These Cherry Frosted Donuts have a tender, moist cake-like texture with a dreamy cherry frosting! Perfect for holidays, Valentine’s Day, or general breakfast enjoyment.
Love donuts? Be sure to give these Baked Chocolate donuts a try next! So moist and fudgy, you’ll love them! Or, my kids favorite, are these Cinnamon Donut muffins. Little bite sized treats.
Why this recipe works
One of our favorite indulgences on a Saturday morning involves a run to the local donut shop. I can’t resist the tender, sweet pastry with my morning cup of coffee!
But if you’re like me, who wants to leave the house and get out of their pajamas on a Saturday morning? Or basically, any morning?
I’ve created the perfect doughnut recipe, all you have to do is bake them and eat them!
- Baked, no fried!
- Soft, tender donut
- Sweet cherry icing
- SPRINKLES!
Ingredients Notes
- Butter- unsalted butter works best in baking, so that you can control the amount of salt added.
- Cherry Gelatin- you’ll only need 2 teaspoons of this JELL-O, feel free to change up the flavor of frosting by using a different flavor of gelatin.
- Vanilla Extract- learn how to make vanilla extract with my easy Instant Pot recipe. I’ve also got details on how to make it without a pressure cooker!
- Donut Pan- I love this norpro 6 cavity donut pan on Amazon (affiliate link). Nothing sticks!
Easy Instructions
PREP. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a donut pan with non-stick baking spray, or lightly grease and flour the pan. Set aside.
Make Donut Batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter with sugar and beat until creamy. Add egg and milk.
Slowly add in flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Beat until combined, about 1-2 minutes.
Using a large ziploc bag, fill bag with donut batter. Snip off the end of the bag. This makes it easier to pipe it into the cavity of your donut pan.
Bake. Fill 6 donut cavities and bake in preheated oven for 10-13 minutes. Remove and immediately flip onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before adding glaze.
For the cherry frosting, in small saucepan on medium low heat, mix together the cream, milk, butter, vanilla and cherry gelatin mix. When butter is completely melted, turn heat to low and add in the white chocolate. Once it’s melted, whisk in the powdered sugar and mix until fully blended.
Spread frosting over cooled doughnuts and add sprinkles, if desired.
Can homemade donuts be frozen?
You can definitely freeze these doughnuts. Once the frosting has hardened, slide doughnuts into a freezer safe ziploc bag (or other airtight container).
When ready to thaw, remove from freezer and thaw at room temperature for an hour (or over night).
More Baked Donut Recipes
These Neapolitan Donuts are so easy! Baked chocolate donuts dunked in a sweet strawberry frosting with white chocolate drizzle. The perfect “snow day” breakfast!
Tender, moist Cinnamon Coffee Cake Donuts with a chunky cinnamon streusel and sweet cinnamon glaze. Baked, not fried, and perfect for a delicious Saturday morning breakfast!
Classic Chocolate Donuts with a Chocolate Frosting. You just can’t go wrong with this simple recipe!
Delicious, easy Cinnamon Donut Breakfast Muffins. These are perfect, popable bites and they freeze well too!
More Easy Breakfast Recipes
- Buttermilk Pancakes
- Banana Bread Recipe
- Waffle Recipe
- Chocolate Chip Waffles
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Blueberry Muffins
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Cherry Frosted Donuts Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Donut
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the Frosting
- 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon cherry gelatin mix
- 2 oz white chocolate morsels
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Spray donut pan with non stick baking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, begin making the donut batter. Combine the sugar with butter and beat until blended. Add in the egg. Mix in the milk, flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined (about 1-2 minutes).
- Once it’s all combined, spoon it into a large ziploc bag and snip off the corner. Then squeeze into each donut cavity, evenly distributing the batter between donuts.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool in pan about 10 minutes. Remove and cool completely on wire rack.
- While donuts are cooling, make the cherry frosting. In a small saucepan on medium low heat, mix together the cream, milk, butter, vanilla and cherry gelatin mix. When butter is completely melted, turn heat to low and add in the white chocolate. Whisk until blended.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar, adding it slowly until desired consistency.
- Dip each donut into the glaze, allow to cool. (optional- sprinkle with toppings). Allow frosting to set (about 15 minutes). Enjoy!
Notes
- You can definitely freeze these doughnuts. Once the frosting has hardened, slide doughnuts into a freezer safe ziploc bag (or other airtight container).
- When ready to thaw, remove from freezer and thaw at room temperature for an hour (or over night).
So tasty, bright, and fun! Love these so much 🙂
These are absolutely adorable! My daughter wants to make them for her birthday party! Thanks for the recipe!
My family can’t stop eating these donuts…so delicious!!
Wow! These donuts look ahhmaaazing! That cherry icing..YUM!!
These donuts are so dreamy. The cherry icing is amazing!
I love making doughnuts at home and these look irresistible! And it’s so much better than having to dress early in the AM and dash out to get something yummy. I’m all for enjoying in my PJs! Love these for Valentine’s Day and the sprinkles …. oh yeah!
I just love that bright pink color! These donuts were a hit with the whole family!