Baked Citrus Doughnuts

Name: Baked Citrus Doughnuts
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 8 tablespoons of butter, room temperature; 1 cup of granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon of citrus extract (lemon, lime or clementine); 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour; 2 teaspoons of baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon of salt; 1/4 cup of whole milk; 1 tablespoon of fresh citrus zest; 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice; 1/4 cup of fresh orange juice; 1 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar; 2-3 teaspoons of fresh citrus juice

August 14, 2021

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These cheerful citrus doughnuts are delicious, easy, baked (aka no messy cleanup) and can be made with lemons, limes, clementines, grapefruit, oranges or a fun combination of citrus fruits and when paired with my creamy citrus buttercream frosting, these doughnuts pack a bright, tangy punch of citrus that everyone will love.

Let’s get started…

Begin by gathering 8 tablespoons of room temperature butter, 1 cup of granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon of citrus extract, 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup of whole milk, 1 tablespoon of citrus zest, 1/4 cup of lime juice and 1/4 cup of orange juice.

The most important element of these doughnuts is the citrus! Today, I am using a combination of lemons, limes and clementines, but you can use any kind of citrus you like or have on hand. For the batter, you will need a nice heaping tablespoon of fresh citrus zest and 1/2 cup of fresh citrus juice. I highly suggest using organic fruit for these doughnuts, as the zest is big part of the flavor in these delicious baked desserts and the outer skin of non-organic fruits can be full of pesticides… we don’t want anything like that in our doughnuts, right?

Once you have harvested your citrus juice and zest, combine 8 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup of granulated sugar in a large bowl until the mixture is creamy and a nice pale yellow.

Next, add 2 eggs along with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite citrus extract and mix until fully combined.

Next, add 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and whisk until the dry ingredients are just combined.

Last, but not least, gently whisk in 1 tablespoon of citrus zest, 1/4 cup of lime juice and 1/4 cup of clementine juice (or 1/2 cup of any citrus juice).

Now that your beautiful citrus batter is ready to go, fill greased doughnut tins half way… only half way! This batter fluffs up a lot as it bakes, so filling your tins half way will result in perfectly shaped doughnuts that still have a hole in the center. You can fill the tins with a spoon or transfer the batter into a piping back, which is a bit easier to work with in my opinion, but this is totally optional, of course.

This recipe makes about 36 small doughnuts or 20-24 large doughnuts (you can definitely cut this recipe in half for a smaller batch!).

Bake your doughnuts on the center set rack of a 350 degree oven until they are lightly golden, puffed up and a toothpick comes out of the center clean. The smaller doughnuts will take around 10 minutes and the larger doughnuts 12-14 minutes to fully bake.

Once they are baked, transfer them out of the tins and directly onto a cooling rack.

While the doughnuts are cooling, make a simple citrus glaze by whisking 2-3 teaspoons of fresh citrus juice into 1 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar. It’s simple, but perfect for these delicate doughnuts.

Once your doughnuts have cooled, slide a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper under your cooling rack and dip or drizzle your doughnuts with some of that citrus glaze.

If you want to add something extra special, sprinkle a little fresh citrus zest or maybe some brightly colored sprinkles over the glaze before it sets.

Aren’t they pretty?

These happy little doughnuts are light and airy in texture, but bold and tangy in flavor. With a beautiful balance of sweetness and tartness, you are going to love these happy little doughnuts!

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