Try homemade berry fritters the next time a doughnut craving hits! Based off of the popular apple fritters, this summery fried berry fritter combines a soft yeasted dough, blueberries, and a creamy strawberry glaze made from real strawberries.
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
While brainstorming new recipes to try recently, my brain kept going back to monkey bread. I don’t know how or why, but I have a feeling it was the cinnamon-sugar-butter-dough that kept my mind racing and stomach growling. I used it as inspiration for a totally new recipe—perhaps a doughnut that has the same pull-apart style as monkey bread?
Yes, that’s what I’ll do.
I had never made fritters until recently, but I consider myself a pro at traditional glazed doughnuts. Apple fritters are pretty popular in the fall season, so I decided to put a summery spin on things. Bakers, meet my homemade berry fritters.
What are Fritters?
Fritters are deep-fried pull-apart style cakes of dough. The shaping process seems like it would be complicated, but there’s really no precise technique required. I’ll get to that in a minute. Apple fritters are the most common variety, but there’s also blueberry fritters, banana fritters, and even shrimp and clam fritters! After frying, the sweet varieties are usually dusted with sugar or dunked into glaze.
The term “fritters” can also refer to little savory cakes such as zucchini fritters, corn fritters, or these zucchini sweet potato fritters. Today we’re talking about doughnut-variety fritters, a warm breakfast indulgence popular at doughnut shops. They’re VERY good. (Obviously!)
Use My Favorite Yeasted Doughnut Dough
To start, let’s revisit my favorite doughnut dough. This is a rich, buttery dough that requires yeast for its rise. Don’t be nervous, this is actually a very straightforward dough recipe. Let’s walk through each ingredient:
- Yeast: Start with quality yeast. Like usual, I use Platinum Yeast from Red Star. Platinum Yeast from Red Star is an instant yeast that builds a stronger, taller, more voluminous dough. (Here are all the advantages of using Platinum Yeast!) If you don’t have Platinum Yeast, Red Star Active Dry or Quick Rise Yeast works too. Review my Baking with Yeast Guide before getting started if you need a little refresher.
- Sugar: I increased the sugar from my glazed doughnuts recipe. I found that the fritter-style doughnut required a little more sugar in the dough.
- Whole Milk: Liquid activates the yeast. Nondairy or low fat milks work too, but whole milk produces phenomenal flavor and texture.
- Melted Butter: I swear by using melted butter in doughnut dough! You could use softened butter, but melted butter really infuses the dough with its flavor.
- Eggs: 2 eggs make this a very rich, brioche-style doughnut fritter.
- Flour: Flour is the entire structure of the berry fritters. You can use bread flour or all-purpose flour, but I find all-purpose flour yields a softer fritter interior. When it comes to flour, less is more. The dough is a little sticky and you’ll be tempted to add more flour as you mix it together, but resist that temptation! You want a soft, pillowy dough which produces a soft, pillowy fritter interior.
- Salt, Vanilla Extract, & Nutmeg: Each add wonderful flavor. Nutmeg may seem a little out of place here, but I promise it’s not. Nutmeg is a VERY common ingredient in most doughnut recipes. I guarantee your favorite doughnut shop uses it because the spice adds that familiar cozy comforting bakery taste. I promise!
Baking with Yeast Guide
Whether you’re a beginner baker or pro, it’s important to understand how yeast works. I urge you to read through my Baking with Yeast Guide where I answer many common yeast questions. I wrote this in partnership with Red Star Yeast, so you can be confident the information is very helpful. 🙂
How to Make Berry Fritters
- Make the Dough: The dough comes together with a mixer. You can also make the dough by hand, but it requires a bit of arm muscle. After the dough comes together in the mixing bowl, it’s time to knead. You can simply continue beating the dough with the mixer for this step or you can knead the dough by hand.
- Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. Reference my How to Knead Dough video tutorial for extra help with this step.
- Let the Dough Rise: The dough rises in about 1-2 hours in a relatively warm environment.
- Roll out the Dough: Roll the dough out into an oval shape, about 1/2 inch thick.
- Fold the Dough: Fold the dough over the blueberries and seal the edges, as if you were making a calzone or hot pocket of sorts.
- Shape the Dough: Mold the dough into a log, making sure the edges are totally sealed. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into about 12 even strips, then cut 4-5 perpendicular strips to make a cross pattern of sorts. This is NOT an exact process, so don’t stress. You really just need a bunch of small pieces of blueberry-filled dough!
- Cut the Shaped Dough into Fritters: Divide the cut-up dough into 12 even pieces. Mold each into a round shape.
- Let the Shaped Fritters Rest: Place the shaped fritters on a lined baking sheet, then cover and allow to rest as you heat the oil.
- Heat the Oil: Heat oil to to 350°F (177°C).
- Fry the Fritters: Fry berry fritters for 1-2 minutes on each side.
And now some pictures! Shape the dough into a large oval and top half with blueberries. Go light on the blueberries. If you use too many, they’ll just fall out of the frying fritters and burn. You can also use blackberries or chopped strawberries. I recommend fresh blueberries because they aren’t as juicy. Frozen berries or juicier berries make this dough a mess!
Fold it over like a calzone:
Make a bunch of cuts vertically and horizontally:
Divide into 12 pieces, round them out, then cover and let them rest:
Let’s Fry Them!
You need a large heavy-bottomed pot. This oil gets VERY hot, so a heavy-bottomed, quality pot is the safest choice. I usually use my 5.5 quart dutch oven. Pour a quart or 2 of oil into your pot. You want at least 2-3 inches of oil—don’t let it come more than halfway up the pot. Use a candy/oil thermometer to heat the oil to 350°F (177°C).
Cook a couple berry fritters at a time, only about 1-2 minutes on each side. Some of the blueberries may come loose and float around in the oil. That’s par for the course! Just discard them since they’ll taste burnt. After frying the berry fritters, use a slotted metal spoon or metal spatula to place the fritters on a wire rack. Let some of the oil drip off, then once they’re cool enough to handle, dunk each fritter into strawberry glaze.
Once you’ve mastered the frying here, you’ll be set to try your hand at homemade funnel cakes!
Strawberry Glaze
If there’s an opportunity for pink strawberry glaze, let’s take it.
As the berry fritters are cooling, process a few fresh strawberries into a purée. Once liquified, pour over confectioners’ sugar, then add milk or heavy cream and vanilla extract. Whisk together until smooth, then let each fritter take a nice dip!
Most of the berry flavor comes from this glaze, so I don’t recommend skipping it or switching flavors. Instead of strawberries, you can use blackberries or raspberries. Blueberries aren’t quite as juicy, so I don’t recommend using them for the glaze topping.
Like big giant berry pillows! Would love to know if you try these.
Print
Homemade Berry Fritters
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 large fritters
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: American
Description
This sweet summery fried fritter combines a soft yeasted dough, blueberries, and a creamy strawberry glaze made from real strawberries.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F*
- 1 Tablespoon Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast*
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- 1 and 1/2 cups (225g) fresh mixed berries* (see note)
- 1 – 2 quarts oil*
Strawberry Glaze
- 2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup chopped strawberries (about 5 large strawberries)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining 7 Tablespoons of sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla extract, salt, nutmeg, and 1 cup flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If needed, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t add too much flour, though. You want a slightly sticky dough. *If you do not own a mixer, you can mix this dough with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle!*
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5-7 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5-7 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and with lightly floured hands, flatten the dough into a long oval about 1/2 inch thick. You can use a rolling pin if needed, but your hands should be able to stretch it out just fine. Spread blueberries onto half of the dough, as pictured above. Fold the dough over the blueberries, then seal the edges. Using your hands, work the dough into an even log, making sure the edges are totally sealed. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into about 12 even strips, then cut 4-5 perpendicular strips to make a cross pattern of sorts. This is NOT an exact process, so don’t stress. You really just need a bunch of small pieces of blueberry-filled dough! Divide the cut-up dough into 12 even pieces. Mold each into a round shape and try to “enclose” the blueberries inside the dough as much as you can. (They’ll fall out of the fritters otherwise.) Place the shaped fritters on a lined baking sheet, then cover and allow to rest as you heat the oil. They will rise a bit as they rest.
- Place a cooling rack on a large baking sheet. Set aside.
- Pour oil into a large heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat. Using a candy/oil thermometer, heat the oil to 350°F (177°C). This will take several minutes. Add 2 fritters at a time and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Wear kitchen gloves if oil is splashing. Carefully remove with a metal spatula or metal slotted spoon. Place fritters onto prepared rack. Repeat with remaining fritters, then turn off the heat.* Some blueberries may come loose in the oil. Discard those since they’ll taste burnt.
- Let the fritters cool for a few minutes as you prepare the glaze.
- Strawberry Glaze: Place confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside. Purée the strawberries in a food processor. Scrape down the sides if needed. If they aren’t pureeing into a liquid, add 1 Tablespoon of the heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk you are using in the glaze. Once liquefied, pour over confectioners’ sugar, then add the cream/milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. If needed, add more cream/milk to thin out or more confectioners’ sugar to thicken.
- Dunk each fritter into glaze. Place back onto prepared rack for excess glaze to drip down. The glaze will eventually set on the fritters after about 20-30 minutes.
- Fritters are best enjoyed the same day. Cover and store leftovers at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Prepare recipe through step 5. Freeze shaped fritters for up to 3 months. On the day you serve them, let the fritters thaw and rest at room temperature for about 4-5 hours. Fry as directed. You can also freeze the fried fritters (unglazed). Allow them to cool completely, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired and top with glaze.
- Overnight Instructions: Complete dough through step 3. Instead of allowing to rise in a warm environment in step 4, place the covered dough into the refrigerator overnight (8-12 hours). The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise in a warm environment until doubled. The dough will lightly rise in the refrigerator overnight, so the rise the next morning won’t be too long. After rising, continue with step 5.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer | Whisk | Large Glass Mixing Bowl | Bench Scraper | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack | Large Heavy-Bottomed Pot (like this 5.5-quart Dutch Oven or this 6-quart Dutch Oven | Candy Thermometer
- Yeast: Platinum Yeast from Red Star is an instant yeast. You can use Red Star Yeast active dry yeast instead. Rise times will be slightly longer using active dry yeast. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Berries: Go light on the blueberries in the dough—1 and 1/2 cups is plenty. If you use too many, they’ll just fall out of the frying fritters and burn. You can also use blackberries or chopped strawberries. I recommend fresh blueberries because they aren’t as juicy. Frozen berries or juicier berries make this dough a mess! Instead of strawberries for the glaze, you can use fresh or frozen (thawed) raspberries or blackberries. Blueberries aren’t ideal for the glaze because they don’t purée as well.
- Oil: I recommend using vegetable oil. The amount of oil really depends on how wide or tall your pot is. You want oil to fill about 1/3 of the pot. I use a little more than 1 quart for my 5.5 quart Dutch oven.
- Halve: You can easily halve this recipe for 6 large fritters. I don’t recommend doubling the recipe. Instead, make two separate batches of dough.
- Leftover Oil: Do not pour used oil down the sink drain. Allow to cool, then pour into an empty container and discard in the trash.
Hello do you have an Apple fritter recipe? Thx
Hi Felicia, for an apple fritter variation, we’d recommend using diced apples (your favorite kind) in place of the blueberries. You could toss them in cinnamon and even play with adding some cinnamon to the dough if you’d like. Let us know what you try!
This recipe turned out terrible followed to a t. So far only one from this site has turned out well. Disappointing.
Hi! Can you provide more feedback? I would love to help troubleshoot what went wrong. Which other recipes have been disappointing?
Is there a way to freeze the fritter with the glaze on?
Hi Mal, it’s best to freeze the fritters without the glaze. The glaze doesn’t thaw nicely, so it’s better to let them thaw, reheat, and then cover with the glaze.
Help! I made this and everything was great until I fried them. They got really dark, yet they were raw on the inside. My oil was 350°, they proofed and rose beautifully. I used blueberries and made the strawberry glaze exactly as the recipe stated. I am very befuddled.
Everyone in my family love love love the fresh strawberry sauce !
I made them according to your recipe however they were doughy in the middle even after frying for 2 minutes. I was afraid they might get too tough if I fried them longer.
Any pointers would be appreciated.
Hi Nana, did they seem to set up the longer they cooled? If you try the recipe again, you can slightly lower the temperature of the oil and cook them for an extra minute or 2.
Hi Sally,
I don’t know if you take requests but I would love if you made an apple fitter recipe. You’re the only one I trust with baking recipes.
Hi Sandra, for an apple fritter variation, we’d recommend using diced apples (your favorite kind) in place of the blueberries. You could toss them in cinnamon and even play with adding some cinnamon to the dough if you’d like. Let us know what you try!
I just finished making this recipe after we went strawberry picking yesterday. I subbed strawberries for the blueberries since they’re so fresh and they are delicious! My only issue is that the glaze came out more like a sauce. It has made the fritters soggy and doesn’t set. The berries were probably so juicy that there ended up being too much liquid. It would be great to note in the recipe the measurement of strawberry purée as opposed to JUST the amount of strawberries since the density and quality of fruit varies so much. Oh well, I guess this just means we’ll have to eat them all today ;).
Fantastic
Just made this recipe with apples. They are absolutely delicious!!
What amount of diced apples did you use when making apple fritters
So good and so fun to make! We ended up with mini fritters because some broke apart when we fried them, no problem though- who does love doughnut holes? We did blueberries on the inside but subbed raspberries for the glaze. Incredible!
Hi Sally, This recipe was absolute perfection! My daughter loves apple (cinnamon) fritters, and I was thinking about making one for her. Is there a modification to turn it into an apple fritter rather than berry?
Hi Alison, we’d recommend using diced apples (your favorite kind) in place of the blueberries. You could toss them in cinnamon and even play with adding some cinnamon to the dough if you’d like. We’d love to know if you give it a try!
I love all your recipes and am excited to try these. Do you think this can be doubled? I am individually packaging them for some nurses and need 18.
Hi Maurissa! We don’t recommend doubling the recipe. Instead, make two separate batches of dough. Hope they’re a hit!
Hi! This recipe is amazing!! My famoly enjoyed it so much!
When i made them it didn’t go like the recipe when i was forming the bits of bluberry dough. They wouldn’t stick together, they kept falling apart. I wondering what happened? The blueberries would pop out and the dough wouldn’t stick together. So we turned them in to doughnut bites.
I’m making them again soon and I’m wondering how i can get the dough pieces to stick together?
Thanks!
Hi Natalie, thank you so much for trying these fritters. I wonder if there was too much flour in your dough, which is why the pieces weren’t really adhering and all the blueberries kept falling out. When you try them again, try reducing the flour down to 3 and 3/4 cups. A softer dough should stick much better. Also– a note– go light on the blueberries. If you use too many, they’ll just fall out of the frying fritters and burn.
Mine fell apart too. Made them fritter bites. They were really good. Will try reducing the flour next time. Do you cut them all the way through?
Do you know what settings to use if I wanted to make these in an air fryer instead of traditional deep frying?
if making a apple fritter what should I alter in the recipe (besides apples for the berries) and how much cinnamon would you use
Have you ever tried these in an air fryer or using the air fry setting on the oven? We are trying to reduce our fried foods but these look so good that I am looking for a healthier way to prepare them.
I haven’t tried that, Melissa. Let me know if you do!
If making with apples, would you use fresh apples or would you cook them first?
You can cook them down first if you’d like, but it’s not necessary.
If replacing berries with apples, what amount of apples would you use? What size should I dice the apples ?
Thanks! My son has been asking me to make Apple fritters and I trust your recipes
Thx Sally! I used your recipe to make Peach Fritters! I substituted 1 1/2 cups small diced fresh peaches (with skin) for berries. I dipped them in vanilla glaze. Delicious!!
These fritters look so delicious and I love your pretty strawberry glaze!
Does the glaze solidify or will it stay sticky? I can’t wait to try them!
Hi Abby! If applied lightly, the glaze will eventually set.
Sally, you have gotten me into so much trouble with this recipe! My husband rarely praises food (weird, I know) but when he loves something he tells me “feel free to make this anytime” and that was the first thing he said after tasting these the other day! Well I halved the recipe the other day, I made a full batch today and we can’t. Stop. Eating them! AND ITS BATHING SUIT SEASON! I just can’t believe how good and EASY these are! Also, this time I fried them for 2 full minutes on each side and had no issues with raw dough in the middle!
I just finished making/eating these! I halved the recipe though because there is only 2 of us (technically 3 counting my daughter but she’s only 1 so she is not eating fritters lol). They are soo good! The strawberry glaze. Omg. I want to put it on everything! I puréed a little extra strawberry and skipped the heavy cream. It was perfect! The only issue though, was the first 4 that I fried still have raw dough in the centre, which I didn’t know until after I dipped and went to try to eat one. The last 2 were fully cooked (and delicious). Since they already have glaze on them I obviously can’t refry them (not sure if I could anyways, it was only my second time frying anything). Do you know what I could do? I was thinking maybe bake them for a bit? Do you have any suggestions? Sorry for such a long comment lol
Hi Stephanie! Yep, pop them in the oven fora few minutes. That will help! I wonder if the oil wasn’t hot enough yet?!
I baked them at 350 for 8 minutes and it fixed them right up 🙂 honestly, it was just me! I used an oil thermometer so I knew the oil was at 350 but the fritters were turning golden brown when I flipped them at 1 minute so I figured they were good but the last 2 I left on each side for 2 full minutes.
Made these tonight for my dad’s birthday and they were so tasty! The strawberry glaze is literally to die for. Thank you so much for such an awesome recipe!
Hi Sally,
I was wondering if you have ever made the old fashioned sour cream donut?
Hi Iram! No, I haven’t. Here are all of my donut recipes though: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/category/breakfast-treats/donuts/
These sound delicious how would you make banana fritters?
Hi Nancy! Try caramelizing the bananas on the stove with a little brown sugar and cinnamon, then using those instead of blueberries.
Sally I love cherry Fritters we buy at the store. How can make them? Would I use frozen cherries or canned cherries?
Hi Hilde! I recommend fresh chopped cherries if you can get your hands on them. OR use the frozen cherries. The dough will get a little messy (and turn purple!) though.
Sally how would I make a plain glaze for them like the have in the bakery? It’s just a super light glaze not like a Frosting a clear light glaze? Wish you did a video on making Fritters .Nervous about trying it..
Hi Hilde! Use this glaze: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/how-to-make-homemade-glazed-doughnuts/
Do you think apples would work?
Yes, absolutely!
I was just about to type this.. so sally, knowing that apples carry a lot of liquid will that ruin. The consistency of the final product
Can these be baked instead of fried?
Hi Linda! You certainly can, but they will taste a little different and may puff up quite a bit. Frying is the best for this particular recipe!