Homemade Frosted Doughnuts: 3 Ways

Using my favorite glazed doughnuts recipe, let’s expand the menu and make 3 varieties of homemade frosted doughnuts including vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.

First there were these wonderfully delicious and completely homemade glazed doughnuts. Using that exact doughnut recipe, let’s expand the menu and prepare:

√ Vanilla Frosted Doughnuts
√ Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts
√ Strawberry Frosted Doughnuts

And all with SPRINKLES.

Quick Overview: Homemade Frosted Doughnuts

We use a basic soft and sweet dough for today’s doughnuts, the same exact dough as my homemade glazed doughnuts. You only need a handful of basic ingredients including milk, yeast, sugar, eggs, butter, salt, vanilla, flour, and a touch of ground nutmeg. A little nutmeg is the secret ingredient to that cozy, comforting bakery doughnut taste. The process is pretty straightforward and I detail it in the doughnuts recipe.

• Prepare the dough, knead it, then let it rise until doubled in size. After that, punch it down to release the air. Roll the dough out and cut the doughnuts using a 3-3.5 inch doughnut cutter. Cover and let the doughnuts rest as you heat the oil. Fry the doughnuts in a heavy-duty pot 2-3 at a time. Use an oil thermometer to keep the oil’s temperature around 375°F (191°C).

Once they’re fried, you can add your toppings!

Doughnut Toppings

All 3 frostings are made within about 5 minutes. Melted butter gives both the chocolate and vanilla frostings wonderful flavor. The melted butter solidifies after several minutes and helps the frostings “set” on the doughnuts for that iconic doughnut frosting look and taste.

• Strawberry Frosting: The strawberry frosting is more like a glaze, but if you double or triple dunk the doughnuts, you’ll have a nice thick strawberry coating. You need pureed fresh strawberries, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and strawberry jam. I add the jam for extra strawberry flavor; it also helps mask some of the confectioners’ sugar flavor.
• Vanilla Frosting: You need melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and a little salt to offset the sweetness. Unlike vanilla icing, this vanilla topping includes butter. It will set as the doughnuts cool.
• Chocolate Frosting: For the chocolate, you can use milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate chips. I like to use dark chocolate chips for deeper flavor. You also need butter, corn syrup for extra shine, and a little water. Warning: the second those warm doughnuts hit the chocolate glaze, your house will immediately smell like chocolate cake and doughnuts. PERFECTION.

I imagine it would be so much fun to have a Homemade Frosted Doughnuts Party where you prep a big batch of the doughnuts and everyone can dunk and decorate as they please. Set out a bunch of little bowls of sprinkles and let the guests go to town!

3 Doughnut Frostings

• Author: Sally
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 12 doughnuts and 12 doughnut holes
• Category: Breakfast
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Here’s how to make homemade frosted doughnuts 3 different ways. Vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry frosting recipes included!

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Ingredients

• 1 batch homemade doughnuts without the glaze*

Strawberry Frosting

• 5 large strawberries
• 1 and 3/4 cups (210g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon strawberry jam or preserves
• sprinkles

Vanilla Frosting

• 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 Tablespoons (45ml) milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• sprinkles

Chocolate Frosting

• 3/4 cup (135g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 Tablespoon water
• sprinkles

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Instructions

1. Prepare the doughnuts according to the recipe and directions. Set warm fried doughnuts aside as you prepare the frosting.
2. Strawberry frosting: Puree the strawberries in a food processor. Whisk the puree, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and strawberry jam together in a medium bowl. Dip the doughnuts into the strawberry frosting 2 or 3 times (it’s thinner than the others), then cover with sprinkles.
3. Vanilla frosting: Whisk the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, 2 Tablespoons (30ml) of milk, and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the remaining 1 Tablespoon (15ml) of milk to thin, if desired. It’s easier to dip the doughnuts if the glaze is thinner. Dip the doughnuts into the vanilla frosting, then cover with sprinkles.
4. Chocolate frosting: Place the chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup, and water in a medium bowl. Melt in 20 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each time, until completely melted and smooth. Dip the doughnuts into the chocolate frosting, then cover with sprinkles.

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Notes

1. Quantity: Each frosting recipe is enough for the 12 fried doughnuts and doughnut holes from my basic homemade doughnuts recipe. If you want to make all 3 frostings for the 12 doughnuts, you will have some of each frosting leftover. You can always halve each frosting recipe instead. Or you can make the doughnut dough twice so you have more. (I don’t recommend doubling the doughnut dough– for best taste and texture, make two separate batches.)
2. Baked Donuts: Instead of frying doughnuts, you can make these baked cinnamon sugar donuts, but skip dipping them in butter and the cinnamon-sugar topping. You’ll have a little extra frosting if using the baked donuts recipe (which makes 8), but if you double the baked donut recipe (to make 16) you will certainly have enough frosting for each.
3. Corn Syrup in Chocolate Frosting: Corn syrup adds a little smooth sweetness and beautiful sheen to the chocolate frosting. You can leave it out completely or substitute with honey or agave instead.
4. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.

Keywords: frosted doughnuts, doughnuts