Lemon drizzle baked doughnuts are full of spring time flavours. If you love a lemon drizzle you’ll love this playful and delicious bake. This is a light baked doughnut full of lemon and topped with a zingy lemon icing and drizzle topping. Light, fresh and full of citrus. Such a winner and a perfect bake for Easter. 

No mixer, just a bowl and spoon needed to make these goodies. If you have special doughnut tins that’s great, if not, using a muffin pan and decorate with the icing– it’ll still be just as delicious. 

Ingredients for lemon drizzle baked doughnuts

250g self rising flour

120g caster sugar

2 large eggs

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp vegetable oil 

2 tsp vanilla extract

180ml milk

Zest 2 lemons

For the icing:

450g icing sugar (sifted) Plus extra 75g icing sugar and hot wat

4 tbsp lemon juice (approx 1 ½ lemons)

Yellow food colouring (optional)

Plus extra 75g icing sugar and hot water approx 1 tbsp for the white drizzle (optional)

If you like you can add the zest from another lemon to the tops of each doughnut for extra flavour.

Makes 12 baked doughnuts

Method for lemon drizzle baked doughnuts

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C (200°C in fan oven) Gas Mark 7.

Line the doughnut tins with baking spray and flour and leave to one side. If you don’t have baking spray, pop a bit of oil onto some kitchen towel and wipe across the inside of each doughnut mould.

Weigh out the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder) and sift into a large mixing bowl. Then add the caster sugar. Stir to combine then leave to one side. 

Measure the milk into a jug. Crack in the eggs and add the vanilla extract, lemon zest and oil into the liquids. Stir to combine. 

Add the wet ingredients into the dry, gradually to avoid lumps. (Don’t worry too much if there are a few lumps, it’s a bit like making muffins, better not to overmix and have a light batter than to have a super smooth consistency and have heavy doughnuts.)

Pour the mixture into a jug then fill each mould ½ full (the mixture rises quite a bit). 

Bake in the middle shelf of the oven for 7 minutes. (It honestly doesn’t take long at all – you just want the mixture to be springy to the touch and just coming away from the sides). 

Leave to cool for 5/10 minutes in the tin and then using a knife gently go around the outside of each doughnut to loosen and take out of the tin. They should come out easily. Leave on a wire rack to cool. 

While they are cooling, make the water icing. 

Measure and sieve out the icing sugar (this can sometimes feel quite time consuming but you really need to, nobody wants lumpy icing). Then gradually add the lemon juice from the lemons you zested earlier. . The lovely thing about this type of icing is that if it’s a little thick, just add more water or lemon juice and if its too runny add another tablespoon of water. It’s very forgiving that way. No stress here. The consistency you’re after is pretty thick; just pouring off a spoon. Too runny and it will just run off the sides. 

If you want to add in a few drops of yellow food colouring at this stage. I like to add a little because it creates a lovely lemon colour which contrasts well with the white drizzle if you choose to add it.  Gel food colouring is so great. It adds so much colour even with the smallest amount and compared to liquid colouring doesn’t water down your icing. I always use ProGel, it works so well.

Using a spoon, coat each baked doughnut in the icing and place back on the cooling rack. 

Once you’ve iced all of the doughnuts, you can fill a piping bag with some additional water icing and drizzle it over the iced doughnuts and then add some extra lemon zest to each. 

The doughnuts are best eaten on the day they are made and will keep in an airtight container for 2 days. 

Love lemon and want more baking ideas? Try our Raspberry ripple lemon mousse or Lemon and blueberry cupcakes or Lemon ginger carrot cake cupcakes

Want more baked doughnut recipes? Try our Double Chocolate Baked Doughnuts