High Altitude Mini Baked Strawberry Donuts

An easy high altitude recipe for soft and fluffy, mini baked strawberry vanilla cake donuts, covered in pink strawberry sugar. These strawberry cake donuts are flecked with freeze dried strawberries for the most delicious strawberry flavor in every sweet bite.

You might also love these brown butter strawberry crumb bars, strawberry coconut cake, and strawberry galette.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Soft for Days. Unlike fried doughnuts that go stale after just a day, baked strawberry donuts stay soft and moist for days after baking. They’re basically just donut-shaped vanilla strawberry cakes that are coated in sugar. You can even bake them at night, then coat them in sugar before serving them for breakfast the next morning, and they’ll be just as soft as they are when they’re freshly baked.

Easy to Make. You don’t need a mixer to make these mini strawberry donuts, and the batter comes together in just a couple of minutes.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Flour. For a lighter texture, try using cake flour, but all-purpose flour can also be used. The flour is what gives the doughnuts structure and strength.
• Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture. You’ll also need sugar for coating the baked donuts.
• Baking Powder. Leavening agent, to help the doughnuts rise.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Cardamom. Complements the flavor of the vanilla and strawberries.
• Egg. Strengthens the dough and adds richness and moisture.
• Sour Cream + Milk. For the best flavor, use full-fat sour cream and whole milk. These add moisture and richness, while the acidity in the sour cream tenderizes the cake.
• Butter. The butter is key to a rich flavor, and moist dense texture.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Freeze Dried Strawberries. Chopped freeze dried strawberries in the cake batter adds bursts of strawberry flavor throughout the donuts, without adding excessive moisture. You’ll also be combining crushed freeze dried strawberries with sugar, for coating the donuts after baking.

Instructions

Doughnuts

• Preheat the oven to 375 F, and grease your doughnut pans with non-stick baking spray.
• In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom. Separately, whisk together the egg and sour cream until smooth, then whisk in the milk, melted butter, vanilla and almond extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and use a spatula to fold everything together just until combined. Fold in the freeze dried strawberries.

• Scrape the batter into a piping bag and cut off an inch from the pointed end. Pipe the batter into the doughnut pans, filling them no more than 1/2 – 2/3 full.
• Baker’s Tip: You can let the batter rest at room temperature, then refill the pan/s as needed to bake more batches of donuts.
• Bake the doughnuts on the center oven rack for about 8 minutes for mini donuts or 10-12 minutes for standard sized donuts, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the doughnuts for several minutes in the pan, then gently turn them out onto a cooling rack. Coat in the sugar while warm.

Strawberry Sugar

• In a bowl, combine the granulated sugar and crushed freeze dried strawberries. While the donuts are warm, coat in the sugar.
• Baker’s Note: When the donuts are freshly baked, they have more of a crust on them, which prevents the sugar from sticking very well. If you have the time to wait, place the warm donuts in an airtight container and let them sit for an hour or so. Then coat them in the sugar. The moisture in the donuts will soften the outer crust, making it much easier for the sugar to stick. Since these donuts stay so soft and moist for days, you can even bake them at night, store them in a container, then coat them in sugar before serving them in the morning.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find freeze dried strawberries?

You can usually find them on the chocolate aisle at King Soopers, and Target carries a good selection of freeze dried fruit on the dried fruit and nuts aisle.

Can I use fresh or frozen strawberries instead of freeze dried?

Fresh or frozen berries will add too much moisture to the cake batter, which will change the texture of these baked strawberry donuts. For best results, use freeze dried strawberries.

Will this recipe work with any size donut pan?

Yes, you can use any size donut pan, from mini donuts to standard sized donuts.

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