Strawberry Cheesecake Donuts with Graham Cracker Crust

A fun and festive twist on a baked strawberry donut. Great for parties and baby or bridal showers.

*Easily adjust serving size to your liking by clicking the number under servings or with the boxes below in the ingredients section.

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 22

Cooling time 2

Total Time 3 22

Equipment

Ingredients

Cheesecake Frosting

▢ 1 block Cream Cheese block
▢ ¼ cup Sugar granulated
▢ 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
▢ 1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Powder optional but delicious!
▢ ½ cup Heavy Cream

Graham Cracker Crust

▢ 8 whole Graham Crackers sheets, about 2 cups
▢ ¼ cup Butter melted
▢ 1 tablespoon Sugar granulated

Strawberry Glaze

▢ 2 cups Powdered Sugar
▢ 1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Powder optional
▢ 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
▢ 1 tablespoon Strawberry Jam
▢ 1 tablespoon Milk
▢ 1-2 teaspoon Strawberry powder or a drop of red food coloring, for color

Garnishes (optional)

Instructions

Cheesecake Frosting

In a stand mixer equipped with a whisk attachment, blend cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and vanilla bean until fully incorporated. Gradually introduce heavy cream, starting at a low speed and gradually increasing to high. Whisk until the mixture achieves a fluffy consistency, typically around 1 minute.
Add the tip to the piping bag and position it in a tall glass or mason jar. Fold the back of the bag over the sides of the jar. Load the bag with frosting, utilizing the jar's sides to clean the frosting off of the spatula.
With care, maneuver the frosting towards the tip of the bag, ensuring no excess escapes. Seal the bag by twisting and tying it off or securing it with a rubber band. Refrigerate for 1-4 hours or until ready to serve the donuts

Graham Cracker Crust

Preheat the oven to 350F
Add the Graham crackers to a large ziplock bag and crush them with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin into small pieces. Add them to a baking sheet and bake with some of the melted butter and sugar; toss together; and bake for 8–10 minutes until golden brown.

For the Donuts

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, strawberry jam, vanilla, lemon zest, and melted butter. Whisk until combined. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, egg, and milk, and mix well until combined. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and fold into the wet mixture until combined, being careful not to overmix.
Spray the pans with cooking spray. Using a spoon, fill each mold ¾ full with the dough. Gently wet your fingers and spread the dough so it's even in each mold. Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of Graham cracker crust on top of the dough and gently press it into the dough.
Bake the donuts for 11–13 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes in the pan it was baked in, then carefully flip each donut upside down as you transfer the donuts to a baking sheet set up with a cooling rack. This setup will help catch any crumbs that fall from the crust. The top of the donut is now the bottom! Cool for 15–30 minutes, or until room temperature.
Combine powdered sugar, strawberry jam, vanilla bean, lemon zest, and milk until you have a smooth consistency. Dip each donut top, not the crust side, into the glaze up to where the crust begins. As you lift the donut from the glaze, turn the donut away from you to catch any glaze that is dripping. Then place it back on the cooling rack fitted into the baking sheet.
Optional: add your topping of choice to the glaze before it sets so that it sticks.
Allow the glaze to dry for 1 hour or until set. To speed up drying time, you can set the donuts in front of a fan. Keep the donuts on the cooling rack while they dry to keep the crust crispy.
Just before serving, remove the frosting from the refrigerator and pipe a little frosting into the center of the donut. Top with more toppings, if desired, and serve!

Notes

Why use mayonnaise in baked donuts? Mayonnaise helps to make the donuts extra moist when baked. There is no mayonnaise flavor in the donuts; it just helps to prevent the donuts from drying out.

Mixing tip: Folding the dry ingredients into the wet mixture is key to not over-mixing your dough. Mixing the dough too much will result in a dry, baked donut, so mix the dry ingredients with a spatula until just combined.

Drying Tip: Dry the glazed donuts in front of a fan to speed up drying the glaze.

STORAGE

Store frosted donuts covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. They will lose the crunch from the Graham cracker crust, but the cheesecake frosting does need to be refrigerated to prevent foodborne illness.

It is best to serve and eat these donuts within 4 hours of adding the cream cheese frosting.

If you don't add the cream cheese frosting, the donuts can be stored and covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!