Name: Strawberry Donuts
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 180 min
Ingredients: 1 ¼ cup whole milk; 3 large egg yolks; ¼ cup sugar; ½ cup all-purpose flour; 1 cup strawberry jam *see note; 3/4 cup heavy cream; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 3/4 cups whole milk; 4 tablespoons salted butter *see note; 1 tablespoon instant yeast; 5 1/4-6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; ¼ cup sugar; ¾ teaspoon salt; 2 eggs; Neutral frying oil (about 6-8 cups); ¾ cup strawberries ((stems removed and chopped before measuring)); 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar; 1 tablespoon milk

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These delicious strawberry donuts are filled with a strawberry custard filling and topped with a fresh strawberry glaze. Make these heart-shaped for Valentine’s Day, or just make classic round donuts for every day.

strawberry heart shaped donuts with strawberry glaze on a metal cooling rack

One of my happiest childhood memories is making donuts with my parents. I remember we were all in the kitchen together, and my little brother and I were helping to cut out round doughnut shapes and watching my parents drop them in the hot oil.

After the donuts were fried, we added a glaze, and I remember those donuts being some of the best donuts I’d ever tasted! It was such a happy memory that I wanted to repeat the experience with my own children. We now have our own happy memories of making homemade donuts together.

If you’re in the mood for an extra-special treat, give these classic strawberry donuts a try. There are a lot of steps to this recipe, but it’s not complicated, just a bit time-consuming. But definitely worth it! If you want a quicker recipe, try this strawberry cream cheese danish recipe or these strawberry muffins!

strawberry donuts on a wire cooling rack and one has a bite taken out of it, showing the custard filling oozing out

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Whether you’re looking for a fun treat during strawberry season or you need a special recipe for Valentine’s Day breakfast or brunch, these strawberry donuts are a showstopper. They’re so beautiful and decadent, with their cream-filled centers and the homemade strawberry glaze. They’re loaded with strawberry flavor.

In addition to being delicious, these donuts don’t contain any artificial dyes (no red food coloring!). The strawberry frosting is dye free, as the pink color comes from fresh strawberry puree.

These dye-free strawberry-filled doughnuts start with a fluffy yeast dough made from milk, butter, eggs, and flour, fried to golden perfection. The homemade strawberry custard filling is rich and creamy, made with egg yolks, milk, sugar, and a touch of strawberry jam, then folded with whipped cream for extra lightness. Once filled, the doughnuts are dipped in a sweet strawberry glaze made from pureed strawberries, powdered sugar, and milk for a vibrant finish, all without any artificial dyes. Best enjoyed fresh, these donuts are a deliciously indulgent treat, perfect for any special occasion.

Strawberry Donuts Tips

If you use unsalted butter, add an extra pinch of salt to the doughnut dough.
The filling will be too thin if you use a thin strawberry jam. Homemade jams don’t work as well in this custard for this reason.
I highly recommend not using anything but whole milk in the strawberry custard filling. Using skim or 1% especially will make the custard less thick.
To make this seem less time consuming, make the custard filling a day before making the donuts. Fresh fried donuts aren’t good after a day of sitting out so making the custard in advance is the best way to save time on the steps the day of making these.
The custard will not freeze well. The jam will become watery when thawing.
If you don’t have pastry bags you can use a gallon or quart size Ziploc freezer bag and cut the tip off.

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Supplies

Strawberry Donuts Ingredients

top down photo of ingredients in small bowls on a marble countertop

Find the full list of ingredients, amounts, and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Strawberries: Fresh strawberries are used here, but you could also use frozen strawberries.
Milk: Whole milk is recommended, especially for the custard. Other types of milk will make the custard too thin.
Butter: This recipe was formulated using salted butter. If you choose to use unsalted butter, add an extra pinch of salt to the donut dough.
Yeast: Instant yeast is used.
Flour: I use unbleached all-purpose flour in place of bleached flour.
Eggs: 2 eggs and 3 egg yolks are used.
Sugar: Both granulated and powdered confectioners’ sugar.
Cream: Use heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) for the custard.
Strawberry Jam: The strawberry custard filling contains strawberry jam.
Oil: You’ll need a neutral-flavored vegetable oil for frying the donuts. You can use canola oil, palm oil, or coconut oil (refined, so coconut flavor isn’t imparted to the donuts)-we use coconut oil for this.

How to Make Strawberry Donuts

1. Make the Strawberry Custard

First, make the strawberry custard. In a small saucepan heat the milk over medium-low heat until steaming then remove from the heat.

picture showing four steps for the recipe: milk in a saucepan, sugar and eggs in a bowl, and flour being mixed into the bowl

While the milk heats, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until light yellow. Add the flour and beat again until no flour clumps remain.

While whisking, slowly pour in about ½-3/4 cup of the hot milk to temper the egg mixture. While continuing to whisk, slowly pour the tempered egg mixture into the milk over medium heat. Whisk until thickened, about 4-6 minutes.

four pictures showing steps 5-8 of making strawberry donuts

Remove from heat and add the strawberry jam. Transfer to a bowl and lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on top so it doesn’t get a dry film on top. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating until cold, about an hour or two.

Once the custard is cold, in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer whip the heavy cream and vanilla extract to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cold custard until just combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

four pictures steps 9-12 of making strawberry donuts

2. Make the Strawberry Donuts

To make the donuts, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat add the milk and butter. Heat until warm but not hot. About 115 Fahrenheit. Remove from heat. Add the yeast and stir. Let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is frothy.

four pictures showing strawberry donut dough in a mixing bowl illustrating steps 13-16

In the bowl of a stand mixer add 5 cups of the flour, sugar, and salt and mix together. Add the frothy yeast mixture and eggs. With a dough hook attachment knead together on low for 3-4 minutes. Turn up the speed a little and knead for another 3-4 minutes until the dough all sticks together, adding a ½ cup flour at a time if needed. The dough will still be just slightly sticky. If it’s very sticky add a bit more flour until it’s just slightly sticky.

Remove the dough from the bowl, spray with cooking spray and return to the bowl. If your bowl isn’t big enough for the dough to double in size, grease a large enough bowl for it to double in and transfer the dough. Cover with plastic wrap. Rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Once risen, remove half the dough to a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to be about ½ inch thick. Use a 3-inch heart cookie cutter (or any 3-inch shape) to cut as many hearts or donut shapes as you can. Set the donuts on a greased parchment lined baking sheet as you go.

Set the excess dough to the side and roll the second half of the dough out and repeat the process. Lightly squish the leftover dough together and roll this out and repeat the process. The extra kneading here will make the re-rolled dough doughnuts a bit denser than the original cut out ones. (Save a small piece or two of dough for testing the oil in the next step.)

four pictures showing steps 17-20 for making strawberry donuts

Let the dough rise for 15-20 minutes before heating the oil. They don’t need to double in size but just start to get a bit puffier.

In a heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat oil about 2-3 inches deep over medium high heat. You’re aiming for about 360 Fahrenheit. Gently drop a test piece of dough into the oil.

If the dough floats to the top quickly the oil is ready. If it sinks it’s not hot enough. But if the dough browns too quickly, the oil is too hot.

Fry 3-4 doughnuts at a time, depending on your pot size, flipping once the first side is golden brown, about 90-120 seconds per side. Remove to a wire cooling rack or a paper towel lined baking sheet. Repeat the process until all the doughnuts are fried. Let the doughnuts cool completely before filling.

3. Make the Strawberry Glaze

While the doughnuts cool, in a food processor pulse the chopped fresh strawberries until thin and pureed. Alternatively, you can use a blender but will need to scrape them down after every pulse or two.

four pictures showing making strawberry glaze for donuts

Remove the puree to a mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar and milk. Whisk until smooth. If your glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add a bit more milk.

4. Strawberry Donut Assembly

Once the doughnuts are cooled, fill the doughnuts with the filling. Here are two different ways to do this.

wire cooling rack with strawberry donuts with strawberry glaze and a bowl of strawberries

Option One (if you do not have a pastry filling tip):

Poke a hole in the top middle of your doughnut with a wooden skewer and twist it around in the inside to form a little pocket where the filling will sit.

Fill a pastry bag with the strawberry custard and cut the end off, making the hole about 1/8 inch or so. Poke the end of the pastry bag into the hole of the doughnut as much as it will fit into and squeeze the filling into the doughnut, pulling the tip out slowly as you can feel its filling up. Continue with the rest of the dough nuts until all are filled.

Option Two (if you do have a pastry filling tip):

Cut the tip of a piping bag so the pastry filling tip will fit nicely. Fill the pastry bag with the strawberry custard. In the side of the doughnut poke the tip through and squeeze the filling into the doughnut switching up the angle of your tip as you squeeze. Continue with the rest of the doughnuts until all are filled.

5. Glaze the Donuts

Give your glaze a good stir and dip each doughnut into the glaze, letting any excess drip off. If you filled the doughnuts using option one, make sure you dip the hole-side into the glaze or all of your glaze will leak out if the hole ends up on the bottom.

Place the glazed and filled doughnuts on a wire rack to let the glaze set up for 15 minutes before eating. If you are using sprinkles, sprinkle on top of the glaze before it sets up.

Doughnuts are best if eaten on the day they are fried. Store extras at room temperature for 24 hours in a brown paper bag or in a container loosely draped in plastic wrap.

strawberry donuts with pink frosting and heart sprinkles on a white plate

How to Store

As mentioned above, these strawberry donuts are best when eaten the same day they are fried. Store extras at room temperature for 24 hours in a brown paper bag or in a container loosely draped in plastic wrap. Do not store in an airtight container, because this will make them soggy.

Make-Ahead Instructions

To save time making these, you can make the custard filling a day or two ahead and store it in the fridge. This will eliminate one step on the day of making them, which will save a bit of time.