This baked cake-like doughnut offers a light, fluffy texture that tastes like summer!
When I began gardening, it encouraged me to live my life in seasons, appreciating what each had to offer. Each season gave me more and more to look forward to. Delicious soups and fun festivals in the fall, warm tea and a great book on a cold winter day, colorful azaleas that pop up everywhere in the spring, and, in the summer, these delicious Honey Lemon Doughnuts.
Lemon and honey are a delicious combination any time of the year, but for me, they remind me of summertime. Light, bright, and full of fresh flavor - it just tastes like sunshine. These doughnuts are great for a simple breakfast and are beautiful enough for a bridal brunch or baby shower.
These Honey Lemon Cake Doughnuts freeze beautifully, making them the perfect addition to meal prep for those summer vacations. Don’t forget to check out our Baked Blueberry
Doughnuts and our Apple Cider Doughnuts!
To Make These Honey Lemon Cake Doughnuts You Will Need:
All-purpose flour
You can absolutely use gluten-free flour for this recipe; however, I used standard, all-purpose. To ensure accurate flour measurements, use a spoon to add the flour to your measuring cup and level it off with a flat edge, like the back of a butterknife.
Baking Powder, Baking Soda, & Fine Sea Salt
All are necessary for adding rise and flavor to our doughnuts.
Butter
We love the richness real butter adds to baked goods, but you can certainly replace the butter with a neutral oil like olive oil, or avocado oil. You’ll want to use 1 ½ Tablespoons of oil for the batter.
Eggs
Fresh eggs will help to add rich flavor and moisture as well as help bind the dry ingredients.
Milk
I used 2% milk for this recipe because that’s what we typically have on hand on a regular basis. However, buttermilk would also be delicious. If using buttermilk, reduce the amount to ¾ cup.
Honey
I used organic, raw honey to add sweetness and moisture.
Lemon Extract
I have a super easy homemade recipe for this. However, you can find a store-bought version online or just simply use vanilla extract.
Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice
The lemon in this recipe will pair perfectly with the sweetness of the honey and add a little more complexity to each bite.
How to Make Honey Lemon Cake Doughnuts
Baked doughnuts are probably one my absolute favorite breakfasts to make because they come together so quickly and effortlessly.
The short version of making almost any doughnut, muffin, or other baked good is to combine wet ingredients in one bowl, combine dry ingredients in another bowl, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir well. It may seem unnecessary to dirty up so many bowls, but there is actually some pretty cool science that happens when we separate the ingredients like this. When we use leavening agents, also known as aeration agents, like baking powder or baking soda, we want to make sure they're being dispersed evenly. This helps to ensure an even rise and consistency in flavor.
Tips and Tricks
No Doughnut Pan - I highly recommend using a doughnut pan for this recipe. If you don’t have a doughnut pan, try making them into muffins instead.
Muffins - To make this recipe as muffins instead of doughnuts, fill each muffin cup ¾ of the way full. The baking time should be increased to about 22 minutes. I recommend checking them at 22 minutes and then every two minutes until they pass the toothpick test.
These Honey Lemon Cake Doughnuts are sure to brighten your day and are totally worth turning the oven on for!
Yield: Approximately 18 Doughnuts
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1/3 cups Honey
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 ¼ cup Milk
3 Tablespoons Lemon Extract
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Lemon Zest, from two lemons
Lemon Juice, from half of a lemon
½ cup Powdered Sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, gently whisk together milk, butter, eggs, honey, lemon extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest from one lemon.
Using a sifter, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
Gently combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Batter will thicken as it rests for 3-5 minutes.
Spray non-stick baking spray onto doughnut pans, and fill each opening ¾ of the way full.
Bake for 17-20 minutes or until doughnuts are golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pan for 3-5 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Using a sifter, gently shake powdered sugar over doughnuts. Sprinkle each using zest from remaining lemon and fine sea salt.
Storage Instructions
These doughnuts are best while warm. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Warm in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
Freezing Instructions
Do not top doughnuts with powdered sugar and lemon zest until ready for serving. Store doughnuts in a freezer-safe bag for up to one month. To reheat, thaw doughnuts at room temperature and then microwave for 15-20 seconds.
If you made these Honey Lemon Cake Doughnuts let us know how they turned out in the comments!
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