Lemon Donuts. Tangy, sweet lemon donuts dunked in a simple lemon icing. Just minutes to make the batter, ten minutes of baking and a two minute icing. Simple and delicious!
I’m a huge fan of lemon treats year round but especially in the spring and summer! Lemon is so fresh tasting and I want to enjoy it with everything. That tart-sweet combination is irresistibly good!
Another thing I find irresistible are baked donuts! Lemon Donuts are my go to treat for both breakfast and dessert! They’re light, cakey and simply delicious.
I made the most delicious Lemon Blueberry Cake Donuts last year. I love blueberries, but got to thinking the other day that lemon donuts are also delicious as is!
THESE LEMON DONUTS ARE:
- Slightly healthier: They’re not fried in oil, so are a bit healthier.
- Simple: Yes they’re donuts, but so much easier to make than you’d think. Just mix the batter, pour it into donut pans and bake!
- Less Messy: No counter to clean off or oil to deal with.
- Fun: Who doesn’t love the sight of donuts especially when they’re coming out of your oven!
- Delicious: They have a cake-like, fluffy, moist texture and super lemony taste! They’re topped with tart-sweet lemon icing.
INGREDIENTS FOR THESE DONUTS
- All purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Oil (vegetable or canola)
- 2 large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon juice
- Lemon zest
- Buttermilk (or sour cream)
FOR THE LEMON ICING
- Powdered sugar, sifted
- Lemon juice
- Lemon zest
WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE BAKED DONUTS?
To make baked donuts, you’ll need a donut pan. Donut pans are basically molds with holes in the middle which give your batter a donut shape. My donut pans make six donuts, so I have two pans. Just makes it easier to bake them all at once using two pans!
It’s also a good idea to use a pastry bag to pipe the batter into the pans. This recipe makes a lot of batter so you’ll probably have to refill your pastry bag at least once.
If you don’t have pastry bags, you can use a zip lock bag and just snip a corner off. A spouted mixing bowl would also make it easier to pour the batter into the pan. You can also just use a spoon to spoon the batter into the donut pans. It might be a little messier and less equally distributed, but it works!
HOW TO MAKE LEMON DONUTS
- Preheat oven and grease donut pans well with butter or nonstick baking spray.
- Whisk together the eggs and sugar. Add the vanilla, buttermilk or sour cream, lemon juice, and oil.
- In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir in the lemon zest.
- Fill the donut molds about to just about full.
- Bake 9-11 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes then turn donuts out and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
ABOUT THE LEMON GLAZE
I love the added sweetness and additional lemon flavor this easy lemon icing adds. It also brings out all the lemon flavor of the donuts!
This tart, sweet icing is the same icing I used for both my Roasted Strawberry Crumb Bars and Sour Cream Lemon Cookies! They’re so delicious and so are these donuts!
HOW DO YOU MAKE LEMON GLAZE FROM SCRATCH?
To make the icing, you just stir together some powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest until smooth.
To decorate the donuts, either drizzle the icing over them, or dunk them and turn them out onto a baking rack to allow the icing to set.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT LEMON DONUTS
I highly recommend using a donut pan. Donut pans are basically molds with holes in the middle which give your batter a donut shape. My pans each make six donuts, so I got two pans. I use Wilton donut pans that I bought online.
I have heard about people baking donuts in muffin tins. I haven’t tried it, but I could see how it could work. You would just need to adjust/increase the cooking time if you used a muffin tin.
They are a dessert, so I wouldn’t call them healthy. That said, baked donuts are definitely healthier than fried donuts since they’re not fried in oil.
These Lemon Donuts are easy enough to make any day of the week! They’re also perfect for any time of the day and any season! You’ll love this quick, easy recipe for moist, tender and delicious donuts topped with a tart-sweet lemon icing!
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Lemon Donuts
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 12 donuts 1x
- Category: Donuts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Lemon Donuts are easy enough to make any day of the week! Moist, tender and delicious donuts topped with a tart-sweet lemon icing!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup oil, vegetable or canola
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk or sour cream, room temperature
FOR THE LEMON ICING
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 1/2– 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease donut pans well with butter (preferable- for flavor) or nonstick spray.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Add the vanilla, buttermilk or sour cream, lemon juice, and oil.
- In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir in the lemon zest.
- Use a piping bag or zip lock bag or spoon to equally fill the donut molds to just about full.
- Bake 9-11 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes then remove from pan and let donuts cool completely on wire rack.
FOR THE LEMON ICING
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar. lemon zest and lemon juice til smooth. If the icing is too thick, add a little more lemon juice. If it’s too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. Drizzle the icing over the cooled donuts or carefully dip them in the icing.
Keywords: lemon, lemon donuts, baked donuts, doughnuts, breakfast, brunch
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