Blueberry Donuts
These baked blueberry donuts are an ideal cross between donuts and cake — their texture is soft, moist, and not at all dry! Just the perfect donuts to enjoy whenever you want something delicious and sweet.
These donuts are packed with fresh blueberries, dipped in blueberry glaze, and then baked instead of fried.
Besides being delicious, these are a healthier version of the classic donuts and an ideal treat to serve with your coffee, at tea-time, or for brunch!
Are These Donuts Or Cake?
Why not both? These donuts are more like a cross between donuts and cake.
These are cake-like pastries made with fresh and juicy blueberries. In addition, they are topped with a glaze — not just plain glaze, but blueberry glaze.
Unlike traditional donuts, these are baked instead of fried, and this method has an impact on their texture. While classic donuts have a golden-brown crust, oven-baked donuts are softer and without that distinctive crust.
This does not mean they are less tasty — on the contrary! You will enjoy the best out of both worlds, both donuts and cake, paired in a single dessert!
Should I Use Fresh Or Frozen Blueberries?
I think I’ve discussed this before, but just in case you missed that text… whenever available, use fresh blueberries!
In baked goods, frozen blueberries should be your last choice. There is nothing wrong with them in terms of nutrition, but when it comes to baking, frozen blueberries release their juices, and those juices tend to color the batter.
It is not an issue when the batter is unbaked, but when baked, it may turn to a horrible green-gray hue and visually ruin your donuts. So, always choose fresh blueberries!
What If I Only Have Frozen Blueberries?
As an experienced baker, I have found a way to make baked goods without the color-bleeding of the blueberries. It is not easy as with fresh blueberries, but it will give satisfying results!
Here is how to bake with frozen blueberries:
- Gently fold blueberries into the batter. These gentle movements will minimize color streaking!
- Another great tip is to add completely frozen blueberries to your batter. Do not give them a chance to thaw — bake them immediately. Remember to increase cooking time by 5 minutes!
- To prevent baked goods from turning to a purple-blue hue, rinse the frozen blueberries several times in ice-cold water until the water becomes lighter in color. Pat them dry with paper towels and gently fold them into your batter.
How To Get Blueberries To Stay On Top Of The Batter
When baking with berries, as you already know, they tend to sink into the batter. Sometimes this is not at all the effect that you want!
If you want to keep your berries distributed evenly across the baked goods, here are two ways to achieve that:
- Coat berries with flour before adding them to the batter.
- Add some batter into the donut mold, top with berries, and place the remaining batter on top while finishing everything with the berries.
This will ensure you have blueberries evenly distributed across the donut, and not only sinking to one part of the donut.
What Else Can I Add?
The most obvious pairing is to use lemon. Lemon juice, lemon zest, or candied lemon peel are one of the ingredients that always pair beautifully with blueberries!
When it comes to spices, blueberries pair amazingly with cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger. Feel free to add some of these to the batter.
How To Make The Glaze
This is a simple glaze that is enriched with blueberry jam. You can use blueberry puree instead of jam, but cooked blueberries tend to give more color.
Besides the blueberry jam, other ingredients include powdered sugar and your choice of milk — you can also use lemon juice instead of milk.
Just combine it all and dip your donuts into the glaze, then give the glaze some time to set before serving!
Blueberry Donuts
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 22 minutes
Servings: 6 donuts
Ingredients
For the batter:
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp blueberry jam
Instructions
1. Make the donuts; preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 6-hole donut pan with cooking spray.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix yogurt, egg, vanilla, melted butter, and sugar.
4. Fold in flour and baking powder.
5. Spoon the batter into a piping bag. Fill the donut mold up to the halfway point with the batter. Top the batter with half the blueberries.
6. Pipe the remaining batter over the blueberries and add the rest of the blueberries on top.
7. Bake the donuts for 22 minutes. Cool the donuts completely in a pan before removing them.
8. Make the glaze; in a bowl, beat powdered sugar, blueberry jam, milk, and vanilla extract.
9. Assemble the donuts; dip or drizzle the donuts with the prepared glaze. Arrange the donuts on a wire rack so the glaze can set.
10. Serve as desired.
Blueberry Donuts
These donuts are packed with fresh blueberries, dipped in blueberry glaze, and then baked instead of fried. Besides being delicious, these are a healthier version of the classic donuts and an ideal treat to serve with your coffee, at tea-time, or for brunch!
Ingredients
For the batter:
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp blueberry jam
Instructions
- Make the donuts; preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 6-hole donut pan with cooking spray.
- In a mixing bowl, mix yogurt, egg, vanilla, melted butter, and sugar.
- Fold in flour and baking powder.
- Spoon the batter into a piping bag. Fill the donut mold up to the halfway point with the batter. Top the batter with half the blueberries.
- Pipe the remaining batter over the blueberries and add the rest of the blueberries on top.
- Bake the donuts for 22 minutes. Cool the donuts completely in a pan before removing them.
- Make the glaze; in a bowl, beat powdered sugar, blueberry jam, milk, and vanilla extract.
- Assemble the donuts; dip or drizzle the donuts with the prepared glaze. Arrange the donuts on a wire rack so the glaze can set.
- Serve as desired.
