Let’s get down to the business of donuts. Or doughnuts. Or do-nots, as I’ve been calling them lately as I sneak a guilty glance at my shiny new donut pan and ponder what flavor to make next.
But guilt no more. These babies are baked, not fried, and I tinkered with my base recipe at least a dozen times (and dozens of donuts later) until they finally came close to the confections from the corner donut shop.
The funny thing is, I wasn’t even much of a donut eater before I bought my pan. I was a cupcake person. But donuts make less of a mess in the kitchen and from the moment I think about baking donuts for breakfast, to when I actually pull them out of the oven, only 30 minutes have elapsed and my coffee is still nice and hot. Win-win all around.
For this and all future recipes, you’ll need a 6-count donut pan (this is the one I use, but any will do). It is the perfect size for a two-person household. I know you don’t think you’d ever eat three donuts at a time, but trust me, you will. If not all six. And that’s okay, because you surely don’t want a batch of freshly baked donuts to go stale the next day. (At least, that’s what I tell myself.)
Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts
Makes 6 donuts
Ingredients
For the Batter
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
zest from 1 lemon
For the Glaze
1/8 cup lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar
Making Your Baked Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and poppy seeds.
In another bowl (I use a 2-cup Pyrex bowl for easy measuring), whisk together the buttermilk, butter, vanilla extract, egg, and lemon zest.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. (An electric mixer isn’t necessary; by hand, this process only takes a few quick minutes.)
Grease your donut pan with a neutral oil (even with a nonstick pan, I find that a little oil helps release the donuts better).
As an aside… Can we talk about this nifty brush first? It’s a Japanese oil brush, and I first found out about it when a friend whipped it out to grease her takoyaki grill. It’s basically a short, round brush housed inside a container with a lid. Inside the container is a thin platform, full of holes, on top of a spring. You fill the container with a small amount of oil, and each time you need some, you just “pump” the brush inside the container and it gets soaked with oil.
It’s brilliant. Besides oiling my donut pan and other baking dishes, I’ve also used it to season my cast iron pans after cleaning them and to grease my saute pans when I don’t want to use a lot of oil. It’s so convenient to not have to use a paper towel or wash a separate brush when I need a quick swipe of oil!
Once your pan is lightly greased, fill each mold about halfway full with batter. I find it easy enough to fill the molds with a spoon, but you can also pipe the batter into the molds with a piping bag, or make one by cutting the corner off a plastic zip-top bag.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the donut comes out clean.
Remove the pan from the oven and — this is the hard part! — let it cool completely. Try to resist the urge to sample your donuts or glaze the tops until they’re cool to the touch.
To keep yourself occupied, make a glaze by whisking the lemon juice and powdered sugar together until they form a thin paste. I like to squeeze my lemon by hand to get some of the pulpy bits in my glaze, but yours can be as smooth or as pulpy as you want.
Place a baking rack on top of a cookie sheet. When the donuts have completely cooled, flip the pan upside-down onto the rack to release your six perfect donuts.
One by one, dip the donuts into the glaze and let them dry on the rack. I like to double-dip mine, letting the glaze harden between dippings.
Once you taste these things and find yourself inhaling the whole batch in one sitting, you’ll soon be calling them do-nots as well.
Baked Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts
Once you taste these things and find yourself inhaling the whole batch in one sitting, you'll soon be calling them do-nots as well.
Ingredients
For the Batter
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- zest from 1 lemon
For the Glaze
- 1/8 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and poppy seeds. - In another bowl (I use a 2-cup Pyrex bowl for easy measuring), whisk together the buttermilk, butter, vanilla extract, egg, and lemon zest.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined.
- Grease your donut pan with a neutral oil (even with a nonstick pan, I find that a little oil helps release the donuts better).
- Once your pan is lightly greased, fill each mold about halfway full with batter.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the donut comes out clean.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Lisa Hardi liked this on Facebook.
Alma Rios Barraza liked this on Facebook.
Sherry Blossom liked this on Facebook.
Devon Addezio liked this on Facebook.
Evette Michaelis Garcia liked this on Facebook.
Kelly Guerin liked this on Facebook.
Elizabeth DiMartino liked this on Facebook.
Babsi Schneider liked this on Facebook.
Yep, these donuts are baked, not fried. And they’re delicious! Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts http://t.co/8eMYycvYH1 #recipe
These look incredible. I am not sure I can let myself have a doughnut pan but I would make these in a hot second if I did. Thanks for the oil brush tip. I’m going to add that to my list of gadgets to accquire.
Might want to add a bit of baking soda to allow the baking powder to do its job (given the buttermilk)
I’ve found no need to add baking soda to this recipe; there’s enough in the baking powder to leaven the batter.
So quick and easy to whip up one morning. Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts http://t.co/Xib6iUae4W #recipe < TY for RT! @Angry_Saguaro
Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts http://t.co/USOEqAqMx6 #recipe (or as I like to call them, do-NOTS… as in, do not inhale them all!)
RT @theGardenBetty: You can’t have just one. You might even eat all six. In one sitting. Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts http://t.co/ImrGFaRG…
You can’t have just one. You might even eat all six. In one sitting. Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts http://t.co/ImrGFaRGRQ #recipe
RT @theGardenBetty: So quick and easy to whip up one morning… and your coffee will still be hot. Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts http://t.c…
So quick and easy to whip up one morning… and your coffee will still be hot. Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts http://t.co/Xib6iUae4W #recipe
Don Eddy liked this on Facebook.
These babies are baked, not fried… so eat them guilt-free! 😉 Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts http://t.co/oIUfRSSnSq #recipe
Evette Garcia liked this on Facebook.
Kelly Dugan Guerin liked this on Facebook.
Elizabeth DiMartino liked this on Facebook.
Babsi Schneider liked this on Facebook.
So good… you’ll want them for dessert as well as breakfast! Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts http://t.co/Qg3vx8x0Iq #baking #recipe
My god they look delicious. I’m not the hugest doughnut fan either, so maybe I’ll keep myself safe and not get into baking them. However, I will be returning to this recipe in the future I’m sure, in case I ever want a nice pastry snack!
I’ve been wanting to get one of these pans for some time now. You just gave me the reason I need to get one. These look really good. 🙂
Do it! Come on over to the dark side! 😉
It is in my shopping cart on Amazon. 🙂
Devon Addezio liked this on Facebook.
Alma Rios Barraza liked this on Facebook.
Lady Ari liked this on Facebook.
Ooohhhh, they look goooooood! Doughnut pan going on my wishlist 😉
I hope it appears on your doorstep soon!
Lisa Hardi liked this on Facebook.
Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts:
Let’s get down to the business of donuts. Or doughnuts. Or do-nots, as I’ve be… http://t.co/gY34Veu92L
Blogged on Garden Betty: Baked Lemon-Poppy Seed Donuts http://t.co/xnQjfa4yVT