Raspberry Cheesecake Donuts

Make fluffy raspberry cheesecake stuffed donuts at home with tangy raspberry filling and sweet cream cheese—perfect for weekend breakfast or special occasion treats.

I'll be honest—I never thought I'd be the kind of person who makes donuts from scratch. It always seemed like one of those things you just buy at a bakery. But a couple years ago, my daughter asked if we could try making "real donuts" at home, and I figured, why not? These raspberry cheesecake ones have become our thing now. They're fluffy and light, coated in sugar while they're still warm, and when you bite into them you get this combination of tart raspberry and creamy cheesecake filling that's just really good. We make them for birthdays, holidays, or sometimes just because it's Saturday and we feel like doing something fun in the kitchen.

My first time making these was a bit of an adventure. I was so nervous about the frying part that I almost talked myself out of it. But the smell of fresh donuts filled the entire house, and when my kids came downstairs that morning, they couldn't believe I'd actually made them. My son, who usually just grabs whatever's quickest on his way out, actually sat down and ate two of them slowly. He told his friends at school we make "real donuts" at home, and now whenever his buddies come over, someone always asks about them.

What You'll Need

• Whole milk: Needs to be warm but not hot, around 90 to 100 degrees. Too hot kills the yeast, too cold and it won't activate. I usually test it with my finger—should feel like warm bathwater.
• Instant yeast: This stuff works faster than regular yeast and you don't have to dissolve it separately. Active dry yeast works too if that's what you've got.
• Bread flour: The extra protein makes these donuts chewier and more bakery-like. I've used all-purpose when I ran out, and it works, but the texture is a bit different.
• Eggs: Let them sit out until they're room temperature. Cold eggs don't mix into the dough as well.
• Unsalted butter: Needs to be soft enough that you can press your finger into it easily. I usually leave mine out while I'm getting everything else ready.
• Frozen raspberries: Actually better than fresh for this because they release more juice when you cook them down, making that jammy filling.
• Cream cheese: Full-fat, and definitely room temperature. Cold cream cheese never whips up smoothly no matter how much you beat it.
• Heavy whipping cream: This thickens up the cream cheese filling and makes it rich without being too heavy.
• Granulated sugar: You'll use this in the dough, both fillings, and for coating. Buy extra if you're running low.
• Lemon juice: Just a little bit brightens up the raspberry filling without making it taste lemony.
• Vanilla extract: Use the real stuff if you have it. Makes a difference in the cream cheese filling.
• Vegetable oil: Any neutral oil that can handle high heat. I usually use canola because it's what I have.

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Creating Perfect Donuts

Activating the yeast:

Pour your warm milk into a big bowl and whisk in the yeast and three tablespoons of sugar. Just let it sit for 5 minutes. You'll see it get foamy on top, which means your yeast is alive and working. If nothing happens after 5 minutes, your yeast is probably dead or your milk was too hot. You'll have to start over, which is annoying but it happens.

Building the dough:

Add your flour, eggs, and salt to the foamy milk mixture. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, use that. Mix on low for about a minute until everything comes together. Scrape down the bowl—there's always stuff stuck to the sides—then mix on medium for 2 more minutes. The dough will start pulling away from the sides of the bowl.

Adding the butter:

Keep the mixer running on medium and add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Wait for each piece to mix in before adding the next one. After all the butter is in, the dough will look really wet and sticky. I panicked the first time because it looked like I'd messed something up, but that's completely normal. Keep mixing for another 5 minutes. The dough will transform into this smooth, elastic thing that barely sticks to your finger when you touch it. If it's still sticky after 5 minutes, just keep going until it feels right.

First rise:

Rub some oil inside a big bowl, dump the dough in, and flip it over once so the top gets oiled too. Cover it with plastic wrap (spray the plastic with oil first so it doesn't stick) and put it somewhere warmish. I usually stick mine on top of the fridge. Let it sit for an hour to an hour and a half until it's doubled. You can tell it's ready by poking it with two fingers—if the dents stay, you're good.

Making raspberry compote:

Throw your frozen raspberries, four tablespoons of sugar, and lemon juice in a small pot over medium heat. Stir it until the sugar dissolves, then just let it simmer for about 8 minutes. Stir it occasionally so it doesn't burn on the bottom. The raspberries will break down and the whole thing will thicken up until it looks like jam. When you drag a spoon through it and it stays separated for a second, it's done. Take it off the heat and let it cool down completely.

Preparing cheesecake filling:

Put your room-temperature cream cheese, heavy cream, two tablespoons of sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk it hard until it gets really thick and holds its shape. You want it thick enough that it won't run out of the donuts when you fill them. Stick it in the fridge until you need it.

Shaping the donuts:

Get three baking sheets ready with parchment paper and spray them with oil. Flour your counter. When the dough has doubled, punch it down a bunch of times to get the air out, then dump it onto your floured counter. Shape it into a ball, then cut it into four pieces with a knife or scissors. Cut each of those pieces into four more pieces. You'll have 16 total. Roll each piece between your hands into a tight ball, tucking the edges under as you go. This takes a minute to get the hang of, but you'll figure it out.

Second rise:

Put your donut balls on the baking sheets with plenty of space between them—they're going to puff up a lot. Cover them loosely with greased plastic wrap and let them sit for about 30 minutes until they look puffy and almost doubled. When you poke one gently, it should spring back slowly.

Frying to golden perfection:

Put two cups of sugar in a big bowl near your stove. Transfer your cooled raspberry stuff and cream cheese filling into piping bags and snip the ends off. Pour enough oil into a heavy pot to come up about 3 inches. Heat it to 330 to 350 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, drop a little piece of dough in—if it floats and sizzles right away, you're ready.

Cooking the donuts:

Carefully pick up a donut and gently lower it into the hot oil. Don't squeeze it or you'll deflate it. Add a couple more depending on how big your pot is, but don't crowd them. Let them fry for 2 minutes without touching them. The bottoms will turn golden brown. Flip them with a spider strainer or slotted spoon and fry the other side for 2 minutes. Take them out and let the oil drip off for a second.

Sugar coating:

While they're still hot, drop each donut into the sugar bowl and toss it around to coat every side. The heat makes the sugar stick perfectly. Put them on a wire rack and keep going with the rest of the donuts. Check your oil temperature between batches and adjust the heat if you need to.

Filling the donuts:

Once everything is fried and cooled a bit, use scissors or a sharp knife to poke a hole in the side of each donut. Go in about an inch to make a pocket. Stick your raspberry piping bag in the hole and squeeze until you've gotten a good amount in there. Then do the same with the cream cheese filling, using more cream cheese than raspberry. You'll feel the donut getting heavier and fuller. Stop before it looks like it's going to explode.

Things You Should Know

• Rising times: Don't rush the rising times—that's what makes these light and fluffy instead of dense
• Oil temperature: Keep your oil temperature steady or your donuts will either burn on the outside or come out greasy
• Filling time: Fill them right before you serve them, not hours ahead, or the coating gets soggy from the moisture

I learned about oil temperature the hard way. My first batch came out dark on the outside but doughy in the middle because I didn't have a thermometer and just guessed. After that, I bought a cheap one and it made all the difference. Now I check it constantly and adjust my heat to keep it in that range. That one tool turned my donuts from mediocre to actually good.

That second rise might seem like overkill, but it's really important. When you shape the dough into balls, you knock out some of the air from the first rise. This second proof lets the yeast create new bubbles and makes the donuts incredibly light. I skipped it once when I was in a hurry, and the donuts were fine but not amazing. Taking that extra 30 minutes is worth it.

The cream cheese needs to be room temperature. I found this out when I tried making the filling with cold cream cheese and it never got smooth—just stayed grainy and lumpy. Now I take it out of the fridge when I start making the dough so it has time to soften up properly.

The raspberry compote has to cool completely before you pipe it in. I didn't wait once and the heat melted the cream cheese filling, creating this runny mess inside the donuts. Now I make the compote first thing, even before starting the dough, so it has maximum time to cool. Sometimes I'll stick it in the fridge if I'm impatient.

Bread flour really does make a difference. I ran out once and used all-purpose, and the donuts were a little more cake-like instead of having that chewy bakery texture. If you make these regularly, it's worth keeping bread flour around.

Serving These Treats

Put them on a nice platter or cake stand. They're great for weekend breakfast with coffee, or pile them up on a dessert table at parties. For brunch, serve them with fresh fruit and some bacon for that sweet-salty thing. They also make really nice gifts—put them in a bakery box with ribbon and take them to someone's house instead of wine. Just set out plates and napkins because they can get messy when the filling starts oozing out.

Fun Ways to Vary

Try strawberries or blackberries instead of raspberries. For chocolate ones, add cocoa powder to the cream cheese filling and use chocolate ganache instead of fruit. Make lemon cream by adding lemon zest and juice to the cheesecake filling and skipping the berries. In fall, use spiced apple butter and cinnamon cream cheese. Mix cinnamon with the sugar coating or use powdered sugar for something different. Drizzle melted chocolate over the tops if you're feeling fancy.

Keeping Them Fresh

These are best the day you make them, ideally within a few hours while they're still warmish. You can store unfilled ones at room temperature in a container for up to 2 days, then fill them when you're ready. Already filled ones need to go in the fridge and should be eaten within 24 hours, though the coating will get soft. The dough can be made through the first rise and then refrigerated overnight—just let it warm up before shaping. You can freeze unfilled fried donuts for up to a month, then thaw and warm them before filling.

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Making yeasted donuts seemed really intimidating before I tried it. I thought you needed special equipment or bakery skills. But after making these a bunch of times, I've realized it's pretty straightforward once you understand how yeast dough works. Yeah, there are several steps and it takes a few hours, but most of that is just waiting for the dough to rise. The actual hands-on work is maybe 30 minutes total. When my family bites into these warm donuts and their faces light up, it's completely worth it. They've become our special thing—what we make when we want to turn a regular day into something worth remembering!

Frequently Asked Questions

→ Can I bake these instead of frying them?

Fried donuts have a different texture than baked ones, but you can bake them at 375 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes if you prefer. They won't be quite as light and fluffy though.

→ What if my yeast doesn't foam?

If the yeast mixture doesn't get foamy after 5 minutes, your yeast is probably dead or your milk was too hot. Start over with fresh yeast and make sure your milk is between 90 and 100 degrees.

→ Can I make the dough the night before?

Yes! After the first rise, you can punch down the dough, cover it tightly, and refrigerate overnight. Let it come to room temperature before shaping the next day.

→ How do I know when the oil is hot enough?

Use a thermometer to check for 330 to 350 degrees. If you don't have one, drop a small piece of dough in - if it floats and sizzles right away, you're good to go.

→ Can I use fresh raspberries instead of frozen?

Yes, fresh raspberries work great. You might need to cook them a bit longer to get that thick, jam-like consistency.

→ How long do these donuts stay fresh?

They're best the day they're made, but you can keep them in an airtight container for a day or two. Warm them up for a few seconds in the microwave to refresh them.