Lemon Poppyseed Baked Donuts
These lemon poppyseed baked donuts are soft, moist, and bursting with fresh lemon flavor while popping with crunchy poppyseeds in both the tender donuts and the sweet lemon glaze.
This blog post was originally posted on March 31, 2014, and has been updated with new pictures.
Hey there, and welcome back, friends.
You are in for a treat!
I brought these lemon poppyseed baked donuts to a baby shower party. When I heard the theme of “pop,” my mind went straight to poppyseeds, and considering I am still baking my way into Spring, lemons were perfect for the occasion. Nothing screams Spring like lemon poppyseed!
Oh, I should mention I finally invested in a donut pan. And I am in big trouble. Guys, I am ADDICTED!! Like whoa!! Baked donuts are amazing. Soft, moist, delicious, and perfect with your morning cup of coffee or tea. I immediately made a second batch!
These lemon poppyseed baked donuts were the first donuts I made as soon as I got my pan, and they are everything I expected baked donuts to be: Moist, fluffy, and a little crunchy from the poppyseeds.
How do they compare to fried donuts? Well, for one, they are baked and much better for you. But also, they are really moist and have a great, tender texture.
But of course, fried donuts will always have a little edge because they are fried, but since these are pretty delicious and better for the soul, I will stick with them.
They are great for a quick breakfast and only took me 15 minutes to whip up, and they baked in 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- cake flour
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- a few poppyseeds
- some buttermilk & milk
- lemon juice
- unsalted butter
- a large egg
- vanilla bean paste or seeds from a vanilla bean
- powdered sugar
How to Make Baked Lemon Poppyseed Donuts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a doughnut pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and poppyseed.
In a measuring cup, whisk together the wet ingredients: buttermilk, melted butter, egg, lemon juice, and vanilla bean paste.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Mix until just combined. Do not overmix, as you will have rubbery donuts.
Using a small spoon, scoop batter into the prepared donut pan, filling each about two-thirds full.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the donuts are baked through and spring back when lightly touched.
Let cool in the pan for 1 minute and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. While the donuts are cooling, make the glaze.
To make the glaze, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together. Add some more milk (one teaspoon at a time) if the glaze is too thick.
When the donuts are completely cooled, dip each in glaze and top with sprinkles. Let the glaze set for 30 minutes before stacking or serving. Donuts are best enjoyed within two days.
How to Store
Store leftover donuts at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
More Irresistible Spring Recipes
What do you think of this amazing lemon poppyseed baked donut recipe? What would you serve with these baked donuts? Let me know in the comment section below.
If you share across social media, make sure to tag #aclassictwist, so I can see your beautiful creation come to life!
Happy Spring baking, friends!
Lemon Poppyseed Donut Recipe
Lemon Poppyseed Baked Donuts
These lemon poppyseed baked donuts are soft, moist, and bursting with fresh lemon flavor while popping with crunchy poppyseeds in both the tender donuts and the sweet lemon glaze.
Ingredients
For the Donuts
- 1 cup cake flour, sifted
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon poppyseed
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg
- ½ tablespoon vanilla bean paste or seeds from ½ a vanilla bean
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons milk
- Poppyseed, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a doughnut pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and poppyseed. In a measuring cup, whisk together wet ingredients; buttermilk, melted butter, egg, lemon juice, and vanilla bean paste.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix as you will have rubbery donuts. Using a small spoon, scoop batter into the prepared donut pan, filling each about ⅔ full.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the donuts are baked through and spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan for 1 minute and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. While cooling, make the glaze.
- To make the glaze, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together. Add some more milk (one teaspoon at a time) if the glaze is too thick.
- When donuts are completely cooled, dip each in glaze and top with sprinkles. Let glaze set for 30 minutes before stacking or serving. Donuts are best enjoyed within two days.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 199Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 279mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 0gSugar: 21gProtein: 3g
Congrats to both mamas! And these donuts look delicious!! Wish I had one right now to go with my coffee 🙂
Thanks Kelly!
Oh my goodness these look amazing! I also have a love for my donut pan! YUM!
My donut pan and I have a little (large) love affair, and I have yet to bake a lemon poppyseed treat this season. Time to combine the too with your fab, fluffy recipes. Congrats to the mommas-to-be too!
I just declared my full fledged love for my donut pan. We are not lovers and I am not ashamed to say!! Thanks for visiting 🙂
Congrats to Kelly and Hilary! I love baked donuts, and I just whipped some up this weekend as well. I love the lemon poppyseed combination — so fresh and bright, and that glaze looks fabulous!
Thank you Marcie!! I am now a convert to the baked donut world. They are so easy to make and the flavor options seem endless at this point. I can’t wait to try your coconut and blueberry version!!
I love these- doughnuts with lemon and poppyseed’s are amazing! Loving the fact these are also baked- I prefer baked doughnuts as they’re a lot lighter and cake-like! 🙂
Thanks Jessica! I love that we both brought poppyseed to the party 🙂 Great minds!!
You know I’m a poppy seed fanatic, right?! These donuts are amazing!!!
I know!! Thanks 🙂
Awe these are so perfect for a baby shower! LOVE the spring flavors!!
Me too!! Thanks dear!
Zainab, these sound wonderful!! Thanks so much to you and Ashley for hosting the shower and for inviting me to participate, so much fun! Will be pinning all of these great treats and have a happy Monday!
Thank you very much Cindy!! And thanks for being a part of this special shower for Kelly and Hilary!! Hope you are having a great start to the week.
Zainab I love that you made lemon poppyseed donuts, I can’t wait to try them 🙂
Thanks Emily!
I need to get a doughnut pan, especially after seeing this recipe! These look delicious!
Chloe yes you do!! I said that for a long time and once I finally did, I was surprised how much I was missing out!!
Donuts are the perfect way to start the week! I’m a huge fan of baked donuts and am so glad you made the investment in a donut pan. Can’t wait to try these! Thanks for much for helping me plan the surprise, Zainab! And for coming up the idea in the first place 🙂
Thank you very much Ashley for organizing everything!! You are a stellar planner 🙂
Yum!!! This is such an adorable idea! I love these donuts – they look crazy delicious!! Kudos to investing in a pan and good luck HA! It brought me a bit too much happiness when I first got one :D.
Thanks Jessica! That pan is being put to so much use already 🙂