With simple ingredients and fresh flavors, these Raspberry Lemon Baked Doughnuts are a fun breakfast for a holiday…or any day. They’re easy to stir together and have the brightest fruit flavor!
Raspberry Lemon Baked Doughnuts
I’m always amazed at how excited my kids are when I bake something in a donut pan and these fruit-forward doughnuts are a favorite! The flavor is so bright and zesty from the raspberries and fresh lemon zest—and they’re super easy to stir together.
Ingredients You Need
To make this recipe you need:
- all-purpose flour
- brown sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- unsalted butter
- egg
- plain whole milk yogurt or milk
- vanilla extract
- fresh raspberries
- fresh lemon zest
TIP: To make these dairy-free, use your favorite plain nondairy milk.
How to Make Baked Donuts Step-by-Step
Here’s a look at how to make this recipe. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the full information.
- Stir the dry ingredients together.
- Add the wet ingredients.
- Stir together gently but thoroughly.
- Divide batter among the donut pan and bake.
- Let cool on a wire rack.
- Drizzle with optional icing.
TIP: The batter is thick, so continue gently stirring until it’s uniformly mixed together.
I love my pan from Wilton. It’s nonstick and delivers really even results.
Sure, you can make them up to a day ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature and frost before serving.
Sure, these are lightly sweet as the recipe is written, but for more of a classic donut flavor, you can use 1/2 cup sugar if you prefer.
Tips for Success
- Store doughnuts in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.
- Use a fine microplane to zest the lemon, avoiding the white part if possible.
- I cut the raspberries in half with a pair of kitchen shears.
- These donuts are not super sweet, but have a nice flavor with the optional icing.
- To make these with a mini muffin pan, follow the instructions and use 1 tablespoon batter in each cup. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Will make 15 mini muffins.
- Dairy-free: Use your favorite plain nondairy milk.
- Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the all purpose.
- Egg-free: Omit the egg and use 1/2 cup milk total. Use 1 teaspoon baking soda in place of the baking powder. (There’s a slight chance that the baking soda may react with the raspberries and cause them to look a little dark. The batch I tested looked good though!)
These are a festive breakfast for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or any day you want to share a special snack or breakfast. If you make them, I’d love to hear your feedback below!
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PinDescription
These have the texture of a cake donut, or are similar to a muffin. I like my Wilton Donut Pan for this recipe. Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt or milk
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped raspberries
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel
- Optional Yogurt Frosting: 1/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and coat a donut pan with nonstick spray.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a medium bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the yogurt, butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir gently. Fold in the raspberries and lemon peel and stir gently to just combine. (This batter is thick and it may look too thick, but keep gently stirring to bring it together.
- Portion out into the donut pan, dividing the batter among each of the 6 rounds and spreading so the batter is somewhat evenly distributed.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 2 minutes. Run a paring knife around the edges of each doughnut and carefully flip onto a wire rack to cool fully.
- Optional frosting: Stir together the yogurt and powdered sugar in a bowl. Spoon into a zip top plastic bag. Seal and cut off one of the bottom corners to make a piping bag. Drizzle over the donuts and add sprinkles.
Notes
Store doughnuts in an airtight container for up to 24 hours at room temperature. (They are slightly crispy around the edges soon after baking, they soften as they sit in the container.)
Use a fine microplane to zest the lemon, avoiding the white part if possible.
I cut the raspberries up with a pair of kitchen shears.
These donuts are not crazy sweet, but they have a nice flavor with the optional icing.
To make these with a mini muffin pan, follow the instructions and use 1 tablespoon batter in each cup. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Will make 15 mini muffins.
Egg-free: Omit the egg and use 1/2 cup milk total. Use 1 teaspoon baking soda in place of the baking powder. (There’s a slight chance that the baking soda may react with the raspberries and cause them to look a little dark. The batch I tested looked good though!)
Dairy-free: Use your favorite plain nondairy milk.
Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the all purpose.
Can I use a sugar substitute? Like maple syrup? Why does the BHG recipe have less sugar? Do prefer regular sugar over brown sugar for children?
I haven’t tried it with maple syrup but I think that would work. The BHG recipe isn’t as good and I made adjustments to make these taste better. (I have gotten better at developing recipes since I did that one many years ago!) I have no preference between brown sugar and granulated sugar. I hope that helps!
Thank you for the response! looking forward to trying them
So yummy! My 4 year old ate them up! Definitely make the yogurt icing!!
★★★★★
Family devoured them! Perfect amount of sweet and fresh. Perfect for Valentine’s Day breakfast!
★★★★★
I made muffins since I don’t have a donut pan… yet! Toddler and I both loved them perfect amount of sweet with lemon and a great snack at 20 weeks pregnant 😉. Only change was I used cream cheese for the frosting since it sounded good! Thanks for all your recipes!
★★★★★
Can I use bottled lemon juice to substitute for the lemon zest if I don’t have a lemon on hand?
You could probably do 1-2 teaspoons!
Do you think these would freeze well?
I haven’t tried it and suspect they would be okay, but perhaps softer after being frozen and thawed.
Do you think frozen raspberries would work?
They should, though thaw them a little first otherwise the batter may clump together around the frozen berries.
Another hit with my family, not just my toddler! While I was mixing the batter I was worried that it might be too thick (even with the warning), but these baked up nicely. (I used a mini muffin pan and baked the muffins for 12 minutes.) Thanks again, Amy!
★★★★★
Is there a vegan option? My kids have egg allergies and my daughter dairy.
I’m actually working on that this week so I will let you know if I find a good one!