Baked Raspberry Donuts with Raspberry glaze

These Baked Raspberry donuts with raspberry glaze and fresh raspberry filling have an exceptionally moist texture, delicious raspberry flavor, and an easy yet impressive decoration that will impress everyone. Baked donuts are effectively cake doughnuts that are super easy to make even if you are less experienced in the kitchen!

Do you also feel that baked doughnuts have become a thing recently? They are considered to be simpler and healthier vs. traditional fried donuts while equally delicious, a must-try if I may say so myself!

Jump to:

• 📖 Difference between baked and fried donuts
• 🌟 Why this is the Best recipe
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• 🎓 Expert tips
• 🥣 Equipment notes
• ❓ Recipe FAQs
• 🍩 More Donut Recipes
• 🍰 More Raspberry dessert recipes
• Baked Raspberry Donuts with Raspberry glaze

📖 Difference between baked and fried donuts

Apart from the obvious fact that one is baked in the oven, the other is fried in hot oil, there are other major differences between the two.

Fried donut is typically made using high protein content bread flour and yeast as leaving agent. Similarly to bread, usually it takes a while to make them as first the raw dough needs to rise. They are more difficult to make however have an amazing pillow texture.

Baked donuts or cake donuts (like this Raspberry Baked Donuts with raspberry glaze), on the other hand, are effectively made using similar ingredients as cakes and baking soda or powder is making them rise. Making baked doughnuts is rather quick and simple, the shape of the donuts is uniform because they are made in a donut pan. They are also considered to be healthier than fried donuts that are made in oil.

And there is a 3rd version, the mochi donuts that are fried yet the texture is different from American fried donuts. Mochi donuts, well known as Pon-de-ring In Japan, are delicious mochi-like ring shape donuts with a signature bouncy and chewy texture and colorful chocolate ganache glazings on top. Check my Japanese mochi donut recipe!

🌟 Why this is the Best recipe

1. It is extremely easy – No fancy or unusual ingredients are needed to make these Raspberry cake donut recipe, and it comes together super easily. Both the mixing process as well as the baking process are very simple even if you are a beginner in the kitchen
2. It is super quick – Compared to yeast-based donuts, these Raspberry glazed donuts can be made much quicker. Once you mix the ingredients you can proceed with baking, no need to wait for the yeast to get activated
3. Your kitchen won´t smell oily for days – While I love traditional yeast-based donuts baked in oil, I am not a big fan of the oily smell! Since baked donuts are made in the oven without oil, there is no oily smell whatsoever
4. They are healthier - We all know that frying things in oil is not necessarily the healthiest baking method. This Raspberry donut recipe is done in the oven, we can call them sort of healthy donuts
5. They are extremely delicious – These cake doughnuts filled with tangy fresh raspberries and covered with a super delicious raspberry glaze will blow your mind! They are moist, juicy, and packed with natural blueberry flavors!
6. Easier to glaze and decorate them - Since baked donuts are made in a donut mold (eg. check this Silikomart Donut mold) they are baked more even and neat meaning it is easier to glaze and decorate them
7. Can be filled and flavored - Given baked donuts are effectively cake doughnuts, you can freely fill or flavor them with almost anything. Citrus zest, nuts, or even chocolate chip could be used too

📝 Ingredient notes

For the donuts

1. Butter: Use always unsalted as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using European-style 82% fat content butter in all my recipes. In this Baked Blueberry Donuts recipe, the butter needs to be at room temperature which technically means soft enough to be able to cream but not too soft or runny so avoid last-minute microwaving
2. Sugar: I am using simple white granulated sugar. If you want to learn about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, please read my sugar guide
3. Egg: Use eggs at room temperature as always for the perfect emulsification
4. Flour: Pastry flour works very well in this baked doughnut recipe with low protein content resulting in a delicate, tender texture but all purpose flour can be used too. If you want to be a Pro when it comes to deciding what type of flour to use in your baking, please read my flour guide
5. Salt: Essential ingredient in all dessert recipes, its main function is to balance the sweetness of the cakes
6. Baking powder: Baking powder is responsible for the Raspberry Baked donuts to rise. We will use a relatively small amount as no need for a high rise
7. Vanilla (optional): Please avoid using artificial vanilla. There are several great brands for fine, pure vanilla, I use Nielsen massey which I love and recommend. I use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract which has lovely vanilla bits in there too
8. Raspberry: These doughnuts are not just raspberry glazed donuts but also raspberry filled donuts! Use fresh or frozen raspberries. Each Baked donut has 4 pieces of raspberry in them that make them wonderfully flavourful and also colorful.
9. Rosewater (optional): Make sure to only use 100% natural pure rose products for your health and also for your desserts´ taste. There is also a difference between rosewater and rose essence. Rosewater is sold in a larger bottle usually and you have to use more of that vs. rose essence. I am using rose water in this recipe however if you have rose essence at home, that is a much more concentrated product, you only need to use a tiny amount of that to achieve the same taste. Rosewater is rather a "love it or hate it" flavor, so feel free to skip it if you don´t like it or adjust the quantity to add more or less according to your liking. If you haven´t tried it before, I really recommend starting using it in desserts, it pairs amazingly with raspberry, white chocolate, lemon, orange, litchi, etc.

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

For the natural pink raspberry glaze

1. White chocolate: These donuts will be glazed with a white chocolate-based raspberry ganache. Since white chocolate has a close to neutral flavor and color, it can be made into all sorts of ganache: raspberry, mango, coffee ganache, etc. The ganache will be as delicious as the quality of the chocolate you are using so always try to use the highest quality you can access. I am using Callebaut WhiteChocolate (callets)
2. Heavy Cream: Also known as whipping cream or heavy cream, has a fat content of 36% - 40%. The one I am using has 36% fat content. Avoid substitutes like vegetable-based “whipping cream”
3. Raspberry puree: I am using frozen raspberry. I hand blend it into puree and pour it through a sieve to get rid of the seeds. Feel free to use fresh raspberries and apply the same technique. Raspberry will give a beautiful natural color and flavor to the glaze, how amazing is that?!
4. Butter: As above, use unsalted at room temp
5. Rosewater (optional): As per above. Quantity is up to you depending on how much you love rosewater, I am a huge fan!

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

For the decoration

1. White chocolate: I am using Callebaut WhiteChocolate (callets)
2. Freezed dried raspberry: It is more stable to use freezed dried raspberry, than fresh ones, however, feel free to use what you can access. Avoid using frozen raspberry for decoration
3. Rose petals: It is not a must but I like to decorate my desserts according to their flavor profile. Organic rose petals are available on Amazon

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

1. How to make moist Baked Donuts

The Baked Donut recipe contains 4 basic cake-like ingredients; butter, sugar, egg, and flour and the volume will be supported by baking powder. Besides the basic ingredients, I am also using raspberries to make the donuts even more moist and flavorful.

1. Prepare your donut mold, I am using Silikomart Donut mould, a silicone version from Silikomart that is very flexible and require no greasing
2. The baking temp will be 175 C / 347 F but preheat the oven +20C / 68F as the oven temp will drop when you open the door and place the baking tins in
3. Use Digital oven thermometer to understand your real oven temp
4. Ingredients must be all measured with a Digital scale
5. All ingredients must be at room temperature, otherwise, they won´t properly emulsify if eg. if butter is too cold, the batter might even break
6. Whisk room temp butter and sugar with an Electric hand mixer for 5 minutes until creamy and pale
7. Add in egg, one at a time, and mix with a hand whisk after each addition
8. Fold in vanilla, if using
9. Sift in dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt
10. Fold the mixture with a rubber spatula just until fully combined, do not over mix
11. Pipe batter into your donut mold. Do not fully fill the mold as the donuts will rise
12. Press the raspberries into the batter
13. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Please note that frozen raspberries can make the batter wetter, meaning more baking time will be needed

💡 Top Tip: Important that you chill these donuts before glazing them so the glazing will set on them neatly

2. How to make naturally pink raspberry glaze for donuts

There are two main ways to make donut glaze, one is the powdered sugar version that I explain in my blueberry donuts, however for this recipe I made a chocolate ganache that is superior in terms of texture and taste with raspberries.

1. Hand blend raspberry into a puree, and pour it through a sieve to get rid of seeds. Frozen or fresh both work
2. Heat raspberry puree with cream until simmering
3. Pour hot cream mixture over finely chopped white chocolate chips
4. Mix puree with powdered sugar. The exact quantity of the puree will depend on your kitchen humidity, etc. Add a small amount of puree at once, then keep adding more until desired icing consistency achieved
5. Add in rosewater and butter and blend again
6. Use the glaze once it is cooled to about 27C / 81F

💡 Top Tip: You won´t need all the glaze that is mentioned in the recipe card below, however, since we dip the donuts into the glaze, we need to make a bit more glaze than what is actually needed. Any leftover glaze can be stored refrigerated or used on cakes, pancakes, etc.

3. How to neatly glaze donuts

Glazing Donuts does not have to be a mess if you follow some basic principles that are mainly related to the "right temperature".

I recommend trying to glaze one donut first and see how it feels. If the glaze stays stable on the donut, continue with the rest. If the glaze is too runny and does not set on the doughnut, wait until the glaze temp further cools. If the glaze is too thick and not able to smoothly cover the donut, gently heat it up a bit with a hair dryer.

Process of glazing the donuts

1. Place the raspberry glaze into a big enough container so you can comfortably dip the donuts into it, however, it should not be too big either as the glaze should have some "depth" when you will dip the donut into it
2. Hold the donut with your fingers and dip it into the glaze. Move the donut a bit for a few seconds, then carefully remove it from the glaze.
3. While still holding the donut with your fingers (glazing facing down), carefully remove any excess glaze from it with the help of your fingers on your other hand
4. If the glaze consistency was correct, the glaze should stay on the donut without running on the side, however, it will take some time until it feels "dry" as you touch it
5. Place the donuts on parchment paper and let the glaze fully set at room temp, or in case your kitchen is too warm, place it in the fridge

💡 Top Tip: Make sure that your donuts are cold (5C / 41F fridge temp) when glazing so the glaze can quickly be set on them instead of running on the side. The glaze must be not too thin, nor too thick about 27C / 81F is ideal

4. How to decorate the Raspberry donuts

Decoration can really take your Raspberry cake donuts to the next level and the sky is the limit! Use ingredients and flavors you anyway included in your dessert, eg. I am using freezed-dried raspberries and rose petals here.

To have these two elements visually "pop-out" I melted some white chocolate, poured it into a small piping bag, made a very very tiny hole on the piping bag, and applied some stripes on the doughnuts first.

Use your creativity and feel free to decorate your donuts according to your liking!

💡 Top Tip: Let the raspberry ganache glaze set first before continuing with chocolate stripes, in the meantime, place the freezed dried raspberries and rose petals onto the donuts immediately after applying the white chocolate stripes otherwise they won´t stick to it

🎓 Expert tips

1. Do not overbake these donuts as that is the most common reason for dry texture on this kind of dessert
2. The glaze runs on the side of the donut – either the donut was too warm (not fridge temp) or the glaze was too hot and therefore too runny to set on the donuts. How to fix it? Wait until either the donut or glaze temperature cools
3. If the glaze is too thick and set it a “wrinkled” way – either the donut was too cold or more likely that the glaze was too cold (thick) therefore it sets too quickly. How to fix it? Heat up the glaze gently either in the microwave on low heat or with a hairdryer
4. You can experiment with flavoring these donuts eg. with white chocolate chips, or use a generous amount of lemon zest in the dough and turn them into lovely Lemon Raspberry donuts
5. These cake donuts can easily be made in a muffin tin or even in a mini loaf tin
6. Feel free to try a different glazing eg. this powdered sugar glaze

🥣 Equipment notes

For baked donuts - since it is not yeast-based dough - you will need a donut mold to bake them. I love my Silikomart Donut mould that is made of silicone, therefore, no greasing nor preparation is needed and the donuts always come out perfect without being stuck into the pan.

I also recommend investing in some Piping bags, as a home baker, you will need it all the time as it is much easier and neater to pipe the batter into the mold than anything else like pouring or spooning.

Last not but least, for a consistent, happy baking experience always measure your ingredients with the help of a Digital scale. Cup measurement is an indicative figure only and not the most accurate to achieve best-in-class results.

❓ Recipe FAQs

🍩 More Donut Recipes

🍰 More Raspberry dessert recipes