Tasty Tuesday: Baked Strawberry Doughnuts

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter, at room temperature

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for doughnut pan

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2/3 cup finely chopped strawberries

Strawberry Glaze

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped strawberries*

1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries, finely crushed to powder (place in a Ziploc bag, crush with rolling pin)**

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Butter doughnut pans with room temperature butter, then sprinkle lightly with flour and shake upside down to remove excess flour. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt, make a well in center of mixture and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla and eggs (mixture will appear to curdle a bit which is fine), then pour into well in flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir mixture just until combined, then fold in 2/3 cup finely chopped strawberries. 

Spoon 2 1/2 Tbsp batter evenly into each well of the doughnut pans. Bake in preheated oven 11 - 13 minutes until toothpick inserted into center of doughnut comes out clean. Allow to cool several minutes in doughnut pan then invert onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

Once cool dip top halves of doughnuts into glaze and allow some of excess to run off, then return to wire rack, glazed side facing upward. Transfer doughnuts to freezer to allow glaze to set, about 5 minutes.

For the Strawberry Glaze:

Prepare glaze just before dipping cooled doughnuts. 

In a mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup finely chopped strawberries and half of the powdered sugar. Stir until mixture starts to become moistened, then allow to rest 1 minute. Add in remaining powdered sugar and freeze dried strawberry powder and stir until well combine (at this point mixture should have the consistency of a thick glaze, and have a dip-able consistency, if not allow to rest another minute or two until some of the liquids have been extracted from the strawberries then stir again. I would not recommend adding water to thin. Just allow it to rest if needed until the strawberries begin to break down). Use glaze immediately.

*For the 1/2 cup finely chopped strawberries for the glaze, don't chop until just before adding to glaze mixture (so they don't break down and become too watery) and don't prepare glaze mixture until doughnuts have cooled completely and are ready to be glazed.

**I would say this is optional, if you omit it you just wont get as much strawberry flavor. Still a delicious doughnut just a lighter flavor. Also if used, the color will be more vibrantly reddish pink than the first picture posted.

Recipe + Photo via: Cooking Classy