Blackberry-Glazed Doughnuts Recipe

Blackberry glazed donuts on a baking tray

5 from 4 votes

Soft, fluffy Brioche Doughnuts glazed in a Blackberry Glaze will make you re-imagine childhood nostalgia. These are the most PERFECT homemade ring donuts that you’ll ever make.

Prep Time25

Cook Time30

Proof Time approx2 30

Total Time55

Course: Donuts

Cuisine: American

Servings: donuts

Calories: 365kcal

Author: Emma Duckworth

Equipment

Ingredients

Brioche Dough

12 g Active dry yeast
240 ml whole milk luke-warm
65 g granulated sugar
540 g plain flour (all-purpose)
1 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
140 g unsalted butter room temperature, cut into cubes
2 litres canola oil or sunflower oil for deep frying

Blackberry Glaze

140 g fresh blackberries or frozen (don’t thaw)
15 ml lemon juice
240 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
30-45 ml double (heavy) cream
18 g pearl sugar or sprinkles

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Make Brioche Dough

Activate yeast. To make the brioche dough, add the yeast, milk, and 1 tablespoon (15 g) of the sugar into a bowl and mix well. Set aside for 15 minutes, or until foamy.
Add the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the flour, remaining sugar and salt of an electric stand mixer and mix quickly.
Add wet ingredients (except the butter). Add in the eggs and vanilla, and using the dough hook, mix on low for 5 minutes, or until the dough comes together.
Add butter and knead in the mixer. Whilst the mixer is running on low speed, add the butter gradually, and once incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium speed and knead for 10 minutes. The dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl and have formed a “tornado” around the dough hook. Do the windowpane test on the dough by grabbing a small piece of dough in between your fingers and thumbs and stretch it out. If it tears quickly, the dough requires more kneading. If it stretches thinly and you can see the light through it, it’s perfect!
Knead by hand. Tip the dough onto a greased countertop and knead a couple of times until the dough forms a smooth ball.
Proof the dough. Place the dough ball in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place for 1½ hours, or until doubled in size
Deflate the dough. Knock the air out of the dough by kneading it gently about 6 or 7 times until it turns into a smooth ball.

Stamp Out Donuts

Prep your baking paper squares. Cut 10 to 12, 4-inch (10-cm) square pieces of parchment paper, and grease their tops lightly with cooking oil spray and arrange them on 2 baking sheets.
Stamp out donut rings. Roll out on a lightly floured countertop until ¾-inch (2-cm) thick. Leave to rest on the counter for a couple of minutes so the rolled dough can settle.
Using a 3-inch (7.5-cm) round cutter coated in flour (or a drinking glass), cut out rounds from the dough. Then cut out smaller holes with a 1-inch (2.5-cm) round cutter in the middle. Knead any leftover dough, and reroll it cut to get more donuts. I cut out lots of donut holes with the scraps from this second round of rolling. Place the donut rings on their individual pieces of greased parchment on the baking sheets, leaving space between each one. Place the donut holes on their own piece or two of parchment as well.
Cover the donuts with a slightly damp tea towel. Proof in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1½ hours, or until doubled in size and puffy.

Fry the Doughnuts

Heat the oil. Fill a heavy saucepan halfway with the oil. Heat the oil to 340 to 350°F (170 to 180°C) using a candy thermometer to check the temperature accurately. Once it has reached this temperature, turn the heat down to stop it from climbing any further. Then regularly check to ensure the temperature is holding steady.
Fry the donuts. Working with two or three at a time, slide the donuts on their paper into the oil. Use tongs to pluck out the papers, which should float free within seconds. Sliding the doughnuts into the oil on the paper will allow them to hold their shape; otherwise, trying to move them with a spatula might deflate the dough before it hits the oil. Fry for approximately 2 minutes each side until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a tray lined with paper towels to drain. Repeat the steps until all the donuts are fried. Don’t forget the donut holes, which will take about 30 seconds to fry on each side. Allow the donuts to cool before dipping into the glaze.

Make the Glaze and Decorate

Make the blackberry juice. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the blackberries and lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly and gently mashing the berries to a pulp with a fork. Remove from the heat. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a small bowl and push the pulp though, leaving any seeds/large chunks behind. Allow the blackberry juice to cool for at least 10 minutes before using.
Make the glaze. Transfer the blackberry juice to a large bowl, and add the confectioners’ sugar and cream and whisk until smooth. If the glaze appears too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar ¼ cup (30 g) at a time. If the glaze appears too thick add in a little more cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
Coat each donut. Dip each donut in the blackberry glaze, set aside on a wire rack and sprinkle immediately with pearl sugar or sprinkles. Allow the icing to set for 15 minutes. Dip the donut holes in the glaze or toss in caster sugar. These are best eaten straightaway or store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Notes

Step-by-Step Photos: My blog post includes helpful step-by-step photos to help guide you through making this recipe.

To store: Brioche Ring Doughnuts are best-eaten straightaway. Or store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. I do find the texture of the donut does become a little stiff and dry though.

To freeze: I wouldn't recommend freezing these donuts. They are best enjoyed when freshly made.

TIP 1: Refrigerate the dough. After it's first proof, if the dough is very warm and too soft to roll out and stamp, just wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

TIP 2: Flour the cookie cutter. When stamping out the rounds and the donut holes, dip the cutter into flour each and every time before stamping. Otherwise the dough will stick to the cutter and you'll lose the defined shape of the donut.

TIP 3: Paper Bases. One of the best tips in this recipe! Placing the donut rings on paper allows you to manoevoere the dough into the hot oil without touching the dough itself. This maintains the shape and puffiness of the dough.

TIP 4: Use a cast iron pan to fry in. Cast Iron retains heat meaning that the temperature of the oil will remain at a steady temperature with less fluctuation.

Nutrition