Easter Egg Doughnuts are a fun Easter breakfast recipe! Everyone will love decorating the glazed donuts to look like Easter eggs. Fill them with jam, lemon curd, or your favorite cream filling!

🍩Filled Easter Donuts

Spring has finally sprung and we are in full Easter-mode here at SugarHero. I love the Easter holiday season. I love the meaning of the holiday, the time with friends and family, the cute decorations, must I go on? But what I love most about this holiday is all the tempting Easter goodies! Baskets full of candy and Sunday brunch anyone?

If you’re in the mood for something sweet and looking for juuuuust the right recipe to serve Sunday morning, have I got a doozy for you. Can I tempt you with homemade Easter Egg Donuts, with a bittersweet chocolate glaze and a filling of homemade lemon curd or raspberry jam? Oh good.

🐣More Easter goodies

If you’re EGG-cited about Easter baking don’t miss more of my egg-themed desserts like Marbled Easter Egg Truffles, Peanut Butter Easter Eggs, Easter Egg Sugar Cookies and Easter Egg Petit Fours with Tangerine Buttercream!

And, if you need more Easter inspiration for all things cute and cake-y, don’t miss my best-loved Easter cakes like my Easter Polka Dot Cake with Coconut ButtercreamEaster No-Bake Mini CheesecakesChocolate Easter Bunny Cake and Sugar Easter Egg Cake!

Table of Contents

🧾 What You’ll Need

easter-doughnuts-8

Ingredients

Using the best ingredients will result in the tastiest doughnuts. Here’s a few ingredient tips to help you gather what you’ll need. See the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

For the Donuts

  • Whole milk: Using milk with a high fat percentage will give the donuts the best flavor and texture.
  • Shortening: For fluffier doughnuts.
  • Butter and salt: I prefer to use unsalted butter in all my baking so that I can fine tune the amount of salt added. However, if you only have salted butter, use it and leave out the additional salt.
  • Yeast: You’ll need 1 package active dry yeast (.75 oz). It will help the dough to rise and make tender, fluffy donuts.
  • Warm water: The water will need to be slightly warmer than body temperature to start the yeast activation process. As the yeast sits in the warm water for a few minutes it will bloom and work as a leavener in the dough.
  • Egg: Make sure to use a large egg. It’s best to bring it to room temperature and beat it slightly before adding it to the mixture.
  • Sugar: Use granulated sugar for sweetness.
  • Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon gives the doughnuts a little boost in flavor.
  • All-purpose flour: Needed to give the doughnuts their structure. I recommend actually weighing the flour (and all of your ingredients!) for a more accurate result, but you can also spoon it into the measuring cup and gently level it off, if preferred.
  • Oil: I like to use vegetable oil or peanut oil for frying.
  • Fillings, optional: You can use your favorite fillings for these doughnuts. I used raspberry jam, pastry cream and lemon curd in mine. If you are short on time, they taste amazing plain, too.

For the Glazes

  • Butter: I used unsalted butter, but you could use salted without a problem in the glazes.
  • Whole milk: I like the flavor full-fat milk adds to the glazes.
  • Light corn syrup: To create a smooth glaze, use light corn syrup.
  • Vanilla extract: For excellent flavor, I used my favorite vanilla extract by Nielsen-Massey.
  • Bittersweet chocolate: Use a high quality brand of bittersweet chocolate that you enjoy the taste of. Chop it finely to make it easier to melt. I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao.
  • Powdered Sugar: This powdered sugar by C&H is my brand of choice! It’s made from cane sugar instead of beet sugar, and produces smooth, consistent results. Make sure to sift it into the glaze.
  • Gel food coloring: Americolor is my favorite brand of gel food coloring. I prefer gel food coloring to liquid food coloring because its more concentrated. You only need to use a little to get beautiful colors.
easter-doughnuts-3

Equipment

Make sure to have the right tools on hand when you start making these donuts. Here’s what you’ll need. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

  • Thermometer: To assure that your doughnuts cook evenly, I highly recommend using a thermometer to monitor the oil temperature. If you are new to using a thermometer, check out my guides for how to use a thermometer and how to test and calibrate a thermometer correctly.
  • Stand mixer: It’s much easier to mix the donut dough with a stand mixer.
  • Rolling pin: Use a simple rolling pin to flatten the dough before cutting out the Easter egg shapes.
  • Easter egg cutter: I learned the hard way not to make the doughnuts too big! I recommend using a 2″ egg shaped cutter for the perfect size doughnut.
  • Large pot or deep fryer: It’s best to fry in small batches. You’ll want a large pot or deep fryer that will accommodate 3-4 doughnuts at a time.
  • Slotted spoon or fry tool: When frying, I like to use a slotted spoon or fry tool to make it easier to flip the doughnuts and remove them from the hot oil.
  • Dowel or Bismarck tip: If you plan to fill the doughnuts, You’ll need a dowel (about 1/4 inch wide) or a Bismarck tip to create a pocket in the center of the donut.
  • Piping bag and tips: You’ll want some reusable piping bags since you’ll be working with multiple fillings and several glaze colors. You’ll also want a few piping tips. I used a 1/4 inch round tip to pipe the filling into the doughnuts. You’ll also need a small round tip for the glaze Easter egg decorations. I recommend using a #2 round piping tip.
easter-doughnuts-7

💡 Tips and FAQs

Everyone needs a little help sometimes. Here are a couple of tips to help you make the best looking and tasting Easter Donuts.

Can I make bigger egg shaped doughnuts?

The first time I made these, I got a little carried away and accidentally made giant doughnut eggs the size of my face. I used a 3″ cutter, and they were fun for novelty value, but NOT the look I was going for.

So here’s a little tip from hard-won experience. The doughnuts will rise after you cut them, and they’ll puff up even more once they’re fried. So unless you want ridiculous ostrich-sized doughnut eggs, stick with a cutter that’s about 2-inches long. I definitely wouldn’t go any bigger than 2.5-inches. The eggs will look teensy, but they’ll be the perfect 4-bite doughnuts that will make people feel okay about eating 2, 3, or 4 of them in a row.

What can I make with dough scraps?

Doughnut holes, of course! You can take the scrap dough and cut it into small pieces. Then once they’re fried immediately toss them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. Super simple and way too easy to pop in your mouth as you’re endlessly piping egg decorations. Not that I know anything about that.

What else can the doughnuts be filled with?

I filled my donuts with lemon curd and raspberry jam, but you can use anything light and springy. These donuts would be awesome with passion fruit curd (or any other flavor of fruit curd), pastry cream, coconut cream, other flavors of jam, Nutella … the list goes on!

Ready to Make These?

  1. Get the recipe below 👇👇
  2. Scroll below the recipe for step-by-step photos
  3. Read tips, FAQs and more

Leave a Review!

If you make this recipe, let us know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe below, and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram @elabau, or use #sugarhero on IG!

Easter Egg Doughnuts on white paper shreds.

Easter Egg Doughnuts

5 from 1 vote
Easter Egg Doughnuts are a fun Easter breakfast recipe! Everyone will love decorating the glazed donuts to look like Easter eggs. Fill them with jam, lemon curd, or your favorite cream filling!
Prep20 minutes
Cook1 hour
Total1 hour 20 minutes
Yields24

Ingredients

For the doughnuts:

  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 TBSP shortening
  • 1 ½ TBSP unsalted butter
  • .75 oz active dry yeast, (1 package)
  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten, at room temperature
  • 3 TBSP granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 11.5 oz all-purpose flour, (about 2 1/2 cups), plus more for dusting
  • 1 gal vegetable oil, or peanut oil, for frying
  • Raspberry jam, to fill the doughnuts, optional
  • Pastry cream, to fill the doughnuts, optional
  • Lemon curd, to fill the doughnuts, optional

For the chocolate glaze:

  • 4 oz unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 TBSP light corn syrup
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

For the white decorating glaze:

Instructions 

To make the doughnuts:

  • Warm the milk in a small saucepan on the stove just until it start to simmer. Place the shortening and butter in the bowl of a large stand mixer and pour the warm milk over them, letting the milk melt the shortening and butter.
  • In a small bowl, combine the warm water (you’re looking for 95-105 degrees F, so it should be warmer than body temperature) and the packet of yeast, and mix briefly. Let it set for about 5 minutes, so the yeast can bloom.
  • Once the milk has cooled to lukewarm and the yeast has bloomed, add it to the large mixing bowl that contains the milk and butter/shortening. Then add the beaten egg, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, and half of the flour. (This will be 5.75 oz (about 1 ¼ cups). Use the paddle attachment and beat the mixture on medium speed for 5 minutes, until it’s very smooth.
  • Now add the rest of the flour and beat for an additional 2 minutes until thick and smooth. Switch to the dough hook and beat the dough on medium speed for 5 minutes, until the dough forms a soft, smooth ball around the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If it seems a little sticky while it’s mixing, add a touch more flour, but only another tablespoon or two. Let the mixing do most of the work and resist the temptation to add too much flour, or else you will have tough doughnuts. When the dough is smooth, supple, and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, turn off the mixer.
  • Generously oil a large bowl and turn the doughnut dough into the oiled bowl. Cover with a cloth and set it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
  • After an hour, dust your work surface with flour, punch down the dough, and turn it out onto your work surface. Roll it into a thin layer less than 1/2 inch thick. Use a small egg-shaped cookie cutter (approximately 2-2.5” long) to cut shapes out of the dough. Place the eggs on a baking sheet covered with parchment and lightly dusted with flour. Once you have cut out all the shapes you can, re-roll the dough and cut out more, until you get about 24 egg shaped doughnuts. (Alternately, you can just cut the leftover dough into small pieces to fry as doughnut holes.)
  • Cover the sheets of doughnuts with a light cloth and let them rise for 30 minutes, until doubled in size.
  • Heat the oil in a heavy pot or a deep fryer until it reaches 365 F. You will definitely want to use a deep-fry thermometer to monitor the temperature and make sure that it stays within the range of 360-370 F, so your doughnuts don’t cook too quickly or too slowly.
  • Once the doughnuts have risen and the oil is the right temperature, gently place 3-4 doughnuts at a time in the oil and fry them for 50-60 seconds per side, until they are puffed and golden brown. Once cooked, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon or frying tool, and place them on a paper-towel lined wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts. If the oil gets too hot, turn the heat down, and if it gets too cool, pause your frying until it has a chance to heat up again. Let the doughnuts cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before filling them.

To fill the doughnuts:

  • Use a dowel at least 1/4 inch wide to poke a hole in one end of the doughnuts, but don’t poke all the way through to the other side! Instead, wiggle the dowel around the center of the doughnut to make space for the filling. (Alternately, you can cover the end of a pencil or pen with plastic wrap to make a sanitary dowel substitute. If you have a Bismarck tip, the kind used for filling cupcakes, you can forget the dowel entirely and use that instead.)
  • Fit a piping bag with a 1/4 inch round tip and fill it with your jam, curd, pastry cream, or other filling of choice. Stick the tip in the hole that you’ve made and squeeze to fill the doughnuts. Stop squeezing when you start to encounter resistance, and remove the tip. If some filling leaks out, clean off the outside of the doughnuts before glazing and decorating them.

To make the chocolate glaze:

  • Place the butter, milk, light corn syrup, and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the mixture, whisking frequently, until the butter melts and it begins to simmer along the edges.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Whisk it until the chocolate is completely melted, then add the sifted powdered sugar and whisk until mixed in.
  • Dip the doughnuts in the glaze immediately. If it’s a little thick, add room temperature milk, a spoonful at a time, to thin it out. It will thicken as it cools, so you can periodically put it over low heat and whisk it until it loosens up again. If you want to add sprinkles, nuts, or other garnishes, sprinkle them on top while the glaze is still wet. Let the doughnuts sit for about 30 minutes to set the glaze before serving.
  • Note: The glaze might have small bubbles when you dip the doughnuts. This is normal and they become much less apparent as the glaze sets.

To decorate the doughnuts:

  • Place the sifted powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add the light corn syrup and 2 TBSP of milk, and whisk until you have a thick glaze. It should be thick enough that when you pipe it in a thin line, it holds its shape and does not become too runny. If it seems too thick to work with, add a bit more milk, just until it can be easily piped.
  • Divide the glaze into smaller bowls and add your gel food coloring of choice. Place the glazes in piping bags fitted with small round attachments (I used #2 tips) and pipe on your designs of choice. Let the doughnuts sit for 20 minutes to set the decorations before serving them.

Measuring Tips

Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.

Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?

Nutrition

Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 139mg | Potassium: 395mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 8180IU | Vitamin C: 16.4mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 2.5mg
Tried this recipe?Snap a pic and hashtag it #SugarHero. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @elabau.

📸 Step-by-Step Tutorial: How to Make Egg Shaped Donuts

I love a good step-by-step tutorial. Here’s a little overview to help you get started with your Easter Donuts. Full instructions are included in the recipe card above.

easter-doughnuts-10

Make the Doughnut Dough

  1. Warm the milk, shortening and butter. Warm the milk in a small saucepan on the stove just until it start to simmer. Place the shortening and butter in the bowl of a large stand mixer and pour the warm milk over them, letting the milk melt the shortening and butter.
  2. Prepare the yeast in warm water. In a small bowl, combine the warm water (you’re looking for 95-105 degrees F, so it should be warmer than body temperature) and the packet of yeast, and mix briefly. Let it set for about 5 minutes, so the yeast can bloom.
  3. Mix cooled milk and bloomed yeast. Once the milk has cooled to lukewarm and the yeast has bloomed, add it to the large mixing bowl that contains the milk and butter/shortening.
  4. Add egg, sugar, salt, cinnamon and half the flour. Then add the beaten egg, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, and half of the flour. (This will be 5.75 oz (about 1 ¼ cups). Use the paddle attachment and beat the mixture on medium speed for 5 minutes, until it’s very smooth.
  5. Mix in remaining flour and blend till soft and smooth. Now add the rest of the flour and beat for an additional 2 minutes until thick and smooth. Switch to the dough hook and beat the dough on medium speed for 5 minutes, until the dough forms a soft, smooth ball around the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If it seems a little sticky while it’s mixing, add a touch more flour, but only another tablespoon or two. Let the mixing do most of the work and resist the temptation to add too much flour, or else you will have tough doughnuts. When the dough is smooth, supple, and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, turn off the mixer.
  6. Cover dough in a greased bowl with a cloth covering to rise for 1 hour. Generously oil a large bowl and turn the doughnut dough into the oiled bowl. Cover with a cloth and set it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
  7. Roll out the dough and cut. After an hour, dust your work surface with flour, punch down the dough, and turn it out onto your work surface. Roll it into a thin layer less than 1/2 inch thick. Use a small egg-shaped cookie cutter (approximately 2-2.5” long) to cut shapes out of the dough. Place the eggs on a baking sheet covered with parchment and lightly dusted with flour. Once you have cut out all the shapes you can, re-roll the dough and cut out more, until you get about 24 egg shaped doughnuts. (Alternately, you can just cut the leftover dough into small pieces to fry as doughnut holes.)
  8. Rise 30 minutes on covered baking sheet. Cover the sheets of doughnuts with a light cloth and let them rise for 30 minutes, until doubled in size.
Lots of freshly fried Easter Egg Doughnuts draining on paper towels.

Fry the Doughnuts

  1. Heat the oil. Heat the oil in a heavy pot or a deep fryer until it reaches 365 F. You will definitely want to use a deep-fry thermometer to monitor the temperature and make sure that it stays within the range of 360-370 F, so your doughnuts don’t cook too quickly or too slowly.
  2. Cook till golden brown on each side. Once the doughnuts have risen and the oil is the right temperature, gently place 3-4 doughnuts at a time in the oil and fry them for 50-60 seconds per side, until they are puffed and golden brown.
  3. Cool on a wire rack. Once cooked, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon or frying tool, and place them on a paper-towel lined wire rack to cool.
  4. Repeat cooking process until all the dough is used. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts. If the oil gets too hot, turn the heat down, and if it gets too cool, pause your frying until it has a chance to heat up again.
  5. Cool at least 30 minutes. Let the doughnuts cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before filling them.
easter-doughnuts-4

Fill the Donuts

  1. Poke a hole in the center of cooled donuts. Use a dowel at least 1/4 inch wide to poke a hole in one end of the doughnuts, but don’t poke all the way through to the other side! Instead, wiggle the dowel around the center of the doughnut to make space for the filling. (Alternately, you can cover the end of a pencil or pen with plastic wrap to make a sanitary dowel substitute. If you have a Bismarck tip, the kind used for filling cupcakes, you can forget the dowel entirely and use that instead.)
  2. Fill piping bag with filling. Fit a piping bag with a 1/4 inch round tip and fill it with your jam, curd, pastry cream, or other filling of choice.
  3. Fill the donuts. Stick the tip in the hole that you’ve made and squeeze to fill the doughnuts. Stop squeezing when you start to encounter resistance, and remove the tip. If some filling leaks out, clean off the outside of the doughnuts before glazing and decorating them.
Several Easter Egg Doughnuts drying on wooden surface with multi-colored sprinkles on top.

To make the Chocolate Glaze and Decorate

  1. Simmer milk, butter, corn syrup and vanilla. Place the butter, milk, light corn syrup, and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the mixture, whisking frequently, until the butter melts and it begins to simmer along the edges.
  2. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Whisk it until the chocolate is completely melted, then add the sifted powdered sugar and whisk until mixed in.
  3. Begin dipping doughnuts in glaze immediately. Dip the doughnuts in the glaze immediately. If it’s a little thick, add room temperature milk, a spoonful at a time, to thin it out. It will thicken as it cools, so you can periodically put it over low heat and whisk it until it loosens up again.
  4. Add garnishes while glaze is wet. If you want to add sprinkles, nuts, or other garnishes, sprinkle them on top while the glaze is still wet.
  5. Set the glaze. Let the doughnuts sit for about 30 minutes to set the glaze before adding additional glaze decorations and/or serving.

Quick Decoration Tip

Not all of the doughnuts turned out perfectly egg-shaped, so for those that were rounder, I took the cheater’s way out. I decided to top them with sprinkles instead of taking the time to decorate them like Easter eggs!

easter-doughnuts-5

To Make Easter Egg Designs with Colored Glaze

  1. Whisk together powdered sugar, corn syrup and milk. Place the sifted powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add the light corn syrup and 2 TBSP of milk, and whisk until you have a thick glaze. It should be thick enough that when you pipe it in a thin line, it holds its shape and does not become too runny. If it seems too thick to work with, add a bit more milk, just until it can be easily piped.
  2. Divide glaze and color. Divide the glaze into smaller bowls and add your gel food coloring of choice.
  3. Prepare piping bags with colored glaze and design donuts. Place the glazes in piping bags fitted with small round attachments (I used #2 tips) and pipe on your designs of choice.
  4. Allow designs to set. Let the doughnuts sit for 20 minutes to set the decorations before serving them.

Meet Elizabeth!

Hi, I’m Elizabeth — a trained pastry chef, cookbook author, video instructor, and your new Baking BFF! I’m going to teach you everything you need to know to be a sugar hero. ❤️

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19 Comments

  1. Hey i found this recipe great! Ive put this on my facebook page i found them so nice! Definatly festive… <3 xxx

  2. Thank you for such a precise and festive recipe! I made these for my catering job this week. I followed your directions exactly except for filling the donuts. They turned out beautifully. I also used the threaded part of a mason jar lid as a cookie cutter and gently stretched out the dough to an egg shape. Thanks for sharing.