Strawberry Donuts with Strawberry Lemon Glaze
An easy melt-in-your-mouth baked strawberry donut recipe made with ripe strawberries topped with a fresh strawberry lemon glaze. These strawberry cake donuts are the perfect sweet treat for any occasion! Gluten-free option included. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or an after-school snack.
I love strawberry season in the south. Strawberry muffins, strawberry spinach salad, homemade strawberry jam, and fresh strawberry pie are just a few of my favorite strawberry recipes. I also love whipping up a batch of these delicious baked strawberry doughnuts. The sweet strawberry glaze is perfectly balanced with the addition of fresh lemon.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- With this easy recipe, you’ll have delicious donuts ready in 30 minutes or less!
- These homemade donuts are just as delicious as the decadent donut shop version with less fat and calories. Only 190 calories per donut with 6 grams of protein!
- A kid-approved simple recipe the whole family will love!
- Easy to double and freeze for later.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Flour– You’ll need unbleached all-purpose flour to make these donuts. I’ve also made them with King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure For Measure flour with great success for a gluten-free version.
- Maple Sugar– Maple sugar is just maple syrup that has been heated to a point where it forms into granulated sugar. It’s one of my favorite natural sweeteners for baked goods because it has incredible flavor and a little goes a long way. I buy maple sugar on Amazon and use it for so many things. It’s delicious on oatmeal! You can also use light brown sugar, caster sugar, or regular sugar as a substitute.
- Leavening ingredients + Salt- This trio plays a role in supporting the batter, so it rises into a soft and fluffy donut. Additionally, salt makes everything sweet taste just a bit sweeter.
- Avocado Oil+ Egg- This duo of wet batter ingredients helps create moist, melt-in-your-mouth donuts. For the best results, make sure the egg is at room temperature. You can use other baking oils that you have on hand. Olive oil and melted butter work great here, too.
- Vanilla Greek Yogurt- The yogurt adds moisture, flavor, and sweetness so you won’t need as much oil in the recipe.
- Fresh Chopped Strawberries– About 3/4 of a cup to make the homemade purée. You’ll need 1/4 cup of purée for the donut batter and 1 tbsp of strawberry purée for the strawberry frosting.
- Milk– I used unsweetened almond milk, but you can go with your milk of choice here.
- Vanilla– Enhances the sweet, cream-like undertones. For the best results, use a quality, pure vanilla extract.
- Confectioners’ sugar– You’ll need powdered sugar to make the thick glaze for the donuts. Feel free to use your favorite powdered sugar substitute.
- Lemon– Using a Microplane zester, you’ll need about 1 tsp of fresh zest and lemon juice.
- Optional ingredient- Collagen Peptides. I use 20 grams of collagen peptides (Vital Proteins brand) in my donut batter to add a nutrition boost. It does not compromise the texture or flavor of the donut. It’s a great addition to add a bit of protein to baked goods. Feel free to leave this out, if preferred. I promise you’ll never know it’s in there!
How To Make Strawberry Donuts
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a doughnut pan with cake release spray. I love using Baker’s Joy cooking spray, but go with a regular cooking spray for gluten-free donuts since Baker’s Joy has flour added. This is the best donut pan that I’ve used and they just slide right out of the pan. *Make sure to use a regular baking spray, without flour, for the gluten-free version.
Step 2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, collagen peptides (if using), baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3. Make the strawberry puree. Purée the diced strawberries in a mini food processor and measure out 1/4 cup of purée for the batter and 1 tbsp of purée for the glaze. Set aside.
Step 4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, milk, oil, and vanilla until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Whisk in the strawberry purée until just combined.
Step 5. Pipe batter, evenly, into the prepared donut pan. Depending on the size of your donut molds, you’ll end up with 8-9 donuts. For less mess use a pastry bag. A DIY piping bag made out of a zip-top plastic bag with the tip cut off works well, too. Bake for 15 minutes.
Allow the donuts to cool completely on a wire rack while you make the glaze.
How To Make Strawberry Donut Glaze
I prefer a thick glaze that doesn’t soak into baked donuts, like the classic glaze on my Vanilla Protein Donut recipe. This strawberry lemon glaze is made with a small amount of purée from ripe juicy strawberries, powdered sugar, and a teaspoon of lemon juice and lemon zest. The lemon is subtle, but enough to balance the sweetness. Add glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.
Then stir the glaze ingredients together until smooth. It should look like this.
I use a pastry brush to brush the tops of each donut with a layer of glaze.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure that the donuts have cooled completely before glazing. This prevents the glaze from soaking into the donut so you end up with a thicker layer of glaze on top.
- When glazing the donuts, place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet topped with a layer of parchment paper or wax paper to catch any drippings.
Variations
- To make a plain strawberry glaze, just swap the lemon juice for milk and leave out the zest.
- Feel free to switch up the citrus. Orange juice and zest and lime juice and zest are great variations for this recipe!
Baked Donuts FAQ
How long will baked donuts last? Store leftover donuts in an airtight container in a single layer at room temperature for 1-2 days, or 2-3 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. They are best on the day that you bake them since the glaze will soak into the donuts when stored. However, they will still be moist and scrumptious!
Can you freeze baked donuts? Baked donuts can be frozen in an airtight freezer container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving, or pop in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to warm. I usually freeze any donuts that are not eaten the day that I bake them. I prefer to freeze them unglazed and freeze the glaze in small salad dressing containers with the donuts to add after they have been warmed.
More Baked Donut Recipes
Baked Maple Donuts– a fall essential!! So heavenly!
Vanilla Protein Donuts with Fruity Pebble Topping– this kid-friendly favorite is the perfect way to sneak in more protein 😉
Blueberry Protein Donuts– a healthier recipe that’s so delicious!
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Strawberry Donuts with Strawberry Lemon Glaze {Gluten-Free Option}
Equipment
- Non-stick Donut pan
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour I've made this with King Arthur Measure For Measure Gluten-Free flour with excellent results
- 1/4 cup maple sugar you can also use light brown sugar or regular sugar here.
- 20 grams collagen peptides this ingredient is optional, but it adds a nice nutrition boost without affecting the flavor or texture of the donuts.
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup puréed fresh strawberries You'll need about 3/4 cup of chopped fresh strawberries to purée for the donuts and the glaze
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- For the glaze:
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh strawberry purée
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest I use the zest of one small whole lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a donut pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together.
- Purée the fresh strawberries and measure out 1/4 cup of the purée for the donut batter.
- In a separate bowl, whisk all wet ingredients together until combined and smooth.
- Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and whisk in the fresh strawberry purée.
- Pour evenly into the donut pan molds, being careful not to overfill.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Allow the donuts to cool completely on a wire rack while you make the glaze.
- In a small bowl, stir together: powdered sugar, 1 tbsp of strawberry purée, 1 tsp of lemon juice, and the fresh lemon zest.
- When donuts are cool, brush the tops of the donuts with glaze with a pastry brush and enjoy.
Notes
- Make sure that the donuts have cooled completely before glazing. This prevents the glaze from soaking into the donut so you end up with a thicker layer of glaze on top.
- When glazing the donuts, place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet topped with a layer of parchment paper or wax paper to catch any drippings.
- To make a plain strawberry glaze, just swap the lemon juice for milk and leave out the zest.
- Feel free to switch up the citrus. Orange juice and zest and lime juice and zest are great variations for this recipe!
Nutrition
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clean eating is what makes me tick and thank you for this gluten free donut recipe…hope you are doing well and love that inner strength that you have. xoxo
Thank you Beverley! I’m feeling great….very blessed! I hope that you are doing well! xo~
You had me at strawberries! I always get so excited when strawberries start getting cheaper and then I find myself using them in ALL THE THINGS. Thanks for sharing Amee!
Glad you liked the recipe!