Mini Lemon Raspberry Donuts
Bright lemon donuts topped with a vibrant raspberry glaze make these mini baked donuts a joy to eat on a sunny Spring day. And, unlike yeast donuts, these bad boys can be made in a flash! As soon as you see the sun peak out from behind the clouds, you should whip up a batch of mini lemon raspberry donuts.
This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission as an Amazon Associate (or other affiliate program) from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products that I use and trust.
But First: Donuts vs. Doughnuts
Not surprisingly, “doughnuts” is the correct spelling and “donuts” is the shortened American version. But it has become so commonly used that even Merriam-Webster says that both spellings are acceptable.
Well, I can live with acceptable! Tell me, how do you spell these treats? And let me know if you’re from the US or not. Now I’m curious!
Mini Lemon Raspberry Donuts
My brother got me these adorable mini donut pans for Christmas and I’ve been dying to take them for a spin! Donuts have been on my To Bake list for ages! One day I’ll tackle yeast donuts, but today is not that day.
Spring screams for citrus, so I knew I wanted to do baked lemon donuts, but I wasn’t sure what other flavor to incorporate. So I polled my Instagram followers and my family. Raspberry was a clear favorite!
Baked Lemon Donuts
Since I’ve never made donuts before, I had to find a recipe to get me started. As luck should have it, I was flipping through the March 2017 issue of Cooking Light and ran across a matcha donut recipe. I made some tweaks, but it was a great starting point.
The donut batter was as simple as could be to whip up. I decided to use a piping bag fitted with a 2A tip to fill the cavities, but a spoon would work too. Do not overfill them! Just go halfway up, or one swirl with the piping bag.
How Many Will I Make?
Every donut pan is going to be different. With mine, I got 19 mini lemon donuts, but if I hadn’t overfilled my first ones, I could have easily piped 20. The size of your pans will affect bake time as well. Mine baked for about 9 minutes. If you use a larger pan, you’ll likely need to increase bake time to 12 minutes, give or take. They will spring back when poked.
Raspberry Glaze
How gorgeous is that red raspberry glaze?! And not a single drop of food color! We’re mixing raspberry powder, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water to make the sweet, tart glaze that will finish off our mini lemon raspberry donuts.
After you’ve added the 2 tablespoons of water, you will probably need to add a tiny bit more to get the right consistency. If it is too thick, it won’t spread out, and if it is too thin, it will run down the sides. Adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more water to thin. I kept my glaze on the thick side.
Related Reading: Nutella Donuts & Donut Holes
Watch & Learn
I made a bold decision when I filmed this recipe. As I mentioned, I had never made donuts before and I had no idea what to expect. It seemed straightforward enough, so I figured, what the hey!
As you can see, mini lemon raspberry donuts are truly so easy to make. I can’t believe I waited so long to try them! Now I’ll want to be making them in just about any flavor.
Top Tips for Baked Donuts
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help everything blend nicely and give your donuts a nice texture.
- Do NOT over mix. Once you add the wet and dry ingredients, stir until just combined.
- Spray the pans with pan release and use a pastry brush to make sure all the nooks and crannies are covered.
- Fill the donut cavities no more than halfway.
Enjoy!
Mini lemon raspberry donuts are sweet, tart, and a sure way to brighten anyone’s day. Use this simple recipe to whip up adorable mini donuts any day of the week. You can even mix and match flavors to create your own unique treat.
Did you enjoy this post? If you’re pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down, you might want to pop over to Facebook and give the Bakes & Blunders page a follow!
Mini Lemon Raspberry Donuts
Ingredients
Mini Lemon Donuts
- 6 oz cake flour sifted
- 4 oz sugar
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 fl oz buttermilk room temperature
- 2 fl oz water
- 2 oz unsalted butter melted
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 drop yellow gel color
Raspberry Glaze
- 6 oz powdered sugar sifted
- 1/2 oz raspberry powder* sifted
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 3 Tbsps water
Instructions
Mini Lemon Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray your mini donut pans with pan release. Make sure to get every nook and cranny. Prepare a piping bag with a 2A piping tip (if using).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a measuring glass, whisk together the buttermilk, water, melted butter, lemon zest, egg, and yellow food gel. Add the wet ingredients to the large bowl of dry ingredients. Whisk or stir until combined.
- Use a piping bag or a spoon, fill the donut pan no more than halfway up in each cavity. Bake 8- 10 minutes. The donuts should spring back when poked.
- Cool in the pans for 2 minutes, then flip them out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before adding the glaze.
Raspberry Glaze
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, raspberry powder, lemon juice, and water. If too thick, add water a tiny bit at a time. If too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar. The glaze should be runny, but not too thin.
- Use a piping bag or a spoon to add the glaze to the mini lemon donuts.
Notes
- *To make raspberry powder, pulse freeze dried raspberries in a food processor. Sift out the seeds and large chunks.
- For a more intense lemon donut, sub some lemon juice for water.
- If you don't have enough pans to bake all of your donuts at once, cover the remaining batter while the first donuts bake. After they've cooled, grease the pans again, fill, and bake.
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
You May Also Like
Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti
Maple Orange Bread Pudding
