Description
Soft, tangy baked lemon donuts topped with a glossy fresh lemon glaze—easy to make with sour cream and bursting with citrus flavor.
Ingredients
1 large egg
¾ cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon extract (no substitutions)
Yellow food coloring, optional
1¼ cups all‑purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
For the glaze: 1½ cups powdered sugar, 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Lightly spray a 6‑count donut pan.
- Mix sour cream, egg, sugar, oil, lemon zest, lemon extract, and optional food coloring until smooth.
- Gently fold in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
- Fill donut cavities about ¾ full with batter.
- Bake 13–15 minutes until donuts spring back. Cool slightly in pan.
- While donuts warm, whisk powdered sugar with lemon juice until thick but pourable.
- Remove donuts and dunk tops into glaze. Place on rack to set.
- If baking second batch, re-spray pan and repeat. Rewarm glaze if thickened.
Notes
- Use yellow food coloring for vibrant color, but optional.
- Dust sanding sugar or zest over glaze for texture.
- Lime zest/juice can replace lemon for variation.
- Use mini donut pan and reduce bake time to ~8–10 minutes.
- Freeze unfrosted donuts; thaw and glaze fresh.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 13–15 minutes per batch
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 donut
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
