Meyer Lemon Doughnuts

My mother in law is growing a Meyer lemon tree and recently gave me some of the fruit. The first thing I made were these Meyer Lemon Doughnuts. I love that the Meyer lemon adds citrus flavor and a bit of sweetness without the kick that comes from regular lemons. I didn’t have much in the cabinet for toppings, so I just added a few chocolate sprinkles to about half of them. I definitely want to try them with poppy seeds next time.

I used a mini doughnut pan. It made about 24 mini doughnuts and I decreased the baking time to about 6 minutes. If you use a regular or heart shaped doughnut pan, it will make closer to 8-12 doughnuts.

The Meyer lemon is a hybrid fruit (likely the cross between a lemon and mandarin orange) originally grown in China. It was first brought to the United States in 1908 by Frank Meyer. Meyer lemons are rounded, with a yellow to orange tinted skin. The pulp has a deep yellow coloring, is sweeter and less acidic than lemons. They are available year round, but are best between the months of December to April.

More information on Meyer lemons.

Meyer Lemon Doughnuts
Adapted from Sugarcrafter
~9 regular or 24 mini doughnuts

Doughnuts:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon zest
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup milk
Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
Sprinkles or poppy seeds for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 2 regular or mini doughnut pans with oil.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, Meyer lemon juice, and zest until well combined.

In a small bowl, combine the all purpose flour, cake flour, and baking powder.

Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the milk, then the other half of the flour mixture.

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe the batter into the prepared doughnut pans, 2/3 full.

Bake in preheated oven until set and toothpick inserted comes out clean, 6 minutes for mini and 8-10 minutes for regular doughnuts. Allow to cool in pan before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice into the powdered sugar until glaze comes together. If too thick, add more juice. If too thin, add more sugar. Place the wire rack over a sheet of parchment. Dip the top of each doughnut in glaze and place back on wire rack to set. If desired, immediately top with sprinkles or poppy seeds.