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Embracing strawberry season with these pretty Strawberry Glazed Chai Doughnuts. Homemade brioche doughnuts, flavored with chai spice, and finished with a perfectly sweet strawberry, white chocolate glaze. The doughnuts are light, fluffy, and perfectly hinted with chai flavor. This strawberry glaze is truly the icing on the cake…or the doughnut.
Happiest Tuesday all! I know these doughnuts are a bit of an indulgent recipe for a Tuesday, but sometimes the week needs an extra sweet and oh so pretty addition, just to make it a bit sweeter. At least these are my thoughts at this moment. As I sit, very squished, into the middle seat between two rather large men on my flight to LA. Both of whom are sleeping, snoring, and leaning inward towards me…
Side Note: I had the aisle seat but was asked (not so kindly), to move to the middle. And I may be a tinsy bit unhappy about it.
Anyway, I made these on a whim last week, after dreaming about creating them for weeks. Actually, since the first day of spring.
I always hesitate with recipes that involve frying, because I will be the first to admit, frying isn’t that much fun. BUT the outcome is always worth the effort and extra clean-up. So, with a fridge full of fresh strawberries, and almost zero time left before my trip to LA. I decided to go for it and make these doughnuts. Asher was hanging with me at the studio, and she full on talked me into these homemade doughnuts. And I couldn’t be happier she did.
Of course this was a great way to use up all the berries I had in the fridge before leaving for a week long trip. They ended up being even more delicious that I dreamed up in my head. Asher agreed too…even though she really just wanted a chocolate glazed doughnut.
If you’ve never made homemade doughnuts, please let me tell you that they are really not as tricky as you might be thinking. In fact, if you’ve made my homemade honey brioche bread, then you can make these doughnuts. I’m so obsessed with that brioche bread, I ended up using that very recipe as the base for these doughnuts.
Yes, that does mean that these are brioche doughnuts. And yes, they are every bit as light, airy, and delicious as you might be thinking. The dough is a mix of milk, flour, eggs, and butter. All ingredients you should have on hand, and ingredients that once combined, create something very close to perfect.
The dough is spiced up with the flavors of warming chai tea for a slightly cozier doughnut.
It’s very unexpected within a doughnut, but it is SO GOOD.
For as much as I love the chai doughnuts, I love the glaze maybe just a touch more? Both are great, but when put together?
Maybe the best doughnuts…ever? I will not make that claim, but point is that it’s a good combination.
The glaze is super simple, pureed fresh strawberries, melted white chocolate, and a touch of vanilla. Sweetened ever so lightly with a touch of powdered sugar, but I let the strawberries and chocolate do most of the sweetening.
I like to generously dip each doughnut through the glaze, coating every nook and cranny of these sweet chai doughnuts. The glaze makes every bite sweet and strawberry filled. And instead of the doughnut being bland and flavorless, those warming chai spices, like cinnamon and cardamom, provide a touch of cozy. It’s as close to perfect as it gets, and truly an extra special treat for breakfast or dessert.
These doughnuts are the best way to use all those sweet spring strawberries. My recommendation? Find some time this week, over maybe the weekend to make these. They’re fairly simple, and oh so fun to make. Just looking at their pretty pink color makes me smile, but tasting them is even better.
You must give these doughnuts a try.
If you make these Strawberry Glazed Chai Doughnuts, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Strawberry Glazed Chai Doughnuts.
Servings: 16 doughnuts
Calories Per Serving: 1019 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup warm whole milk
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1/4 cup honey
- 4 large eggs
- 3 1/2 - 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamon
- 1/4 teaspoon all-spice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
Strawberry Glaze
- 1 cup sliced strawberries, at room temperature
- 6 ounces high quality white chocolate, melted
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, yeast, honey, 4 eggs, flour, cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, all-spice, and salt. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons room temp butter and mix until combined, about 2-3 minutes more.2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubled in size.3. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using doughnut or cookie cutters, cut out rounds of dough. Arrange the doughnuts on the prepared baking sheet. Cover the doughnuts loosely with plastic wrap while the oil heats.4. Heat 2 inches of oil to 350 degrees F. Working in batches, use a slotted metal spoon or spatula to carefully place the doughnuts into the hot oil. Fry, flipping once, until light golden brown and puffed, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain onto a paper towel lined plate. 5. To make the glaze. Process strawberries in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Stir in the white chocolate until smooth. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. 6. Invert the doughnuts into the glaze, allow excess to drip into the bowl. Enjoy or let the glaze stiffen for 10 minutes or so. These are best eaten the same day they've been fried, but leftovers keep in a single layer in a sealed container for up to 2 days.
Hey Tieghan!
How do you thicken up the icing? I had trouble getting the consistency of the donuts and it was super watery 🙁 but it still tasted delicious!!
Hey Rae,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try! Try adding more powered sugar to thicken it up! xTieghan
Can you use frozen strawberries in the glaze?
Hey Shannon,
Yes, totally fine, just thaw and drain them first. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if there are any other questions! xTieghan
I want to make these this weekend but there is no way I can eat 16 donuts!!! Is there a way to freeze some for another time?
Hi,
You can freeze the dough, just be sure to bring back to room temperature before using again. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Is it okay to let it rise for the 2 days? I don’t need to cook it til later but I don’t have time to prep it in the same day.
Hi there! Yes, that should work just fine! 🙂 Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
These look amazing! Would this recipe work if the doughnuts were made in advance and frozen until ready to make?
Hey Oliva! Yes, you can freeze the shaped doughnuts until ready to fry. I would thaw the doughnuts overnight in the fridge, then cook as directed. Bring the doughnuts to room temp before frying. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
i am currently trying out these doughnuts now (making the dough as i type) but i noticed there’s a difference in the amount of salted butter in the ingredient list (2T) and in the recipe itself (4T). it’s probably too late for me to fix now, but which is the right amount? for current purposes i’m going with ~3!
Hey Elle! You need 2 tablespoons. recipe is all fixed. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I’d also like input regarding how to make this recipe without a stand mixer. Thanks!
Hi Carmen! Yes, you can make without a mixer, but you just need to use a little elbow grease to mix the dough with a spatula and then hand knead the dough on the counter for 5-10 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Do you think it is possible to make this without a standing mixer? I’ve made a variety of doughs without a mixer which makes it more tedious but what are your suggestions?
Hi Emilee! Yes, you can make without a mixer, but you just need to use a little elbow grease to mix the dough with a spatula and then hand knead the dough on the counter for 5-10 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I was looking for doughnuts recipe for the whole family and I stumbled on this article. I read and followed the instructions carefully and I made it deliciously! Every member of my family is so happy! Thanks for this!
Thank you for trying it Kate! I am so glad you loved this! xTieghan
Yes to strawberry season and yes to doughnuts! These are beautiful!
Thank you so much Laura! I am so glad you love these! xTieghan
Would this recipe work for a baked donut? We have the donut pans and usually find baked recipes. This looks amazing!
Sure! Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
These look amazing! Do you think they would work if I baked them in a donut pan?
How rude, next time someone asks to change seats again, say no thank you. I travel on business cross country a couple of times a month. That is not OK to ask someone to trade an isle seat for a center seat. I’m on vacation looking out over Lake Como and thinking about you strawberry donuts, yummy! Love your web site.
Wow that sounds amazing Florence! Thank you so much! Next time, I will definitely say no! xTieghan
How dare he ask you to move your seat!!!! The man knew when he bought the ticket that it was not an aisle seat. He had the choice not to buy the ticket! That makes me so mad! But the donuts looks beautiful!
Haha so glad you like these donuts, Marianne! But yes I agree it is not right. Thank you! xTieghan
These really look tasty. Pretty too!
Thank you Charlotte! xTieghan