Making the Donut Dough

In a large mixing bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar until well combined. You can do this by hand or with a hand mixer.

Stir in the egg yolks and vanilla and continue mixing until they are well combined and the mixture is smooth.

Put the sour cream in the bowl and again mix until it is smooth and cohesive.

In a separate, smaller bowl, mix together the dry ingredients- cake flour, powdered freeze-dried strawberries, baking powder, and salt.

Put the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet. Stir until the dry ingredients are completely mixed in. The dough should be fairly stiff, but still sticky and soft.

Place the donut batter on a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten it into a disc about 2″ thick. Wrap it well and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 2 days.

Remove the strawberry donut dough from the refrigerator and place it on a floured surface. Roll it out to between 1/4″-3/8″ thick, then cut as many donuts as possible from the dough. Set the cut donuts aside.

Brush any excess flour off of the remaining dough and press it into a ball.

Repeat the rolling and cutting process until you’ve used all of the dough.

Frying the Donuts

How to Fry Strawberry Donuts

Before you begin heating the oil, set out all of the tools you’ll need. Have a slotted or holed metal spoon, a frying thermometer, a 6 quart pot, and a cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath it to set the fried donuts on.

Pour about 2 quarts of oil in a 5 or 6 quart pot–it should be at least 2-3 inches deep.

Monitor the oil temperature with a frying thermometer and heat it to between 350° and 375°.

When oil is the correct temperature, turn it down to medium-low to make sure it doesn’t over-heat. You will need to adjust and figure out the best setting for your burners to maintain the best temperature.

Adding 2-3 donuts at a time, fry them for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Flip each donut and fry the other side for another minute and a half. Remove them from the oil to the cooling rack.

Repeat the frying process with the rest of the donuts, making sure to keep the oil between 350° and 375°.

Allow the donuts to cool, then glaze them.

Glazing the Strawberry Donuts

To glaze the strawberry donuts, heat 1/4 cup of whole milk in a small saucepan until it’s steaming.

Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract into the milk. Whisk them together until you have a smooth, runny glaze.

Dip one side of a donut in the glaze. Use a fork to turn it over, coating the other side.

Lift the donuts out of the glaze. Hold it over the pan to let the excess drip back into the pan.

Put the donuts back on the cooling rack.

Sprinkle the top of each donut with a bit of powdered freeze-dried strawberry

Continue doing this until all of the strawberry donuts are glazed and allow them to sit until the glaze has hardened.