Meyer Lemon Baked Doughnuts
These Meyer Lemon Baked Doughnuts are are yeast risen, so there's no special pan required. They're sweet, tangy and taste just as good as the real thing!
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After purchasing a doughnut pan last fall, I promised to post lots and lots of recipes for baked doughnuts in the future. Well, folks, the future is now. I love my doughnut pan. I love that we can make easier, healthier, less-kitchen-clean-up-required doughnuts in the oven. Man, I love doughnuts (see my recipe for apple cider baked doughnuts here.)
When I was a kid, I actually had what some might consider a "doughnut problem". My dad would go out every Sunday morning and get big boxes of freshly made doughnuts and danish from a local bakery. They were SO good and I would literally - LITERALLY - polish off the entire box throughout the day. Doughnuts for breakfast, doughnuts for lunch, and doughnuts to spoil my dinner. Here's a picture of me on a typical Sunday morning: clad in jammies (Harrah's t-shirt REPRESENT), sitting on my feet, totally getting after that Boston cream.
It's no wonder that by the time I was 12 I developed such aggressive stretch marks on my thighs that a girl on the beach gasped when she saw me and asked if I had been attacked by a cat (true story). My dad loved seeing me happy and knew doughnuts made me happy and I love him for that. But for goodness sake, I think we can all agree that someone needed to teach me a little self control.
Doughnuts and I have since moved on to a healthier relationship, which is why I find the concept of a baked doughnut so alluring. Everything I love about sweet, doughy doughnuts, only a tad bit healthier. I love my doughnut pan and I cannot wait to bake with it some more, but my inner 9-year-old Coley really wanted a yeast-risen doughnut. To me, yeasted doughnuts will always reign supreme.
A yeast-risen doughnut is more bread-like in texture as opposed to a cake doughnut which is (obviously) more cake-like. Think Krispy Kreme vs. Entenmann's. Both awesome, but I'll always pick the Krispy Kreme if I have to choose (and hopefully I'll never have to).
There are a lot of baked doughnut recipes on the internet, but only a few yeasted versions. I found a great base recipe to work with here. I changed it up a smidge by cutting the sugar, but I think that was a mistake. These could have been a tad bit sweeter. I reverted back to the full amount of sugar for the recipe below, and I suggest you keep it that way. Sugar, in addition to making the doughnuts sweeter, will also make them more tender. That's especially important for this baked version.
Now you won't need that doughnut pan for these, but you will need a doughnut cutter... that is if you want to make a classic doughnut shape. You could totally just cut these into strips and be done with it, but where's the fun in that?
I've been waiting all season to make another Meyer lemon recipe, and once again I couldn't keep myself from adding in a dash of cardamom. Meyer lemon and cardamom are magical together. You can skip the cardamom if you wish, but it really enhances the floral notes in the Meyer lemon and makes these taste so much more complex.
Now here's the crazy part. I made these doughnuts. I glazed them. All was fine and well. They were really good! I ate way too many (shocker) and then froze the rest. When I was ready for another (it was a week later I swear), I took one out and set it out on the counter to defrost. I became impatient after about 30 seconds, so I popped it into the toaster oven and kept a close watch. Once it had defrosted and warmed through, I ate it (and burned the %@$# out of my mouth). Somehow it miraculously tasted even better than when they were fresh. The glaze sort of caramelized and clung to the outside and was definitely channeling Krispy Kreme. It's totally an optional step, but one I couldn't leave out of this post (and one I highly recommend).
Now that I've successfully made baked yeasted doughnuts, I'm super excited to try them out another way. The doughnut pan will have to wait for the next round, because my inner 9-year-old Coley is demanding a Boston cream. Stay tuned.
One Year Ago: Best Ever Chicken Cutlets (Video!)
Two Years Ago: Bacon Candy (Video!)
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Meyer Lemon Baked Doughnuts
Ingredients
For the Doughnuts
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast 1 packet
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon, divided
- ¾ cup warm milk divided
- 2 tablespoons melted butter plus more for brushing
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon Meyer lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 ½ cups flour plus more as needed
For the Meyer Lemon Glaze
- 1 teaspoon Meyer lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, stir together the yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ¼ cup warm milk. Let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
- In the meantime, mix together the remaining ⅓ cup sugar, ½ cup warm milk, melted butter, and salt. Add that mixture to the yeast once proofed along with the egg, Meyer lemon zest, and cardamom. Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Add the flour. If using a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and mix on low. If mixing by hand, use a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula. Mix until the dough starts to pull away from the bowl, about 2 minutes. If it is very sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until it comes together. Avoid adding more than ½ cup extra.
- Turn the mixer to medium and knead for 5 minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
- Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm, draft free spot until doubled, about 1 to 2 hours.
- When doubled, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it to ½ inch thick. Use a donut cutter to cut out as many as possible, then reroll the scraps.
- Place donuts on parchment lined baking sheets. Cover and let rise again until doubled.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush the tops with melted butter, then bake for exactly 7 minutes. Do not let them brown.
- Allow donuts to cool completely. Make the glaze by combining the Meyer lemon zest, juice, milk, cardamom, salt, and melted butter. Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.
- Dip donuts into the glaze on all sides except the bottom. Transfer to a rack and let set for 20 minutes.
- Optional: Return the glazed donuts to the oven at 400°F for about 2 minutes to help the glaze soak in. Cool before serving.
Notes
- Keep the dough soft. Adding too much extra flour at the end will make the donuts tough.
- Do not let them brown in the oven. Pale donuts will stay more tender.
- Make sure the glaze is fully smooth before dipping.
- For the best texture, allow glaze to cool completely before serving.
- If frying instead of baking, keep oil at a steady 350°F so they cook evenly.
Nutrition
I’m going to make these for Easter because they look perfect and so refreshing. I have made your apple doughnuts a million times and they are so easy and delicious every time. What are your thoughts if I make these lemon doughnuts in a similar way to that recipe instead of doing the yeast and rising portion called for here? I’d happily take a, “you’ll be missing out!” response if you don’t recommend. I just feel so comfortable with your Apple doughnut recipe and wondered if I could do the lemon sub. 🙂
Hey Mer! I think this could work with some tweaks. I say give it a try, but use these measurements instead:
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon Meyer lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Bake according to the apple cider donuts recipe, then dip them in the glaze instead of cinnamon sugar. It should work, but no guarantees since I haven't tried it. But please report back and let me know how they are!
I made these with your amended measurements and baked like the Apple doughnuts and they were SO good! Thank you for giving me the substitutions. I had a little less batter than I normally do to fill my doughnut trays but I may have been over mixing and making it too tough 🙂 I still will try the lemon recipe exactly as posted, I’m sure you made it extremely easy to achieve. Another Coley cooks gem.
I'm SO happy this worked!! Thanks Mere! <3
do you have to use Meyer lemons?
You can use regular lemons but the Meyers really do make a difference in flavor.
What would be your thoughts on using gluten free flour. It’s a one for one- but just thought I would ask. These look scrumptious!
Thank you and Happy Easter! 🐇
I haven't tested it so I don't know for sure - I'm sorry I don't have a better answer!
If i dont have whole milk would buttermilk, or 1% milk do the trick?
Use the 1% milk
If i dont have whole milk wouldbuttermilk, or 1% milk do the trick?
I made these for Easter Brunch. Either I did something wrong or was mislead about the term donuts. They turned out to be lemon bread circles with glaze. Not that tasty, certainly not donut like at all. They were dense bread, more bagel-ish than donut . Did I do something wrong or have unrealistic expectations for a baked donut ?
Hi Louise, I'm so sorry to hear these were a disappointment for you. While they are not *quite* the same as a fried doughnut, they shouldn't have turned out the way you described. It sounds like a few things could have happened, which is always possible when working with yeasted doughs. They could have risen too much or too little, over or under kneaded, but to me it sounds like they may have been over baked. This could have been due to your oven not being calibrated correctly, which is very common. I appreciate your honest feedback, so I will be retesting this recipe again to see if I can update it with any new pointers or steps.
hi, will regular lemons suffice, I would think so? if meyer lemons are unavailable? thank you!
Absolutely!! They’ll still turn out delicious 😊
Can't wait to try this recipe! Lemon is, in my opinion, the best flavour in terms of baking and these look delicious ,
Thank you so much! They were super tasty. We're huge fans of lemon in this house as well! 😀
Sorry, there was an ad covering it
They look good however i was just looking for a recipe not an autobiography,paragraph or 2 fine,not several
Thanks Nadine!
Boo to you, Nadine! I liked hearing about her obsession with donuts. And I might soon make these tasty looking lemon gems. (If I can make my self get off the computer)..
Aww, thanks Judith! <3
These are a dream come true! I'm on Team Krispy Kreme! And you know my obsession with Meyer lemons. Mine are such gnarly specimens compared to the ones in your photos.
Love that pic of you scarfing doughnuts. I'm very impressed how clean your feet were as a kid.
These doughnuts look scrumptious! Gotta love those meyer lemons.