Easy homemade Lemon Filled Doughnuts made completely from scratch. There’s nothing better than a warm fresh donut!
I’m a huge donut lover and I can often be spotted frequenting the local donut shops. Ever since I made the homemade lemon curd, I’ve been dying to make some doughnuts and use it as the filling. Boy was that a spectacular idea! These donuts were amazing. I made them on a Sunday afternoon. The kids were so excited to get some donuts and they anxiously helped through the entire process. We could hardly wait for them to cool! I ate 3 the following morning for breakfast. 3! The last 3 might I add. I just couldn’t help myself!
Now, what’s up with the spelling? I keep altering between doughnut and donut. Well, they are the same thing. The dictionary approves of doughnut, but donut is used about 1/3 of the time. I can’t decide what I like better so I keep alternating between the two for fun. Which spelling do you like better?
Watch the full length cooking demonstration video below where I walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual to cook along side. I have an entire YouTube Channel with my own cooking show. There are hundreds of recipes over there for you to drool over so be sure to check it out!
Lemon Filled Doughnuts
Servings
donuts
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Easy homemade Lemon Filled Doughnuts made completely from scratch. There's nothing better than a warm fresh donut!
Ingredients
Basic Donut Dough
- 2 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water approximately 100 degrees
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
Donut Glaze
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 teaspoons evaporated milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 to 4 teaspoons water
Frying and Filling
- 2 cups vegetable shortening
- 1 half-pint lemon curd
Instructions
- Combine the yeast, water, sugar, evaporated milk, salt, shortening, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in 2 cups of the flour and knead on a medium-low speed with a dough hook until well combined. Slowly add in the remaining flour until a nice dough ball forms. Dough should be wet, but should not stick to your fingers or the sides of the bowl.
- Spray a large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean dish towel, and let rise 1 1/2 hours.
- Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Use a drinking glass or round cookie cutter to punch out 12 donuts, re-rolling the dough as necessary to get a dozen donuts and use almost all of the dough. Let rise another 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the shortening for frying in a large pot to about 350 degrees. Be sure to use enough so that it is 1-inch deep. While the shortening is coming to temperature, make the glaze in a medium-size mixing bowl by whisking together melted butter, powdered sugar, pinch salt, 2 tsp evaporated milk, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Add in water 1 tsp at a time until it is just thin enough to dip something in easily. It shouldn't be runny, but it shouldn't be thick either.
- Fry the donuts a few at a time until golden brown, flipping halfway through. It is helpful to do a test donut to ensure that the donut gets cooked through. Transfer the donuts to a wire rack covered with a layer of paper towels. Let cool for 1 to 2 minutes then dip the top of the donut into the glaze and place it back on the wire rack.
- Once all of the donuts have been fried, fill a piping bag with the lemon curd, like you would with frosting. Using a wide-mouth tip, insert the tip into the side of the doughnuts one at a time, squeezing to fill with 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon curd per donut.
Notes
Nutrition
Serving: 1donut | Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 192mg | Potassium: 50mg | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 110IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.2mg