Cole loves it when make homemade donuts. In fact, I would venture so far as to say that homemade donuts are probably his favourite baked goodie for me to whip up.
For whatever reason Cole will never admit to me that he has one favourite treat – because as he says “everything you make is delicious” – but I know his secrets.
So when he came down to the kitchen this past Sunday morning to find these homemade Raspberry Jam filled Vanilla Sugar Donuts sitting on the kitchen counter – let’s just say I wasn’t surprised when his eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas Day.
Believe it or not, these were my first attempt at yeasted donuts. Say whattt?? I have experimented lots with frying cake donuts and various flavours of baked donuts at home, but until this weekend I had honestly yet to experiment with fried yeast donuts.
I know it sounds like madness, but I have always been a little intimidated by yeast donuts – the process just always seemed so daunting. However, after finally making a batch, and eating about six… {okay maybe 7}… of these puppies, I have to say that I have been living a life of straight craziness to have waited this long to make them.
The donut dough itself was super simple to make – it was basically no different than your typical cinnamon bun dough. They are a bit more time consuming than a cake donut, only because you have to wait for the dough to rise, but other than that, they are no more difficult.
They were also so much fun to fry, because they puffed up from flat little pieces of dough into perfectly round little balls of donut fluff! {I always get excited when things puff up}.
Not to mention, because they were homemade, I was free to stuff them with as much raspberry jam as I wanted {which was a lot}, because I’m sure we can all relate to the sorrow of biting into a store-bought jelly donut only to find that there is barely any filling inside. AKA – the definition of the actual worst when it comes to donut experiences.
In the end, I was sooo happy with how the donuts turned out. They were soft and fluffy on the inside, and the sweet vanilla sugar coating was the perfect compliment to the tart raspberry jam.
Cole officially says that he will never eat another store bought donut again, because apparently they are no comparison to my homemade versions.
I think he’s going a little overboard with that statement, because their are some incredible donut shops around, but even I have to admit that these donuts were pretty much the bees knees.
So here is the recipe adapted from Joy the Baker’s Homemade Decadence Book! I hope you enjoy lovelies <3
Raspberry Jam Filled Donuts with Vanilla Sugar
Makes 12-18 doughnuts
Things you need…
Donuts
1 pckg active dry yeast
1 cup of whole milk, warm
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks, room temp
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups raspberry jam {whatever your fav brand is}
Vanilla Sugar
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
** Recipe adapted from Homemade Decadence by Joy the Baker**
How to make…
Donut Dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the warm milk, 1 tbsp of the sugar, and the yeast and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes or until frothy.
Next add in your egg yolks, remaining sugar and turn the mixer onto low to begin to combine. Add in your room temperature butter in chunks to allow it to get evenly distributed in the mixture.
Next add in 1 cup of the flour, the cinnamon and salt, and continue to work the mixture on low until all of the flour is combined. Add in the remaining 2 1/4 cups of flour – one at a time, allowing the flour to incorporate after each addition.
Once all your flour is incorporated, set the mixer to high and allow the hook to work the dough for about 5 minutes – you want the dough to appear smooth and elastic. If after a few minutes your dough is a bit wet and sticking to the bottom of the bowl, add in an additional tbsp of flour at a time until this stops, adding up to an additional 1/4 cup of flour only.
Remove the dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead the dough with your hands for another few minutes, and shape it into a ball.
Butter your bowl and return the ball of dough to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until it has doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rough circle that is about 1/2 – 3/4 inch thick.
Use a round donut cutter, whichever size you prefer to cut out as many donuts as you can. I used a 2 inch round donut cutter, and it made really nice medium sized donuts, but you could use a 3 inch if you want them a bit larger.
** Note: Don’t re-roll the scraps, just set them aside under some plastic wrap to use for testing your oil later.
Place your donut cut outs onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Set them aside in a warm place to rise again for 30-45 minutes or until slightly puffed up.
Vanilla Sugar
While you are waiting for your donuts to rise, prepare the vanilla sugar.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and vanilla until the vanilla is evenly incorporated. Set aside.
Frying the donuts
When your donuts are about 10 minutes away from being ready, begin to heat your oil. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat about 2 inches of canola oil over medium low heat, until the temperature reaches 350F degrees.
Once your oil is heated and your donuts puffed and ready, gently place 2 -3 donuts at a time into the oil to cook – depending on your pot size, just be careful not to overcrowd the pot.
Cook your donuts for about 45 seconds – 1 minute on each side before flipping and frying for an additional one minute on the other side. You can always look to see the colour before flipping to check that your donuts are a nice light golden brown and then flip them.
Once cooked, use a slotted spoon and allow the donus to drip off any excess oil into the pot. Place the cooked donuts onto a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. While they are still warm, and gently toss them to coat.
Once coated, place them on a wire rack with some paper towel underneath. Allow the donuts to cool for about 15 minutes before you fill them.
Filling the Donuts
Okay, so once your donuts are cool to the touch, take a wooden skewer and gently poke it length-wise through the centre of your donut. Swirl it around a it to create a nice opening for your filling to squeeze into and repeat this process with all the donuts.
Next, fit a piping bag with a long filling tip and fill the bag with your raspberry jam. {You might want to give your jam a bit of a stir to loosen it up if its a bit too stiff}.
Grab a donut and place the piping tip right into the hole that you made in your donut and insert it as far as you can. Gently squeeze out the filling into the donut, letting about 1 tbsp of the jam fill each donut {or however much your little heart desires – I like a lotta filling}. Set the donut down and repeat this process until all the donuts are filled.
Enjoy!
Happy Donut Baking lovelies <3
KP xoxo
I made those doughnuts and there were incredible and really delicious!!
But I put Nutella filling so yummy ! And everyone asked me for the recipe !
My regards
Thank you honey
Hi Mera!
I’m so happy to hear that you liked the recipe! And Nutella filling….. uhmmm that sounds amazing!!! Must try!!
-KP <3<3
Hii KP, i want to try this recipe but can u tell me what do u mean by “1 pckg active dry yeast” one full pack or what exactly… Its better if u can tell me the measurements by grams or spoons etc..
Thanks xxx
Hi! So one standard pckg of yeast is about 2 1/4 tsp 🙂
-KP
No recipe for the jelly
Hi Elaina,
I didn’t make homemade jelly for these – I just used some local Raspberry Jam 🙂
-Kristie
Hi
I was searching a lot for this recipes and here I found them.
Thanks a lot:-) love u
Can the dough for the donuts be made the night before?
Hi! You could definitely do that! I have actually done it before and they still turned out great! I shaped the dough and cut the donuts and then set them on a parchment lined baking sheet and wrapped them up in plastic wrap before setting them in the fridge over night. Then I just allowed extra time in the morning for them to do their second rise the next morning 🙂
OK the inside of my donuts in the center is a little gooey. Is this supposed to be this way or how can I correct the cooking?
Hi Katie!
If your doughnuts are a little doughy and gooey inside, this just means they haven’t cooked all the way through. So I would just cook them in the hot oil for a little bit longer next time. A helpful tip is to make sure your oil is at 350 degrees 🙂 If your oil is too hot, the outside of your donuts will brown (or burn) too quickly, while leaving the inside of your doughnuts uncooked, but if your oil is at that 350 degrees you should be good to go 🙂
Happy baking!
KP
Hi there, I can’t wait to try this recipe out this weekend. However, can an electric donut maker be used instead of frying the donuts please? Thanks.
Hi Titi!
Thanks so much for your question 🙂 I’m so sorry, but I am not sure what an electric donut maker is 😛 Does it still take oil or is it kind of like a waffle maker?
-KP
Hey there! I’ve been following your site for a long time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Austin Texas! Just wanted to mention keep up the great job!
Hi Melani!
Thanks so much for reaching out & for following along! I really appreciate the support!
KP
How many does the recipe make?
Hi Sasha!
Depending on the size of your doughnut cutter, I usually find that the recipe makes 12-18 doughnuts 🙂
Happy baking!
I made these donuts today. My first foray into the donut world. They were fabulous. I used my homemade blueberry jam…delish!
Hi Kim!
Yayyy donuts! I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe & homemade blueberry jam as the filling sounds absolutely amazing!
Happy Baking!
How do we store the donuts? Just made them, delicious!
Hi Meagan!
So happy you enjoyed the doughnuts! I usually just store them in a dish covered with a clean, dry tea towel – although they never last long in my house 😉
Hope this help!
-KP xoxo
Hi,
These look amazing! I’m going to make them today! I have no way to know if the oil in my pan will be 350 , where do you put your stove dial usually for the oil to be 350? I also have an electric deep fryer where you can set the temp, would that be ok to use??
Hi Heidi!
Thanks so much for your question – I usually just use a heavy bottomed saucepan with canola oil and use a thermometer in the oil to see the temperature. However if you have an electric deep fryer I could just use that and set it to 350 ? Hope this helps!
?
Hi,
These look amazing! I’m making them today. I have no way of telling if the oil in my pan is 350. Where do you put your stove dial so the oil is 350? I have an electric deep fryer where you can set the temp, would this be ok to use??Thankyou!
Hi Heidi!
Thanks so much for your question – I usually just use a heavy bottomed saucepan with canola oil and use a thermometer in the oil to see the temperature. However if you have an electric deep fryer I could just use that and set it to 350 🙂 Hope this helps!
-KP xoxo
Hi Kp,
Yes, the electric donut maker is like a waffle maker. Thanks.
Hi Titi,
Thanks for letting me know – unfortunately I don’t think the donuts would turn out if you made them in your donut maker. These ones are specifically supposed to be fried in hot oil in order for them to puff up and cook. I usually just use a heavy bottomed sauce pan and fill it half way with canola oil and use a thermometer to tell me when the oil reaches 350 degrees 🙂
Hope this helps 🙂
-KP xoxo
Hi, I just wanted to ask how many days can you leave them in the fridge?
Hi Unathi,
These doughnuts are really best consumed the same day that you make them; however if you do have leftovers I would store them in a container at room temperature as putting them in the fridge might cause them to dry out. Hope this helps!
-KP
Hi,
Your recipe looks great and the doughnuts too. I want to make them today and bring them to church tomorrow would they store well? Can I fry them in the evening and cover them to bring the next morning?
Hi Efrain,
Thank you for your question & your kind words about my doughnuts! You could definitely fry them the night before and they would still be tasty the next morning. That being said, I do find that these doughnuts are best eaten the same day that they are fried 🙂
Happy baking!
KP xoxo
Do you have to use whole milk or can i use 2% milk?
Hi Ceil,
You could definitely use 2%, but I do find the doughnuts are a bit more tender when I use whole milk 🙂
Happy baking!
KP xoxox
Have made these twice now and they come out great. This dough is lovely and easy to handle. It rolls out like a dream. Thanks for sharing
Hi Ellen!
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the donuts twice! I haven’t made these in a while, but now I am craving them!
KP xoxo
I’ve been on the hunt for a good yeast donut recipe for ages! We live in a very rural locale and getting high quality food without an hour of driving is nearly impossible. On Sun’s before church our family of six used to have a donut-run tradition. Drinks, a breakfast sandwich, and a sweet per person became a $50/wk habit and not realistically sustainable. Thus, my search intensified! This recipe is delicious! I must confess, you beautiful photography and culinary skill did a great job of overcoming the homemade look. My lessons learned were….the donut shop rounds are more like 5-6″ in diameter; even a laser thermometer doesn’t insure a cooked-through donut at the perfect blonde color….mine were watched closely and had a darker color, but were still amazing! I experimented with homemade muscadine jelly (a bit on the runny side), maple glaze, and cream cheese filling! Thanks for giving me the courage to experiment!m
Hi Marty!
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! All of your fillings and glazes sound fantastic! My fiance LOVES a good maple glaze so I think I will have to try that soon!
-KP
These donuts turned out perfectly. Thank you for such a lovely recipe.
Yay! So happy to hear 🙂
Can the fried donuts be frozen then filled when thawed?
Hi Marsha,
I have never tried freezing the doughnuts, as I believe that they are best consumed the day of and worry that freezing them would alter the texture. However if you give it a try I would love to hear how it worked out!
OMG! You have amazing patience with all these questions. And now I want a donut sooooooo bad!
Thank you for the recipe! I am going to make them for Valentine’s Day!
Glad to hear it!
Hi K.P I made 2 dozen of them my granddaughter she liked the raspberry my one grandson he wanted blueberry my other grandson wanted marshmallow I made mine with Lemon curd and they turned out amazing thank you for your recipe.
Hi John!
So happy you enjoyed the doughnuts with your family! All of those combinations sound absolutely incredible! I will definitely have to try lemon curd!
Happy baking!
Hi KP,
Just wondering what Raspberry Jam did you specifically use as the donuts look amazing. I don’t have a favorite brand but would like to try your recommended Raspberry Jam. Thank you so much!!
Hi Rich!
I really love natural jams. I usually use a locally made brand 🙂
Hey Kristie your recipe looks amazing. But I tried it my dough remains a bit wet and stay sticking to the bowl even after adding the extra flour. Please help me out xx
Hi Marriam,
Depending on the humidity in your region and a few other factors, sometimes you will need to adjust the flour amounts. I would just keep adding flour 1 tbsp at a time until it is no longer sticking to the bowl 🙂
KP
I’m excited to make these this weekend since these are my youngest son’s favorite donut! Do you have a recipe for glaze?
Yay! I do have a few glaze recipes! Just search donuts in my search bar and you can find a few and choose which one you might like 🙂
It’s 2019 and I’m about to finally make some donuts 😋
Quick question though what if I don’t have a stand mixer??
Can i knead with my hands instead?
You sure can!
Hi, your donuts look beautiful! Thank you the recipe. My question is, can I bake them instead of fry them? If so, at what temperature and for how long would you recommend?
Hi Irma,
THank you so much! Unfortunately these will not be the same when baked. I do have a few baked donut recipes on my blog though 🙂
-KP
I can’t find any dry active yeast in stores right now. Can I make using instant yeast? The presentation is so pretty!!!
Hi Jennifer! You absolutely can! They will just need less time to rise 🙂
-KP
Hello, The recipe does work!! I loved it. on;y problem I had was that I didnt have any parchment paper at home so I improvised, however, it stuck to the paper and deflated. other than that, the doughnut was perfect and very airy too. Best recipe I have seen so far.
hi, I tired this and was wonderful
I couldn’t get the sugar to stay on the donuts, wonder why?
thank you
debra
Hi there,
If you roll them in the sugar immediately after they have come out of the oil, the oil won’t stick. It’s best to wait 5 minutes or so before rolling them.
-KP