Crispy Strawberry Glazed Crullers Made with Choux
Strawberry Glazed French Crullers are a real treat! They're made from choux pastry, also called pâte à choux, fried until golden brown outside with a light, airy inside…
- Prep
- 30 mins
- Cook
- 24 mins
- Total
- 54 mins
- Makes
- 18 servings
These Strawberry Glazed French Crullers are a real treat! Made from choux pastry, also called pâte à choux, they're fried to golden brown on the outside and stay light and airy inside. Topped with a homemade strawberry glaze and a dusting of strawberry sugar, they're a must-make for summer or any time of year!
Strawberry season is nearly here, so I couldn't think of a better recipe to share! I began testing these strawberry glazed crullers back in 2019. After six rounds of testing, I set them aside and forgot all about them until now!
This recipe calls for just ten ingredients, including both fresh and freeze-dried strawberries. The choux pastry comes together fairly quickly, and the dough doesn't need to be chilled. What you get is a light, airy, golden brown, strawberry-flavored breakfast treat!
What Is Choux Pastry?
Choux pastry, also called pâte à choux or puff pastry, is a dough or paste made from simple ingredients like milk, water, bread flour, sugar, butter, and eggs.
Choux pastry contains no leaveners such as yeast, baking powder, or baking soda. Rather, the steam from the eggs as they cook creates its puffy, hollow texture.
Equipment You'll Need
For the Crullers
- Food Scale (preferred) or Measuring Cups
- Medium Saucepan
- Mixing Bowl (for the bread flour)
- Wooden Spoon (preferred) or Spatula
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- Piping Bag and Open Star Tip (such as the Wilton 1M)
- Parchment Paper
- Deep Fryer, Deep Skillet, or Large Saucepan
- Candy Thermometer (only needed with a deep skillet or large saucepan)
- Tongs
- Wire Cooling Rack and Paper Towels
For the Strawberry Glaze and Strawberry Sugar
- Mixing Bowls
- Compact Food Chopper or Food Processor
- Sifter (only for the glaze)
Helpful Tips for Making Crullers
Here are a few of my top tips for making these strawberry glazed french crullers!
Get your ingredients and workspace ready. Before you start, weigh or measure everything, set out your tools, and cut your parchment paper squares.
Don't skip the parchment paper squares. They're absolutely necessary for moving the crullers into the hot oil. Lightly spray them with baking spray so the crullers don't stick to the paper. Don't worry, they peel off easily after a minute of frying.
Use a ruler and a glass. Measure out 4″ x 4″ parchment squares with a ruler so they all match. I cut mine from a half-size, 12″ x 16″ sheet of parchment.
If piping perfect cruller circles is tricky (it was for me too), trace your circles with a glass. Just flip the paper over first so you aren't piping batter onto the pen or pencil lines.
Beat out the steam. I like using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to beat the steam out of the paste so it cools before the eggs go in.
Add the eggs one at a time. Make sure each egg is completely mixed in before you add the next.
Check the choux. Once all four large eggs are in, the pâte à choux should look smooth and glossy, with a thick, elastic texture.
To check that the choux is ready for piping, pull a bit of dough between your finger and thumb. It should stretch 1-2 inches before it breaks.
Use a deep fryer. It isn't required, but I strongly recommend one for these crullers because it holds a steady temperature while frying.
A deep skillet or large saucepan works fine too, but you need to keep an eye on the oil temperature with a candy or digital thermometer. Don't guess.
Leave the parchment squares on. Only for about 45 seconds, though. Peeling them off right away can make the dough stick and pull away with the paper.
Set up a discard bowl for the used parchment. I drop the squares into a bowl while I fry, then throw them out at the end. That way I'm not walking back and forth to the trash with oil dripping everywhere.
Let the crullers cool a little. Once they're all fried, set them on a wire rack for a bit so excess oil can drain. Then dip each one in the strawberry glaze and sprinkle on the strawberry sugar.
More Breakfast Treats to Enjoy!
If you make these Strawberry Glazed French Crullers or anything else from my site, please give them a star rating and tell me how they turned out in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by!
Crispy Strawberry Glazed Crullers Made with Choux
Strawberry Glazed French Crullers are a real treat! Made from choux pastry, also called pâte à choux, they're fried until golden brown outside and stay light and airy inside. Topped with a homemade strawberry glaze and a dusting of strawberry sugar, they're a must-make for summer or any time of year!
- Prep
- 30 mins
- Cook
- 24 mins
- Total
- 54 mins
- Makes
- 18 servings
Ingredients
French Crullers
- ½ cup Water
- ½ cup Whole Milk
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
- 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 1/3 cup Bread Flour
- 4 Large Eggs
- Vegetable or Canola Oil, for frying – enough for a deep fryer or to fill a deep skillet halfway
Strawberry Glaze
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup Fresh Strawberries, cut and mashed or pureed
- 3-4 tbsp Whole Milk
Strawberry Sugar (optional)
- 1/2 cup Freeze Dried Strawberries, processed into fine strawberry bits
- 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
Method
- Cut parchment paper into 18 squares, each 4” x 4”. If you like, trace a circle of about 3 – 3 1/2 inches in diameter onto each one with a glass. Set them aside.
- Combine the water, whole milk, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil, taking care that it doesn't boil over.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the bread flour vigorously with a wooden spoon until fully combined. Return it to medium-high heat and keep stirring, pressing the paste against the sides of the pan until it is thick and smooth. In a nonstick pan, it should pull cleanly away from the sides and leave no film behind.
- Move the paste to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until the steam has stopped rising and the paste has cooled slightly (about 4-5 minutes).
- Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is fully absorbed into the batter before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl between eggs. The batter is ready for piping when it looks smooth and glossy and has a thick, elastic texture. There are two ways to check: lift the paddle out of the batter, and it should form a V shape without breaking. Or pinch some batter between your finger and thumb and stretch it about 1-2 inches. If it doesn’t break, it's ready.
- Spoon the dough into a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Lightly spray a large baking sheet with baking spray. Set each parchment square onto the sheet and give each one a light spray too. Place the squares marked side down so you aren't piping directly onto the pen or pencil lines. Don't worry, you can still see the circle you traced.
- Pipe a ring of dough onto each square, closing each circle completely. Set them aside.
- Prep your deep fryer, deep skillet, or large saucepan by heating vegetable or canola oil to 370ºF. For a skillet or saucepan, fill it halfway with at least 2”-3” of oil and watch the temperature with a candy or digital thermometer.
- Once the oil hits 370ºF, slide 2-3 crullers, still on their paper, into the oil paper side up. Fry for about 45 seconds, then lift off the paper with tongs.
- Fry each cruller for 2-3 minutes per side, until medium golden brown. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to carefully move them to a wire rack lined with paper towels to cool and drain. A large baking sheet placed underneath the towels works well too.
- Once the crullers are cool enough to handle, dip each one in the strawberry glaze, sprinkle with strawberry sugar, and return it to the rack. You can also swap the paper towels for parchment before glazing.
- These strawberry glazed french crullers taste best right away, but they can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 more day.
- Puree the sliced strawberries in a food chopper or processor and set them aside. You can also mash them in a bowl with a spoon.
- Add the sifted powdered sugar, fresh pureed strawberries, and whole milk to a medium mixing bowl. Start with 3 tablespoons and add one more tablespoon if needed. Whisk until smooth and well blended.
- Process the freeze-dried strawberries into fine bits in a food chopper or processor. Add the granulated sugar and pulse to combine. It keeps well in an airtight container.
Baker’s notes
- Fry each cruller for 2-3 minutes on one side, then 2-3 minutes on the other, for a total of 4-6 minutes. Mine did well at 2 minutes per side. They should come out medium golden brown, light, and puffy.
- The 24 minute cook time noted is based on frying 3 crullers at a time for 2 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other, for a total of 4 minutes.
- Cook time will change depending on how many crullers fry at once and how long each one fries.
- The strawberry sugar garnish is optional.
