• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipe Index
    • Appetizers & Dips
    • Bakery Recipes
    • Bars & Brownie Recipes
    • Bread Recipes
    • Brunch & Breakfast Recipes
    • Cakes, Cupcakes & Cheesecakes
    • Cheese Recipes
    • Chocolate Recipes
    • Condiments & Sauces
    • Cookies & Crackers
    • Desserts
    • Fruit Recipes
    • Grains & Legumes
    • Muffins and Quick Breads
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Pies & Tarts
    • Readers' Favorite Recipes
  • Collections
    • Freezer Friendly
    • Heritage Recipes
    • Seasonal Recipes
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Spring
      • Summer
    • Vintage Recipes
    • Holiday Recipes
      • Christmas
      • Easter
      • St. Patrick's Day
      • Thanksgiving
      • Valentine's Day
  • Basic recipes
  • About this blog
    • The author
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Accessibility statement

Vintage Kitchen Notes logo

menu icon
go to homepage
  • ALL RECIPES
  • Holidays
  • Seasonal
  • Vintage
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • ALL RECIPES
    • Holidays
    • Seasonal
    • Vintage
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Basic Recipes

    Published: Aug 17, 2022 by Paula Montenegro · Income from ads and affiliate links Leave a Comment

    Strawberry Glaze or Icing (for cake, donuts)

    Jump to Recipe
    Close up of strawberry glaze being drizzled over scones. Red and white text overlay.

    Making strawberry glaze is quick and easy. Only 2 ingredients are needed for this recipe that you can flavor and adjust for sweetness depending on what you use it for. It's perfect for glazing cakes, scones, donuts, and pastries. It lasts a lot in the refrigerator and can be frozen.

    Close up view of strawberry glaze being drizzled on scones on a wire rack.

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.

    Strawberry glaze is a very simple way of dressing or enhancing loaf and bundt cakes, scones, and cookies.

    The other ingredient is powdered sugar and it doesn't have a substitution.

    It's great for when you have a small number of leftover strawberries or very ripe ones that have seen better days. Blend them with sugar and freeze them for later use.

    This homemade strawberry topping relies on fresh natural flavors so you know it'll taste amazing.

    Strawberry glaze being poured into a white bowl.
    Table of Contents Hide
    Uses for strawberry glaze
    Ingredients
    How to make a strawberry glaze
    Variations
    Kitchen notes
    Strawberry Glaze or Icing (for cake, donuts)

    Uses for strawberry glaze

    • Plain cakes: powdered sugar glaze is a staple in this blog and one of my favorite ways to spruce up simple cakes like the strawberry pound cake below. Other cakes that go well with it are lemon bundt cake, orange sour cream cakes, vanilla poppy seed cake, and even a chocolate bundt cake if you like to try a different combination.
    • Scones: drizzle it over them and create an eye-catching pink icing as we do for the fresh strawberry scones below. Other flavors that go well with this icing are orange scones and lemon scones.
    • Cookies: some are great with a light drizzle of this icing, like the lemon shortbread cookies or pistachio snowballs.
    • Donuts: dip them in it and have beautiful doughnuts. Lemon, plain, chocolate, and orange, are all flavors that go well with this glaze. Find more donut recipes here.
    • Pastries: breakfast danish (like the strawberry danish braid) and croissants taste and look gorgeous with this glaze.
    • Breakfast and brunch staples: if you like very sweet mornings, you can use it on waffles and french toast instead of syrup. I find it too much sweetness. But your palate might be very different.
    • The Best Strawberry Scones
    • Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake

    Ingredients

    Just two ingredients to make this berry glaze. You can add other ingredients such as lemon juice or vanilla extract, and that is all explained in the recipe card at the end of this post.

    • Strawberries: when in season use fresh strawberries if possible. Frozen berries also work but they have more water content so the flavor is sometimes weaker.
    • Powdered sugar: there is no alternative or substitution for it. Also called confectioners' sugar or icing sugar, you can easily buy it online. Domino powdered sugar is a very popular one.
    • Optional: lemon juice, orange juice, vanilla extract, liquor of your choice.

    See the recipe card for quantities.

    White bowl with powdered sugar and strawberry puree being mixed with a spoon.

    How to make a strawberry glaze

    It's simple, you have to make a plain strawberry puree (no sugar) and mix it with powdered sugar.

    Both a regular blender and an immersion blender will render perfect results for the puree. A food processor most times won't completely disintegrate the fruit, so I don't recommend it. Unless you want a chunky mixture.

    Immersion blender

    I find this is the best and easiest way to do it because you do it directly in the bowl you're using.

    Immersion blender mixing semi whole strawberries with sugar in glass bowl.

    Break up strawberry pieces with the immersion blender.

    Strawberry puree in glass bowl with immersion blender.

    Process it until completely smooth and no chunks remain.

    Blender

    Overview of blender bowl with strawberry puree.

    In terms of easiness, it's similar to the one above, but the puree is harder to take out of the jar afterward. Add strawberries to the blender jar. Blend until completely pureed.

    Super smooth puree: if you want a seedless perfect puree, you can sieve the blended strawberry mixture. I tried it with a very fine mesh sieve but it did not go through easily as the puree is thick. You'll have to be patient as the seeds are there but quite disintegrated.

    Variations

    Strawberries pair well with several flavors and they can be added to this easy glaze recipe.

    • Citrus - lemon, orange, and lime, all pair very well with strawberries. My rule is that if the strawberries are very sweet (usually seasonal ones) I use lemon or lime juice. If they taste more acidic I use orange or tangerine juice that adds sweetness.
    • Alcohol - a tablespoon of champagne, golden rum, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier is wonderful if you want a boozy strawberry puree.
    • Flavorings - add a few drops of pure vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, fresh mint, or fresh basil, to add another layer of flavor depending on what you're using it for.
    • Other berries: simply substitute the strawberries for blackberries, raspberries, or blueberries.

    Kitchen notes

    • Organization: read the recipe first and make sure you have ingredients at the right temperatures, equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
    • Frozen strawberries: you can use them straight from the freezer. If they have too much ice around them (something that happens when they've been frozen for a long time) thaw them a little just to release some of the icy water, not the juices. The strawberry itself will still be pretty frozen. 
    • How thick or thin do you like it? You can add more or less strawberry puree until you have the desired consistency.
    • Storing: it keeps for weeks in the refrigerator, well covered, or in an airtight container. And a month in the freezer. If refrigerated, stir it vigorously before using it so it's smooth again.

    Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
    You might also consider subscribing to our FREE email series to Boost your Home Baking Skills! And our regular newsletter.
    And let's connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

    Print
    clockclock iconcutlerycutlery iconflagflag iconfolderfolder iconinstagraminstagram iconpinterestpinterest iconfacebookfacebook iconprintprint iconsquaressquares iconheartheart iconheart solidheart solid icon
    Strawberry glaze being poured into a white bowl.

    Strawberry Glaze or Icing (for cake, donuts)

    Print Recipe
    Save Recipe Recipe Saved

    Making strawberry glaze is quick and easy. Only 2 ingredients are needed for this recipe that you can flavor and adjust for sweetness depending on what you use it for. It's perfect for glazing cakes, scones, donuts, and pastries. It lasts a lot in the refrigerator and can be frozen. 

    • Total Time: 10 minutes
    • Yield: 1 cup

    Ingredients

    Units
    • 2-3 tablespoons of strawberry puree
    • 1 cup powdered sugar

    Instructions

    1. Mix half of the strawberry puree with the powdered sugar in a bowl and check to see the consistency. It should be like thick honey.
    2. Add more strawberry puree if needed to adjust depending if you want a thicker or thinner glaze or icing.
    3. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container or well covered. 

    Notes

    • Organization: read the recipe first and make sure you have ingredients at the right temperatures, equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
    • Frozen strawberries: you can use them straight from the freezer. If they have too much ice around them (something that happens when they've been frozen for a long time) thaw them a little just to release some of the icy water, not the juices. The strawberry itself will still be pretty frozen. 
    • How thick or thin do you like it? You can add more or less strawberry puree to make the type of glaze you want.
    • Storing: it keeps for weeks in the refrigerator, well covered, or in an airtight container. And a month in the freezer. If refrigerated, stir it vigorously before using it so it's smooth again. 
    • Author: Paula Montenegro
    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Category: Basic recipes
    • Method: Blending + mixing
    • Cuisine: International

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: ⅛
    • Calories: 60
    • Sugar: 15 g
    • Sodium: 0.4 mg
    • Fat: 0 g
    • Carbohydrates: 15.4 g
    • Fiber: 0.1 g
    • Protein: 0 g
    • Cholesterol: 0 mg

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @vintagekitchenblog on Instagram and hashtag it #vintagekitchenblog

    More Basic Recipes

    • How to Make Brown Butter (with video!)
    • Best Sour Cream Cheesecake (with video!)
    • No-Knead Baguette Recipe
    • How to Make Pumpkin Puree

    About Paula Montenegro

    I'm Paula, a baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe developer, sharing the best ones here with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.

    Reader Interactions

    Thank you for leaving a review for this recipe Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Person with apron and tray of scones

    Hi, I'm Paula!

    A baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe finder, sharing the best ones on this blog, with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.

    More about me →

    Featured in:

    Several colorful logos on white canvas

    Popular recipes

    • Caramel Apple Dump Cake
    • Old Fashioned Zucchini Bundt Cake
    • Easy No Bake Lemon Dessert
    • Easy Homemade Blueberry Sauce (or topping)
    • Almond Plum Cake
    • Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

    Footer

    About

    The author
    Privacy Policy
    Amazon Associate
    Cookie Policy
    Accessibility

    Contact

    Sign Up! for emails and updates
    Contact


    Copyright © 2022 Vintage Kitchen Notes