Glazes make the perfect finishing touch for a donut. They add sweetness, sheen, and can add a complementary flavor to the donut. Try these yummy donut glazes to take your donuts from basic to beautiful.
Basic Donut Glaze
Sometimes you just want a glazed donut, and this simple glaze recipe adds a shiny finish and enticing sweetness. This is delicious on crullers, fritters, cake donuts, and deep fried donuts.
Ingredients
- 5 ⅓ tablespoons margarine or butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup hot water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and powdered sugar.
- Mix in the vanilla and hot water.
- After baking donuts, dip them one at time in the glaze or drizzle the glaze over top.
Maple Donut Glaze
Maple is a classic donut flavor, and it's super easy to make. Try it on a classic maple bar, or enjoy it on an apple fritter or a pumpkin cake donut.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine all ingredients.
- Mix until smooth and glossy.
- Drizzle over donuts.
Citrus Donut Glaze
Because donuts are so sweet, adding a citrus glaze can add an element of tartness that helps balance the sweet flavors of the donut. Lemon glaze is really delicious on blueberry donuts, and all of the citrus glazes are tasty on jelly donuts.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed citrus juice (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit), strained to remove pulp
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 drops orange, yellow, or green food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients until smooth.
- Drizzle on the donuts.
Orange Browned Butter Donut Glaze
When you brown butter, it gets a nice, nutty, toffee-like flavor. This is delicious on pumpkin donuts, or try it on a banana donut or an apple fritter.
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a large skillet, melt the butter on medium-high.
- Continue to cook, shaking the pan gently to stir, until the milk solids turn golden and the butter has a nutty smell, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Pour into a bowl and add the powdered, sugar, heavy cream, orange zest, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
- Dip donuts in the glaze or drizzle over the donuts.
Ginger Rum Donut Glaze
So you want a more grown-up version of a donut? Adding this delicious rum glaze is the perfect way to make your donuts way more interesting than the average donut. This works well with donuts that have tropical flavors like banana or pineapple, or with apple-filled donuts.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice or lime juice
- ½ cup dark rum
- 1 tablespoon grated gingerroot
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice, rum, and ginger root. Bring to a simmer over medium-heat. Turn off the heat and allow to steep for 20 minutes. Strain into a medium bowl discarding the ginger.
- Add the powdered sugar and sea salt. Whisk until smooth.
- Drizzle over the donuts or dip the donuts in the glaze.
Other Great Donut Glazes
Along with the original recipes above, you can also enjoy other recipes as donut glazes.
- Ice with chocolate ganache and dip in sprinkles or chopped nuts.
- Drizzle with peanut butter ganache and sprinkle with chopped peanuts (try it with chocolate donuts!)
- Use a classic vanilla icing as a base for yummy toppings such as shaved chocolate, dried fruits, cracked brittle, or chopped nuts.
Don't Forget to Glaze Your Donuts
Without some type of glaze or coating, donuts just seem unfinished. So whether you use one of these glazes or you sprinkle the donuts with powdered sugar, dip them in cinnamon sugar, or drizzle them with chocolate or white chocolate, don't forget to take that extra step for the perfect finished donut.
