Easy Strawberry Glaze [For Cookies, Cake, Donuts]

The best (fresh, frozen, or freeze-dried) strawberry glaze for vegan doughnuts, cakes, muffins, & cookies with 3 ingredients in 5 minutes. A vibrant, fruity, versatile dessert topping!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. It’s ultra quick & easy: You need just 3 ingredients and 5 minutes to prepare it.
2. Beautiful: Ranging from a pastel pink to vibrant red, depending on the berries.
3. Diet-friendly: It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, & egg-free, and can be made sugar-free.
4. Adaptable: Use fresh, frozen, or even freeze-dried berries for heaps of natural flavor any time of the year. Strawberry jam will work, too, in a pinch.
5. Versatile topping: This vibrant, fruity mixture is the perfect glaze for a vegan strawberry upside down cake (and other sheet cakes, pound cakes, and bundt cakes), bread (like this strawberry bread), cupcakes, muffins, scones, cookies, doughnuts, and more.

Don’t mistake this recipe for the clear, starch-thickened strawberry glaze used for cheesecakes and tarts.

The Ingredients

Refer to the strawberry glaze recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their quantities.

Recipe Variations

• Strawberry jam: Use 2-3 tablespoons of strawberry jam/jelly instead of fresh berries, or add a spoonful with the fresh berries for more flavor.
• Freeze-dried strawberry powder: Use about ¼ cup powder instead of fresh berries. For the smoothest glaze, sift the powder through a fine-mesh sieve to remove seeds.  
• Pure strawberry extract: Add a few drops to enhance the strawberry flavor.
• Salt: Just a pinch to balance the glaze sweetness.
• Vanilla extract: Just ¼-½ teaspoon for a deeper, warmer flavor.
• Citrus juice: For extra tang, replace the plant-based milk with lemon, lime, or orange juice.
• Cinnamon: To add warmth to the homemade strawberry glaze – add to taste.
• Fresh herbs: Like fresh mint or basil blended into the fresh strawberry glaze icing.
• Vegan butter: Add 1-2 tablespoons of melted vegan butter for a luxurious, silky mouthfeel.

How to Make Strawberry Glaze

Step 3: Then, drizzle (with a spoon or Ziplock bag), dip, or spread the strawberry glaze icing over your favorite cooled baked goods. Enjoy!

FAQs

Recipe Pro Tips

• For concentrated flavor: Use double strawberries and simmer the blended puree over medium heat until reduced by half, then leave to cool and use.
• To adjust the consistency: For a thicker strawberry cake glaze, add more sugar (or cornstarch). For a thinner one, add a few drops of plant-based milk.
• For a smooth glaze: Strain the blended strawberries through a fine-mesh sieve to remove seeds.
• For a very thin layer: Add the glaze while the bake is slightly warm.

How to Use Strawberry Glaze

Strawberry icing glaze works not only with strawberry baked goodies but also complements vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, lemon, orange, and almond flavors.

• Vegan cakes: This is the perfect strawberry glaze for cake recipes like a lemon loaf or lemon poppy seed cake, olive oil orange cake, chocolate depression cake, strawberry bread, and other sheet cakes, bundt cakes, and loaves.
• Plant-based muffins/cupcakes: Like zucchini muffins, double chocolate chip muffins, lemon cupcakes, funfetti cupcakes, etc.
• Vegan brownies: Including regular vegan brownies, strawberry brownies, etc.
• Plant-based donuts: This is the perfect strawberry donut glaze – fried or baked.
• Dairy-free cookies: Dip or drizzle lemon shortbread cookies, coconut oatmeal cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, etc.
• Vegan scones: Walnut oat scones, vanilla scones, and lemon blueberry scones.
• Pastries: Like vegan croissants or Danish pastries.
• Breakfast: Drizzle over vegan pancakes and vegan waffles instead of syrup.
• Oaty bars: Like strawberry oatmeal bars or peanut butter oatmeal bars.

To avoid mess, place parchment paper beneath the baked item/s when glazing.

Storage Instructions

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap (or transfer it to an airtight container) and store it in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. It thickens when chilled but doesn’t harden.

When you want to use it, bring it back to room temperature, whisk, and add a little more plant-based milk if needed to bring it back to the correct consistency.