These Easy Baked Blueberry Cake Donuts With Lemon Glaze are awesome for a special summer treat. Healthier than fried donuts, these are light and fluffy, tender, stuffed with blueberries and dipped in a light lemon glaze. They're the essence of summer and can be on your breakfast table in about 30 minutes.
A few weeks ago I participated in a food photo challenge with the lovely Grey Salt Collective using donuts as our subject. I had bought a donut pan several months ago and had yet to put it to use this was the perfect excuse! (Not that anyone needs an excuse to make donuts!) I wanted to make a summery donut and came up with this delicious blueberry cake donut recipe topped by a delicious lemon glaze icing.
In This Post
Why this recipe works.
- Easy. Making these blueberry cake donuts was super simple and is similar to making muffins. when using the donut pan, which shapes the donuts into cute little donut shapes. (If you're looking for another easy donut recipe, these banana fritters are also delicious and a great way to use up ripe bananas!)
- Healthy(er). Baking the blueberry donuts results in a much healthier option than frying them (not to mention less mess!). These donuts are also super similar to the blueberry cake donuts that can be found at Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts, but without the trek to the store, the pricetag, or the not so great for you ingredients (Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts both fry their donuts).
- A lighter option. These blueberry cake donuts are made with buttermilk, which gives them a lighter texture compared to a traditional muffin, but still keeps them super delicious.
- FAST! If you've ever fried donuts before, you know that it's a process, and a bit messy. These baked blueberry cake donuts are a great option for when you want donuts fast, without the hassle of frying. (Or if you’re just looking to shave off some calories normally associated with fried donuts.) They only take about 10 minutes to bake in the oven!
Ingredients
I wanted something light and fruity so I stuffed these donuts with blueberries and added lemon extract to both the batter and the glaze to give it a delicious summery flavor. Here are the main ingredients you'll need for these homemade blueberry donuts:
- Butter. Use unsalted butter. If salted is all you have, reduce the salt called for in the recipe to ¼ tsp.
- Sugars. You'll use a mix of white granulated sugar and brown sugar for this recipe.
- Eggs & oil.
- Baking soda & baking powder.
- Spices. I added a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg to give these baked blueberry cake donuts a nice warm flavor.
- Vanilla extract. Gives these cake donuts a nice flavor.
- Cake flour. I used cake flour vs. all purpose flour since it has less gluten. This helps the donuts to be chewy and tender without being tough.
- Buttermilk. Using buttermilk keeps these donuts light and airy.
- Lemon extract. The lemon extract is added to the donut batter and the lemon glaze to give them both a nice bright lemony taste.
- Powdered sugar and whole milk. To make the lemon glaze.
- Fresh whole blueberries. Of course you can't have blueberry cake donuts without blueberries! Use fresh ones, and the biggest juiciest ones you can find!
Variations & Substitutions
There are a few things you can sub out if you don't have all the ingredients above, or if you're looking for some different flavors:
Ingredient Substitutions
- Plain yogurt or sour cream. If you don't have buttermilk, don't worry! You can also use yogurt (just make sure it's not flavored) or sour cream for these blueberry cake donuts and they should turn out just as delicious.
- All-purpose flour. If you don't have cake flour, all-purpose flour will also work well for these simple blueberry cake donuts.
- Frozen blueberries. While it's best to use fresh blueberries here, frozen blueberries can work in a pinch.
Substitutions For Different Flavors
- Sub in different fruit. If you’re not in the mood for blueberries, you can easily customize these to your liking by omitting them and adding a different fruit.
- Make them chocolate. Want something a little more indulgent? Take out the lemon extract and blueberries and and sub in cocoa powder or chocolate chips.
- Use other add-ins. You could also add nuts, coconut, or other spices to make a deliciously custom baked cake donut.
How To Make Them
These baked blueberry cake donuts with a lemon glaze are so easy to whip up - you can have them on your breakfast table in under 30 minutes! Here's how to make them:
- Grease the donut pan. Start by greasing your donut pan with butter to ensure the blueberry cake donuts don't stick and are easier to remove after baking.
- Cream the sugars, butter and oil. Combine in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer on a medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Continue to mix the ingredients while adding the egg, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, and lemon. Slowly stir in the cake flour and buttermilk. Your mixture will be fairly thick.
- Add the batter to your prepared donut pan. You could spoon the mixture in but an easier way is to add it to a pastry bag, or a large ziplock bag and just cut off one of the corners. Then pipe the donut batter into the prepared donut pan.
- Add the blueberries to the donuts. I like to add the blueberries separately since if you're using large blueberries, it can be hard to squeeze them through the pastry bag when piping the batter into the pans. Add individual blueberries to each donut by pressing them into the batter with a toothpick or spoon.
- Bake. Bake the blueberry cake donuts for just 8-10 minutes in the oven.
- Make the lemon glaze. Once your blueberry cake donuts have baked, allow them to cool while you whip up the lemon glaze by combining everything in a large bowl. (Adjust the amount of powdered sugar and milk as you go to get the thickness you want in the icing. I wanted just a light glaze so I made mine fairly thin.
- Ice the donuts. You can spoon the lemon glaze over the top of the donuts, or dip the whole donut int the bowl with the lemon glaze.
A fun breakfast treat in just about 30 minutes!
FAQs & Tips For Making These Blueberry Cake Donuts
If you’re using a donut pan, here’s a great tip to make loading them up a bit easier. Spoon your batter into a large ziplock bag. Then snip off one corner and use the bag to pipe the batter into your donut pan. Trust me – this tip made it way easier to get the batter neatly in the pan.
Because we're using the piping method, I added the blueberries at the end to each donut separately by gently pushing them in with a toothpick. If you add the blueberries to the batter before piping it from the ziplock bag, the blueberries may be too large to fit through your opening.
Be sure not to fill your donut cups too full. ⅔ is just about right. This will ensure that the donuts won't expand over the top and create a weird bulging shape on one side. (I may have been a bit guilty of that with some of these!)
These donuts are best eaten the day of, but if you're one of those crazy people who are unable to finish a serving of donuts, here's how to store them:
If the donuts are already glazed, store them on a plate loosely wrapped with plastic in the refrigerator. They should last for about 1 day like this before starting to turn a bit soggy.
If the donuts are not glazed, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2 days.
Yes! If making ahead, prepare the donuts without the icing and store them in an airtight container. (Adding the icing at this point would result in super soggy donuts.) 5-10 minutes before you're ready to serve them, add the lemon glaze.
Absolutely. The extra fat from the oil when you fry donuts adds a lot of extra calories, typically way more than a baked cake donut.
Sure can! If you're lucky enough to have a donut hole pan, you can use that and prepare the donuts just as you would above. You can also use a mini muffin pan. These should take a little less time to bake than full donuts, about 5 minutes. Watch them closely.
I hope you try this recipe for Easy Baked Blueberry Cake Donuts With Lemon Glaze! They're so easy to make and are a great treat to wake up to in the mornings!
If you do try these blueberry donuts, please let me know what you think in the comments! And make sure to tag me on Instagram - I love to see your creations!
Try These Other Great Breakfast Recipes!
- Homemade Blueberry Waffles
- Easy Breakfast Charcuterie Board
- Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Breakfast Pizza
- Egg Muffin Cups
- Blueberry French Toast Casserole
Recipe
Baked Blueberry Cake Donuts With Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
For The Donuts
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅔ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅔ tsp lemon extract
- 2 ¾ cup cake flour
- 1 ⅛ cup buttermilk
- ⅔ cup blueberries, rinsed and dried
For The Glaze
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 5 tablespoon whole milk
- ¾ tablespoon lemon extract
- ¼ tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
- Prepare your donut pan by greasing the trays lightly with butter. Set aside.
- Add butter, vegetable oil, and sugars to a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer to combine (about 3-5 mintues).
- Continue to mix while adding egg, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, and lemon.
- Slowly stir in the cake flour and buttermilk. Your mixture will be fairly thick.
- Add the mixture to a pastry bag or a large ziplock bag, and snip off one corner of the bag.
- Pipe the mixture into the pans, filling only about ⅔ of the way to the top of each opening.
- Add blueberries to each donut by placing them in the pan and pushing them into the batter with a toothpick or spoon.
- Bake donuts in pan for 8-10 minutes (you’ll know they’re done when they spring back after poking them with your finger).
- Let donuts cool in pan for 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the lemon glaze. Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir until well combined. You can make your glaze thicker or thinner by adjusting the ratio of the amount of milk to sugar. More milk and less sugar will make your glaze a bit runnier and less milk, more sugar will make it thicker. (Note: This is glaze is also great to use as a frosting for sugar cookies! I usually omit the lemon extract and just use a whole teaspoon of vanilla when using it for sugar cookies.)
- Remove the donuts from the pan, and allow to cool completely.
- Dip donuts into the glaze and allow to dry. The glaze will harden to a beautiful, smooth, frosting.
Notes
- Don't have buttermilk? You can sub plain greek yogurt or sour cream for similar results.
- All-purpose flour can be used instead of cake flour.
- Use a pastry bag or a large ziplock bag with one corner cut off to make it easier to pipe the donut batter into the donut pans.
- Add your blueberries to the pan separately - sometimes larger blueberries make it hard to pipe the batter through the opening.
- Store un-iced donuts in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Iced donuts should be eaten the day of, or placed on a plate, covered loosely with plastic wrap, and placed in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.
Hailey says
Just made these in honor of national donut day! So so good!!!!