April 1, 2023

Lemon Blueberry Baked Donuts

Sweet, tart and bursting with juicy blueberries, these lemon blueberry baked donuts are perfect for a delicious springtime dessert, breakfast or brunch! These donuts are loaded with blueberry flavor and covered in a lemony glaze that is impossible to resist, not just in the spring, but any time of year!

Although I’m a chocolate lover at heart, when the weather begins to warm up and the sun starts to break through the cloudy days of winter, I’ll be honest that I’m ready for fresh, bright flavors. In the springtime, I love anything citrus-y or fruity, and these baked lemon blueberry donuts do not disappoint! If you’re like me and need a bright and sunny recipe to welcome in the warm spring days, this recipe is for you.

What I also love about these lemon blueberry donuts is that they are baked, not fried. Traditional donuts can be very greasy and heavy, not to mention the frying process is very messy and hard to clean up! These baked donuts are much lighter on the oil, and they’re very easy to whip up. Baked donuts have a similar texture to a cupcake, so they won’t have the same taste as a fried donut at all. But, if I’m completely honest with you, I like them better!

Ingredients You Need

All-Purpose Flour~ For this recipe, regular white flour is best. Although many of my recipes use whole-wheat flour, I would not use it in these donuts because they will be end up being dense and gummy.

White Granulated Sugar~ Just regular white sugar is perfect for this recipe. I would not recommend substituting liquid sweeteners like honey or maple syrup for the sugar.

Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt~ As with all of my recipes, these ingredients are super-duper important! Without them, your donuts will be flat and flavorless.

Lemon Zest~ This ingredient is key to a strong lemon flavor in your donut batter. Be sure when you’re zesting your lemons to only zest the yellow part. Don’t use the white “pith” because it will give your donuts a bitter taste.

Lemon Juice~ Lemon juice adds another boost of lemon flavor, and it also reacts with the baking soda to give your donuts an extra fluffy texture. For the best flavor, be sure to use freshly squeezed juice, not bottled.

Whole Milk~ I highly recommend using whole milk in these donuts because they will have a moister, softer crumb. You can use lower fat milk, but your donuts will be a bit dry. I haven’t experimented with plant-based milk, but let me know if you give something like almond, soy or coconut milk a try.

Oil~ I opted to just use canola oil, but you can use vegetable, olive or coconut oil if you prefer. Melted butter would probably work well too.

Egg~ Eggs are important for leavening, so I don’t recommend leaving this ingredient out. I haven’t tried using an egg substitute like flax eggs, so I cannot vouch for those results.

Blueberries~ I have made these donuts with both fresh and frozen blueberries and either will work. However, I will say that I prefer the texture of the donuts made with fresh berries versus the ones made with frozen.

The Dance

I love how simple these lemon blueberry donuts are to make! To start, add the white sugar and lemon zest to a bowl. Use your fingers to massage the zest and sugar together until you can smell a very strong lemony flavor. Massaging these ingredients helps to release the lemon oils in the zest, which means you will have a stronger lemon flavor in your donuts.

After massaging the zest and sugar, add the lemon juice, oil and whole milk and whisk together until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined before folding in the blueberries. Your batter will be slightly thick, but runny, much like a cake batter. Spoon the batter into donut pans, or if you don’t have donut pans, you can use mini muffin or regular muffin tins and make cupcakes. Or, you could even pour the batter into a loaf pan to make a glazed loaf cake.

Make a simple glaze by whisking together powdered sugar and lemon juice and spoon over the warm donuts. These donuts are amazing warm, but you can serve them completely cooled too. View the video below for a recipe visual:

One bite of these lemon blueberry donuts and you’ll feel like you’re basking in summer sunshine…..

As the weather gets warmer, these are perfect for welcoming in the new season. They would even be great for a festive Easter morning breakfast! However and whenever you choose to enjoy these, I know you’ll love them as much as I do. Because, I’m warning you, they’re dangerously delicious 😉

Happy Spring!