Light, sweet, and refreshing is how I would describe these baked lemon lavender donuts. They are perfect for any occasion and season. Have them with some tea on a cold December evening or bring them to a picnic in July and serve them with a scoop of ice cream in the middle.
One of the reasons why I like baking donuts (instead of frying them) is because you have a a lot more freedom when it comes to the flavours you can infuse them with. And as an added bonus they are also non-greasy.
These donuts freeze well with and without the glaze. Just let them thaw in the fridge for 30 minutes. As with anything frozen, they texture might change a little. Particularly the glaze may become soft and sticky. For that reason I would recommend freezing only what you plan on eating yourself. The flavour, however, will be just as good.
Ingredients wise, everything used in this recipe you will find in a standard pantry. The use of cream to the batter makes the donuts come out airy and light once baked. Culinary lavender can be found in most large grocery stores or online. If you’ve never tasted lavender before, the favor is subtle and it goes well with the tanginess of the lemon.
For baking the donuts, I used a metal 6-cavity standard donut pan. This resulted in 12 donuts. Note: baking time will differ if you use a different size. If you use a different size baking pan, poke a donut with a toothpick once they turn golden-brown to make sure they are done.
See more donut recipes here.
Here is the recipe for baked lemon lavender donuts:
Baked Lemon Lavender Donuts
Ingredients
For the batter:
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup (150 g/ 5 ¼ oz.) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g/ 3 ½ oz.) granulated sugar
- ½ stick (60 g/ 2 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 ml/ 2 oz.) cream (35% fat content)
- zest from ½ medium lemon
- 1 tbsp. culinary lavender, crushed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature forgreasing the pan
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup (120 g/ 4 ¼ oz.) icing sugar
- 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. hot water
Instructions
For the batter:
- Pre-heat oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
- In a bowl, sift the flour, then add the baking powder. Mix them with a whisk and set aside.
- Crack the eggs into another bowl, add the sugar and beat at high speed with an electric mixer. The mixture is ready when almost triplein volume and light in color. Add the vanilla extract, salt, cream, and whisk until incorporated.
- Gently melt the butter over low temperature. Make sure the butter does not bubble. Once melted, set it aside and allow it to cool a little.
- Using a spatula add the flour mix to the bowl with the eggs in three-four steps, mixing after each addition. Make sure the flour is well incorporated, but do not over mix. Add the lemon zest and lavenderand gently fold them into the batter. Add the melted, cooled butter in two steps and mix gently until incorporated. Allow batter to sit for 5 minutes.
- Grease the donut pan with butter. Pipe the batter into the pan filling ¾ of each cavity and bake for 10 minutes, or until donuts spring back when gently pressed.
- Once baked, take the pan out of the oven and allow the donuts to sit in the pan for 2-3 minutes. Transfer the baked donuts to a rack and let them cool.
For the Glaze:
- Add the lemon juice and the hot water to the icing sugar and mix until smooth. Dip or drizzle the glaze over the donuts.
