the ingredients needed for these donuts can be found in a well-stocked pantry. But, below are some notes on the unique ingredients.
Fresh Strawberries
One of my favorite things about these donuts is they are made with fresh strawberries. They are especially delicious during the peak of strawberry season! We love making them with garden strawberries!
When picking your strawberries, check the packaging carefully. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found rotten fruit in the middle of the pallet. Also, try to look for strawberries that are not green. Otherwise, I recommend letting the fruit ripen (and turn red or pink) before using them.
As a final tip, do not wash your strawberries until right before you are ready to use them. This will give your strawberries a longer shelf life!
Nutmeg
Nutmeg is the secret ingredient that gives the donuts a bakery taste! So, don’t skip the nutmeg!
If you can find it, use the nutmeg seeds. To use it, grate it on a zester or the small holes of a cheese grater. Freshly grated nutmeg has such a wonderful intense flavor. If you can’t find it, go ahead and use ground ginger.
Buttermilk: Store-Bought or DIY
In case you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make a DIY version. To make your own buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of distilled vinegar, or lemon juice, to a 1 cup measuring cup. Then, fill up the rest of the measuring cup with milk. Allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes, until the milk starts to curdle. Then, you can use this DIY buttermilk mixture the same way you would use fresh buttermilk.
Baked Strawberry Donuts Prep Tips
Equipment Suggestions
When my husband and I made homemade yeast donuts, it was hysterical watching him follow another blogger’s recipe. He was following the recipe step by step, and unfortunately, it was way too complicated.
At one point, my husband asked if we have a garlic press. Incredulous, I asked him why he needs a garlic press for donuts. He wanted it to use it to smash strawberries since the recipe called for pureed strawberries. LOL! So, I steered him away from the garlic press and to the food processor.
For the frosting, I prefer to use a Chef’s Knife and Cutting Board to chop the strawberries really small. (Think the size of minced garlic). Although, you can also puree the strawberries too. Just be sure to add the puree a little at a time to prevent an overly runny glaze.
I also recommend a Non-Stick Donut Pan or a Silicone Donut Pan. There’s nothing worse than making your donuts and not being able to get them out!
Batter and Glaze Tips
To portion your donuts neatly, you can add the batter into a piping bag or a plastic baggie. Then, snip 1/2″ off of one corner of the bag. And pipe the batter into the donut pan cavities. Most of the time, I just add a spoonful of batter to each cavity, and smooth the dough down with a wet finger.
When making the cream cheese glaze, be sure to use softened cream cheese. I will make the process so much easier, and you’ll be less likely to have lumps. Additionally, resist the urge to add more liquid when making the frosting. As you keep stirring, the liquid from the strawberries will break down the powdered sugar. If you’ve stirred the glaze for 5 minutes, and it’s still too thick, you can add a splash of milk or water. If it’s too thin, you can add additional powdered sugar until it’s the right consistency.
Be sure to let the donuts cool for 5-10 minutes before glazing them. Otherwise, the donuts may be too tender and will fall apart. Plus, it may prevent the glaze from sticking to the donuts.
Want More Like These Baked Strawberry Donuts?
I really hope you love these Baked Strawberry Donuts as much as we do. If you want to try some of my other recipes, I recommend these:
- Air Fryer Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins
- Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Gordon Ramsay’s Pear and Granola Muffins
- Microwavable Low-Carb Strawberry Shortcake
Click here to see all my breakfast recipes or my dessert recipes!
I’m a huge fan of baked donuts! So, if there’s any flavor combinations you’d like to see on the blog, be sure to let me know!
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Baked Strawberry Donuts
Ingredients
Strawberry Donut Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg Freshly Grated
- 2 tbsp Butter Melted
- 1 cup Buttermilk Room Temperature
- 2 large Eggs Room Temperature, Whisked
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Strawberries Fresh, Diced (about 6-8 large)
Strawberry Cream Cheese Glaze
- 2 oz Cream Cheese Softened
- 1 tbsp Butter Softened
- 1/4 cup Strawberries Fresh, Minced Very Fine (about 1-2 large)
- 1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/8 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and spray two, 6-cavity donut pans with cooking spray.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk*, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently, fold in the strawberries. Try not to over mix the batter!
- Fill each donut cavity with batter, filling them 2/3 full. Bake the donuts for 7-9 minutes until the tops of the donuts spring back when lightly pressed.
- Remove donuts from the pan, and allow to cool on a baking rack for 5 minutes.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the minced strawberries and powdered sugar. Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves and everything is the same consistency. If needed, add a splash of milk at a time until the glaze is the correct consistency to coat the donuts. (You want a very thick frosting. The heat from the donuts will thin the frosting a little.)
- Once the donuts are cool, dip each donut into the cream cheese strawberry glaze.
These look divine! That strawberry glaze – yum-my! Going to try these – since I missed national donut day, it will be a belated celebration! 🙂
Thanks, Erin! We recently made them with garden strawberries and they were so yummy! So exciting you are going to try them!