Make these Springtime Strawberry Doughnuts

It’s Strawberry Season! At least here in Charleston it is. My girlfriend and I were sitting talking about what new fun recipe to make with all the delicious strawberries we have. Why not try doughnuts! I love the tradition of New York apple cider doughnuts, so I though why not modify my delicious recipe to be strawberry doughnuts too.

Berry Love

Growing up, berry season was a very big deal. My grandmother Mary always had berries growing around the property. And when we ran out, we may sneak off to the store and buy more. There was even a large patch of raspberries that were planted by my great grandmother early in the 1900s. They would fruit every year around the fourth of July.

This was in upstate New York so the season was a bit small. And you better get to those raspberries when they were there or you would miss out. My mom now has those same group of raspberries that spread more and more each year. Now we have to fight the dogs to get there before they are gone.

The raspberries were a big part of the berry consumption, but strawberries came in at a close second. My grandma has instilled a habit in me that people still turn their heads at. I eat them whole. Yes, green tops and all. unless they’re the massive ones we see nowadays. It tastes more natural to me. Tops of the strawberry add an earthy quality to the flavor that makes them taste more natural.

One of her favorite Things to make with them was an older style of recipe. It was strawberry mousse. It was rather uncomplicated. As many mid 19th century recipes are. There was of course macerated strawberries and a lot of Cool Whip.

How It Happened

This years strawberries wanted something a bit different though. My girlfriend and I were talking about things that we could sell at pop ups to help promote the website. And it occurred to us. Doughnuts, they’re relatively easy to make and people love them. Strawberry doughnuts using this years in season strawberries sounded like a great plan.

Turns out that they were. They have gone over better than expected and taste amazing as well! There was good texture and nice balanced flavor. The dough seemed a bit off when making it, but it all worked out in the end.

It’s a long recipe, but don’t be deterred! They are worth every minute of effort. At least that’s what my friends say.

Strawberry Doughnuts

The mise en place

First it is very important to ensure you are ready for your bake. This is done through mis en place, with everything in it’s place. Check out my post on mis en place to learn more about why it is important.

To ensure mis en place before baking begins, first you need to have all the proper equipment. For this recipe you will need a stand mixer, I recommend a Kitchen Aid, this is my second Kitchen Aid and the first was from somewhere around the 1960s.

Second, you will need a mixing bowl, and a rubber spatula which most people have in their kitchen so I won’t make you feel dumb by telling you where to buy one. Next, a ring mold is very useful to cut out the donut shape, but measuring cups can also be used in a pinch. Finally, you will need something to fry the donuts in. I use a dutch oven most of the time or you can use a home fryer if you have one! I would also recommend metal tongs or spatula to flip the donuts in the oil.

So now that you have all the proper tools, you need to get your ingredients in place.

Ingredients for the Strawberry Doughnuts

This recipe, like many baking recipes separate the wet and dry ingredients. For this recipe we also have. The strawberry mixture that needs to be separated.

The Dry Ingredients:

You will need  All purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. I typically pull out all my ingredients and then measure them as needed according to the recipe.

The Wet Ingredients:

The wet ingredients for to make these strawberry donuts include buttermilk, sugar, unsalted butter (melted and cooled), and a large egg. Also I will note here that you will need 2 quarts of vegetable oil for frying. I re-use my oil so keep this in mind when deep frying. Once the oil is cool you can put it back in the container for next time. BUT ONLY WHEN IT IS COOL.

The Strawberries!

The strawberry mixture includes chopped strawberries, and sugar. The perfect sweet combination.

Prep Time

Now it is time to prep all our ingredients to set up the mis en place.

After your strawberries are chopped, mix them and 1/8 cup sugar in a mixing bowl and set aside. Now, while that is getting up to temperature, you will want to mix together your dry ingredients.

In a separate mixing bowl, add 2.5 cups (400g) of flour, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. allspice, 1.25 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp.baking soda, and 3/4 tsp. salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup sugar, 4 tbsp. butter (melted and cooled) and 1 large egg on medium-low speed for 1 minute.

Next, add half of the dry mixture to the wet and mix on low-medium speed for 1 minute or until the clumps have disappeared. It is super important that you DO NOT OVER MIX!

Shut off the mixer, because safety is important, and using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl. so that everything can be mixed together. Now, add the rest of your flour mixture and turn the mixer back on low-medium until fully incorporated.

Now that the donut mixture has been created, add your strawberries and mix using the spatula until just incorporated. AGAIN, DO NOT OVER MIX.

Lay Out That Dough

Yay! You just finished your donut dough. Now it is time to shape and bake. Heavily dust a workspace on your counter with flour. Turn dough onto the workspace and top with a dusting of flour.

With your hands, gently pat dough down to 1/3 inch thick round. About 10-12 inches in diameter. Using a 3 inch round cutter, cut about 10 rounds out. Then, use a 1 inch round cutter to cut out the centers of each round to form your doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Lightly dust a baking sheet with flour and transfer dough rounds and centers to the tray.

Combine the scraps from your dough and knead into a ball. Pat down again and repeat the cutting process. I like to make weird shaped doughnuts with the scraps after this process, but that might just be me.

Refrigerate the donuts for 10-20 minutes and heat up your oil. Next, heat your oil up in the dutch oven or deep cast iron skillet to 350°f at medium heat. The oil should be at least an inch and a half deep.

Time To Make The Strawberry Doughnuts!

Set a wire rack on top of another sheet tray and place 3 layers of paper towels on the rack. Trust me, you will need the paper towels to help catch the oil.

Once your oil is up to temperature (and not a minute sooner) and the dough rounds have chilled, remove them from the fridge and gently place 4 to 5 of them into the oil. It is important not to over crowd the oil otherwise the temperature can drop and effect the cook and texture of the donuts.

Be sure to flip them every 30 seconds so that they do not become too dark on an side. Cook each side for a total for about 2 minutes or until a nice golden brown. Also be aware that you may to adjust your burner as needed to maintain 350°F. Remember to use your food thermometer to help with this. Read more about why food thermometers are important here!

Using a skimmer, fish spatula, or metal tongs (gently) to transfer the doughnuts to the paper towel rack. Let them rest while frying the remainder of the doughnuts. Make sure your oil is back up to temperature and add your doughnut holes. Cook until golden brown and transfer to the paper towel. Toss in sugar and serve!

Strawberry Doughnuts seem like too much (even though they are not), try my Strawberry Shortbread cookie recipe!