Strawberry Glazed French Crullers are where it's at! They're made with a choux pastry, also known as pâte à choux, that's fried to a nice golden brown on the outside with a light and airy delicious inside. Dipped in a homemade strawberry glaze and sprinkled with strawberry sugar, these are a definite must-make for summer or any time of the year!
Many thanks to my friends over at LACTAID® for partnering with me on this Strawberry Glazed French Crullers recipe! All opinions and views expressed in this blog post are 100% my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that help make Beyond the Butter® possible!
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Recipe Overview: Strawberry Glazed Crullers
With the strawberry season almost upon us, I couldn't think of a better recipe to share with you! I started testing this strawberry glazed crullers recipe back in 2019. After 6 different tests, I had set it to the side only to forget about it—until now!
This recipe uses only 10 ingredients, one of which includes a new ingredient I'm sharing with you today—LACTAID® Whole Milk!
It's 100% real milk that's made without lactose, allowing you to enjoy real milk without discomfort. And as someone that has been experiencing dairy sensitivity issues off and on for almost 2 years now, LACTAID® has been a godsend!
The choux pastry comes together pretty quickly, there is no chilling of the dough, and the result is a light and airy, golden brown, strawberry-flavored sweet breakfast treat!
What is Choux Pastry?
Choux pastry, also known as pâte à choux or puff pastry, is a dough or paste that is made using basic ingredients such as milk, water, bread flour, sugar, butter, and eggs.
There are no leavening agents like yeast, baking powder, baking soda used in choux pastry. Instead, it uses the steam produced during cooking and the eggs to create the puffy and hollowed texture.
Tools 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 and Paddle Attachment
- Piping Bag and Open Star Decorating Tip (such as the Wilton 1M)
- Parchment Paper
- Deep Fryer, Deep Skillet, or Large Saucepan
- Candy Thermometer (only if using a deep skillet or large saucepan)
- Tongs
- Wire Cooling Rack and Paper Towels
For the Strawberry Glaze and Strawberry Sugar
- Mixing Bowls
- Small Food Chopper or Food Processor
- Sifter (only for the glaze)
Helpful Tips for Making Strawberry Glazed French Crullers
Below are a few of my best tips for making strawberry glazed crullers!
Prep your ingredients and workspace. I recommend having your ingredients weighed and/or measured out, your baking tools prepped and ready, and your parchment paper squares cut out before starting.
Don't skip the parchment paper squares. They're absolutely necessary for transferring the crullers to the hot oil. It's best to spray them a little with some baking spray too to avoid them sticking to the paper. Don't worry, they'll peel off pretty easily after a minute of frying.
Use a ruler and a glass. To create your 4" x 4" parchment paper squares, use a ruler so they're all the same size. I used my half size, 12" x 16" parchment paper for my squares.
And if you struggle with piping out circles (like me), I highly suggest using a glass to trace out your circles. Just make sure to flip them over so you're not piping the batter onto the pen or pencil markings.
Beat the steam out. I prefer to use stand mixer and paddle attachment to beat the steam out of the paste so it cools down before adding in the eggs.
Add the eggs in one at a time. And make sure each egg is fully incorporated into the dough before adding in the next one.
Testing the choux. After adding in the 4 large eggs, the pâte à choux should be smooth and glossy in appearance and thick and elastic-like in texture.
To test to make sure your choux pastry is ready for piping, stretch some of the dough between your pointer finger and thumb. It should stretch between 1-2 inches before breaking.
Use a deep fryer. While not required, I do highly recommend using an air fryer for this strawberry glazed french crullers recipe because it will keep the same temperature as you fry the crullers.
Using a deep skillet or large saucepan will work fine as well, but you will need to monitor the oil temperature with a candy or digital thermometer. Do not just guess.
Leave the parchment paper squares on. Well, only for about 45 seconds. If you try to remove them immediately after placing them into the hot oil, they may stick pulling the batter with it.
Have a discard bowl for the parchment paper. I place all the used parchment paper squares into a bowl as I fry the crullers. Then I discard them when finished. This way I'm not running back and forth to the trash can dripping oil everywhere.
Let the crullers cool a little. After drying all of the crullers, let them cool a bit on a wire cooling rack. This will also allow any excess oil to drain off. Then dip them into the homemade strawberry glaze and sprinkle them with a little strawberry sugar.
More Breakfast Sweets to Enjoy!
Strawberry Glazed French Crullers
Author:Ingredients
French Crullers
- ½ cup Water
- ½ cup LACTAID® Whole Milk
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter
- 2 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ⅓ cup Bread Flour
- 4 Large Eggs
- Vegetable or Canola Oil, for frying (enough for a deep fryer or to fill a deep skillet half way)
Strawberry Glaze
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup Fresh Strawberries, cut and mashed or pureed
- 3-4 tablespoon LACTAID® Whole Milk
Strawberry Sugar (optional)
- ½ cup Freeze Dried Strawberries, processed into fine strawberry bits
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
Instructions
French Crullers
- Cut parchment paper into 18, 4” x 4” squares. Using a glass, trace a circle roughly 3 - 3 ½ inches in diameter onto each one (optional). Set aside.
- Add the water, LACTAID® whole milk, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and salt to a medium-sze saucepan. Stirring together over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a oil, being careful that it doesn’t boil over the top.
- Remove the mixture from heat and add in the bread flour, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until well combined. Then return to a medium-high heat to continue to stir and press into the sides of the pan until the paste is thick and smooth. If you’re using a non-stick pan, it should easily pull away from the sides of the saucepan leaving no film.
- Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat the mixture on medium speed until all of the steam dissipates from the batter and has cooled slightly (about 4-5 minutes).
- Add in the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg has fully absorbed into the batter. Scrape down the sides the bowl in between adding each egg. The batter will be ready for piping when it is smooth and glossy in appearance and thick, and elastic-like in texture. You can test this in two ways: lift up your paddle attachment from the batter. It should form a V shape without breaking. The other way is to take some of the batter between your pointer finger and thumb, stretching it out to about 1-2 inches. If it doesn’t break it’s good to go.
- Transfer the dough into large piping bag fitted with the large star decorating tip. Lightly spray a large baking sheet with baking spray. Then place each parchment square out on to the baking sheet and lightly spray each square with the baking spray. Make sure to place the parchment paper squares pen or pencil marking side down so you're not piping directly onto it. Don't worry, you will still be able to see the circle you traced.
- Pipe a ring of dough onto each square, making sure to close each circle. Set to the side.
- Prep your deep fryer, deep skillet, or large saucepan, heating the vegetable or canola oil to 370ºF. If using a deep skillet or saucepan, fill pan halfway with at least 2”-3” of oil and use a candy or digital thermometer to monitor the temperature.
- Once oil has reached 370ºF, place 2-3 crullers (with paper) into oil paper-side up. Let the crullers fry for about 45 seconds before removing the paper with tongs.
- Fry each cruller for 2-3 minutes per side, or until medium golden brown. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, carefully remove the crullers from the oil and place onto a wire cooling rack that's lined with paper-towel to cool and drain. You can also have a large baking sheet underneath the paper towels.
- When crullers are somewhat cool to the touch, dip them into the strawberry glaze, sprinkle with strawberry sugar, then place back onto the cooling rack. You can also swap out the paper towels for parchment paper before starting the glazing.
- These strawberry glazed french crullers are best enjoyed immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 additional day.
Homemade Strawberry Glaze
- Using a food chopper or processor, puree the sliced strawberries. Set to the side.You can also add them to a bowl and smoosh them down using a spoon.
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, add in the sifted powdered sugar, fresh pureed strawberries, and LACTAID® whole milk. I recommend starting with 3 tablespoons and, if needed, add in the additional tablespoon. Whisk together until well blended.
Strawberry Sugar
- Using a food chopper or processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into fine bits. Add in the granulated sugar and pulse to combine. Can be stored in an airtight container.
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