Strawberry Sour Cream Donuts

As part of my spring strawberry series on social media, I wanted to kick things off with the best of the best—and these strawberry sour cream donuts delivered.

They’re soft, cake-style donuts made with sour cream and packed with fresh strawberries. The strawberry lemon glaze on top adds just the right amount of brightness and tang.

They’re quick, easy, and the perfect treat to celebrate strawberry season.

❤️ Why You’ll Love Strawberry Sour Cream Donuts

These are moist, cake like donut that are made with your sourdough discard and take almost no time at all! The icing is also very versatile, if you don’t like the tangy flavor from a lemon, you can leave it out and dip these in a simple vanilla glaze. This recipe will have options on how to do both for whatever you’re in the mood for! Because once you have this delicious strawberry sour cream recipe as your base, you’ve already won.

🍲 Ingredients

Sourdough Discard – unfed, inactive sourdough starter.

All purpose flour- For the majority of my recipes I use the unbleached, organic, all purpose flour from Costco. But as long as it’s unbleached you’re good to go.

Baking Powder – Because these are a cake donut, and not a yeast donut, the baking powder serves as the leavening agent.

Butter – Melted butter gives the donuts a rich flavor and a moist crumb.

Sour Cream – The star of the show, and gives this donut it’s tender texture.

Strawberries – I use fresh strawberries in this recipe. Frozen strawberries would give the batter too much moisture, so you would have to adjust accordingly, but freeze dried strawberries would work! You just wouldn’t get the pop of strawberry like you would if you used fresh.

👩‍🍳 How to Make Strawberry Sour Cream Donuts

• In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your eggs, sugar, and melted butter. Add in sour cream, sourdough discard, and vanilla extract, mix together until there are no more streaks left.
• Slowly whisk in your dry ingredients until everything is combined.
• Fold in one cup of fresh diced strawberries.
• OPTIONAL: Let your dough rest for 15 minutes to let the gluten relax. This will result in a lighter textured donut. It’s not an absolutely necessary step, so if you need to, you can skip. But if you have time, it’s worth it.
• While your batter is resting, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• With a spoon, scoop a large spoonful of batter and transfer it into the donut molds, filling the space all the way to the top. This recipe makes 12 doughnuts.
• Bake at 375 for 20 – 25 minutes.
• While your donuts are baking, make the strawberry lemon glaze.
• When baking is done, let the donuts cool in the mold for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
• When the donuts have cooled completely, dip them in the lemon glaze, fully coating the top, and place back onto the wire rack or cutting board.
• Enjoy your new favorite spring brunch 🙂

🪄 Tips and Tricks

• If you don’t have any sourdough discard, you can substitute this by adding 1/4 cup of flour + 1/4 cup of water to the batter.
• Fresh or Frozen Strawberries (Finely Diced or Pureed): This is the most natural way to get real strawberry flavor. Finely diced berries can be added directly to the batter. Strawberry puree can also be used, but you’ll need to be mindful of the added liquid.
• The Donut Base: This will be a cake-like batter, similar to muffins or quick bread, but specifically formulated for baking in a donut pan. Sour cream is the star here, providing moisture, tenderness, and that signature tang.
• Don’t Overmix: Overmixing develops gluten, leading to tough donuts. Mix until just combined.
• Use Full-Fat Sour Cream: The fat content contributes significantly to the moistness and tenderness of the donuts.
• Don’t Overfill the Pan: Filling the cavities too full will cause the donuts to overflow and lose their shape.
• Cool Completely Before Glazing: Glazing warm donuts will cause the glaze to melt and run off.

🗒 Variations

The strawberry donuts are pretty straight forward, but the glaze can be switched in an out! I’ll give you a few options –

Or try these Peaches ‘n Cream Sourdough Donuts – Acts Of Sourdough

• Simple Powdered Sugar Glaze – whisk together 1 Cup powdered sugar + 1/2 Tbs milk until smooth.
• Vanilla Glaze – whisk together 1 Cup powdered sugar + 1 Tsp vanilla extract + 1 – 2 Tsp milk, cream or water.
• Maple glaze – whisk together 2 Tbs melted butter + 1 Cup powdered sugar + 1/4 Cup pure maple syrup until smooth.
• Lemon Glaze – whisk together 1 Cup powdered sugar + 1 – 2 Tbs fresh lemon jucie

🗒 Substitutions

Listed above are all of the variations and substitutions you could use if you prefer a different donut glaze. But you could also substitute fresh strawberries, for fresh blueberries. Or if you don’t have sour cream, my favorite thing to do is substitute for full fat yogurt (vanilla yogurt works great too)

• Fresh strawberries – Fresh Blueberries
• Sour Cream – Full fat yogurt.
• Other Fruits: Finely diced apples, pears, or peaches can be used. Consider fruits that soften nicely when baked.
• Cake Flour: Can be used for a more tender crumb, but the donuts might be slightly more delicate.
• Brown Sugar: Adds moisture and a deeper, caramel-like flavor. Can be used as a partial or full substitute.
• Melted Coconut Oil (Refined): A good dairy-free alternative with a neutral flavor.
  

🗒 Best served with

• Breakfast + your favorite coffee
• Spring brunch
• Lunch snack
• After dinner treat.

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Once the donuts are glazed and cooled, store them in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I recommend warming them up a bit before serving.

🤔 Common Questions