Lemon Filled Donuts

5 from 4 votes

Filled with tart and sweet lemon curd and tossed with lemon sugar, this recipe for homemade Lemon Filled Donuts is a lemon dessert lover’s dream!

Prep Time25

Cook Time15

Resting Time2

Total Time2 40

Course: Donuts

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: donuts

Calories: 340kcal

Author: Natalie

Equipment

Ingredients

Lemon Curd

2 tablespoons lemon zest
⅔ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
½ cup lemon juice*
⅛ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Donuts

¾ cup whole milk or 2%, heated to 105 F- 115 F
2 ¼ teaspoons one package active dry yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar divided
3 ¼ cups all purpose flour or up to 4 cups, plus more for rolling out the dough
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs room temperature
½ cup unsalted butter room temperature, sliced into tablespoons
vegetable oil about 6 cups, for frying
1⅔ cups granulated sugar for lemon sugar coating
2 lemons zested, for lemon sugar coating

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Lemon Curd

Cut the butter into four pieces. Place the butter in a medium heat proof glass mixing bowl. Place a large fine sesh sieve over the bowl. Set aside.
Add the sugar and lemon zest to a medium pot. Use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar.
Pour the lemon juice, pinch of salt and eggs into the sugar and whisk to combine. Try to break up the egg whites while you whisk. Set pot over low heat.
Stir constantly with a silicone whisk while the curd cooks and until the curd thickens. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the curd registers 160 to 170 F on an instant read thermometer. You can also check for doneness using the spoon method. Dip a wooden spoon into the curd and run your finger across the back of the spoon to make a line. If the line stays clear, the curd is ready.
Remove pot from heat. Pour the curd through the sieve into the butter. Use a spatula to help press the curd throught the sieve. Set sieve aside then stir curd til the butter has melted completely. Pour the curd into an airtight container. Allow to cool til room temperature before covering the container. Set in the fridge to chill til you're ready to use it.

Donuts

Heat the milk in the microwave til it reaches 105 F -115 F. Stir in the yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar til yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.*
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, add the flour, salt, butter, eggs and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.
Once the yeast is foamy, add it to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Beat on low until a soft dough forms. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 10-15 more minutes or until the dough passes the windowpane test-*Take a piece of dough about the size of a walnut. Gently stretch it between two hands as far as possible. If it tears easily, kneading it a bit longer. You should be able to spread it to where it’s thin enough to can see light pass through. Once you get to that point, you can stop mixing.
Lightly grease a large mixing bowl with oil or butter and transfer dough to that bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let dough rise in a draft free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours. Once it has doubled in size, punch dough down to remove excess air.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin til dough is 1/2 inch thick. (Lightly flour both your rolling pin and donut cutter). Use a 3 inch donut cutter to cut out as many rounds as possible. Place donuts on a large lightly floured baking sheet, being careful not to place them too close together.
Cover donuts with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft free room at room temperature until they appear slightly puffed, about 30 minutes.
About 15 minutes before the donuts finish rising, add about 3 inches of oil to a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and heat it to 355 F. While the oil warms, line baking sheets with paper towels and take out a slotted spoon.
Fry donuts (about 3 at a time) for around 1 minute or minute and a half on each side, or until golden brown. Recheck the temperature of the oil periodically as you go, so as not to let the oil get too cool or too hot. Adjust temprature of oil as needed. Drain on paper towels briefly thenr roll the donuts in granulated sugar or granulated sugar mixed with lemon zest while donuts are still warm. Cool to room temperature before filling with lemon curd.
To fill donuts, transfer lemon curd to a pastry bag with a wide tip. Insert the end of a spoon (not the end you eat with) into the side of a donut to create some space for the curd.
Gently squeeze lemon curd into the donut. Enjoy!

Notes

*1 medium-size lemon= about 1 tablespoon lemon zest and 2 -3 tablespoons lemon juice

**If the yeast doesn't activate and get foamy, discard it and start over.

*** I don't recommend rolling dough out a second time to use up the remaining dough. Doing so can give you hard donuts. That said, if you do want to use up the remaining dough, gently knead the scraps together only as much as necessary, making sure not to overwork it. Let it rest a few minutes then roll it out and cut our the remaining donuts.

Nutrition