Cherry Filled Spiced Doughnuts with Cherry Glaze

A holiday twist on a classic, filled German Berliner, these Cherry Filled Spiced Doughnuts have warm holiday spices in the dough, a Red Tart Cherry filling and a delicious cherry glaze! The star of these doughnuts are the Red Tart Cherries from Oregon Fruit that make it possible to have delicious cherries year round!

Are Canned Cherries Better?

Yes! For this recipe I absolutely love using the canned Tart Cherries from Oregon Fruit because they have amazing fresh flavor. It also means you can make this recipe at any time of the year without having to worry if cherries are in season!

Instant Yeast vs. Active Dry Yeast?

Either yeast can be used in this recipe and the amount will stay the same for both. I prefer to use instant yeast because it starts to work a bit faster but if you only have Active Dry yeast, just bloom it in the warm milk first.

How do I know when the dough has been kneaded long enough?

The dough for this recipe will come together quite quickly and might look smooth but if you try to stretch it, it will most likely snap rather than stretch. Once the dough has come together in the mixer, I recommend kneading it for 5-10 more minutes in the mixer. This dough is highly enriched so it is difficult for gluten to form and a window pane test may not work but you should be able to stretch a portion of the dough until light can pass through.

Can these be made in advance?

Ideally these are best eaten the day they are fried. However, they can be shaped and the filling can be made, and then stored in the fridge, covered in a container, overnight and then fried in the morning. If you do this, leave them out of the fridge for an hour or two until they become nice and puffy.

You may also like…

• Cherry Strudel
• Cherry Sweet Rolls – Kirschschnecken
• Vanille Krapfen

Tips for making Fried German Doughnuts

• Don’t stop stirring the cherry filling! While it is cooking, you need to stir it constantly to prevent any clumps from forming or the cherries from burning!
• Make sure all dough ingredients are at room temperature. For more tips on yeasted dough, refer to this Yeasted Dough Guide.
• When dividing and shaping the rolls, always start with the same portion of dough. This means that the first piece that is divided, is also the first to be shaped in a ball.
• Once shaped, place the rolls on lightly floured squares of parchment paper. This makes it easy to handle them once they are soft and fluffy and allows them to be easily transferred into the fry oil.
• It is important to fry the donuts between 350 F and 360 F. I find that 350 F is the best temperature that allows the center to be fully cooked without the outside burning. To keep the oil at the temperature be sure to keep a thermometer in the oil and I recommend heating it to 360 F. Then add in the donuts and the temperature will drop to around 350F.
• Fill the berliner with the cherry filling while they are still barely warm. This will allow you to fill in as much filling as possible because the dough will still be able to be squished.

Ingredients for the Spiced Dough

• All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for these! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
• Spices: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves come together in the dough to give these doughnuts a warm spiced flavor for the holidays.
• Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store. This recipe uses one full egg and one egg yolk. The egg yolk adds extra richness to the rolls.
• Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar in the dough as well as powdered sugar for the glaze.
• Milk: The berliner use milk as the liquid in the dough; however, they will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond or light coconut milk.
• Butter: The butter adds moisture to the buns as well as makes them softer! It’s important that the butter is at room temperature, otherwise it will cool down the dough and be difficult to incorporate.
• Yeast: In this recipe, either active dry or instant yeast will work. If using active dry yeast I recommend letting it bloom first just to give it a head start.
• Vanilla extract: I like to add a teaspoon of vanilla to give the buns extra flavor.
• Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil or Canola oil are used to fry the berliner, I believe avocado oil may work as well but I haven’t tested it.

Ingredients for the Red Tart Cherry Filling

• Sugar: Granulated sugar is added to the filling to give a little sweetness to the Red Tart Cherries and help the mixture hold together.
• Corn Starch: Corn starch is added in the filling to thicken it but arrow root starch will also work as a 1:1 substitution.
• Lemon Juice: Lemon juice acts to enhance the cherry flavor while also balancing out the sweetness of the sugar.
• Red Tart Cherries: If it isn’t obvious yet, my favorite Red Tart Cherries are from Oregon Fruit!

How to make Cherry Filled Doughnuts

Red Tart Cherry Filling

• Drain two cans of Oregon Fruit Red Tart Cherries and reserve the liquid.
• In a sauce pot, whisk the cornstarch and sugar together.
• Pour in the lemon juice and whisk again.
• Add in the 50 milliliters of cherry juice and whisk again.
• Pour the drained cherries into the pot and use a rubber spatula to stir together.
• Place over medium (to medium-high) heat and cook, stirring constantly, until it starts to bubble and has thickened. Once bubbling, turn the heat to just medium and cook for another 5 minutes – this will ensure the cornstarch is fully cooked through.
• Pour into a separate bowl and set aside to cool fully.

Make the dough

• Start by warming the milk until it is just warm to the touch – it should not exceed 100º F.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the flour, spices, yeast, and sugar. Then whisk it together by hand.
• Add in the warmed milk, egg and egg yolk, butter, and vanilla extract. Knead the mixture with the dough hook on the stand mixer for 20 minutes on low speed until it is smooth and the bowl is clean.
• Remove the dough and shape it into a ball.
• Lightly grease the mixing bowl that you were just using and place the ball of dough back in. Then cover the bowl with a towel or plastic and place somewhere warm for 30-45 min. The dough should double in size.

Shape the Doughnuts

• Start heating up the oil to 350º F in a large heavy bottomed pot.
• After the dough has grown, divide it into 12 equal portions.
• As you go, shape each portion into a ball by first flattening it slightly into a disk and then tucking all the edges of the disk under.
• Shape your hand into a claw over the ball of dough with the smooth side face up. Roll the ball around in your hand on a clean work surface to create tension on the dough and seal the seam on the bottom of the ball.
• Place each roll onto a well-floured baking sheet. Cover with plastic to prevent them from forming a skin or drying out.
• Leave the rolls to rest for 30 minutes somewhere warm to proof. They should double in size and become puffy.

Fry the Doughnuts

• Place a wire rack on a baking sheet and lay 2 layers of paper towel on top of the rack.
• Once the doughnuts have grown, use a slotted spoon or a spider to carefully lower the proofed dough into the hot oil. Don’t fry more than 3 at a time to avoid lowering the temperature more than 10 degrees.
• Fry them on each side for 2 minutes. Use the spoon to carefully flip them over by pressing down on one side. Then fry for another 2 minutes.
• Once 4 minutes are up use the slotted spoon to remove the berliner from the oil.
• Place the fried doughnuts onto the paper towel lined rack to drain off any excess oil. Allow the oil to reheat to 350º F if necessary, before adding in another batch of berliner.

Make the Glaze and fill the Doughnuts

• In a medium mixing bowl, add in the powdered sugar and reserved cherry juice. Whisk together to create a thick glaze – it should be almost peanut butter thickness.
• Use a small knife to poke a hole in the side of each doughnut. Fill a piping bag with the cooled cherry filling and pipe it into each doughnut until no more will fit.
• Pour the glaze over the top and enjoy immediately!

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