Glazed Lemon Cake Donuts
These Glazed Lemon Cake Donuts are soft, fluffy, and bursting with fresh citrus flavor! Made with buttermilk, sour cream, and a touch of cornstarch for an ultra-tender texture, they’re baked—not fried—for an easy homemade treat. Topped with a smooth vanilla glaze and sprinkles or lemon zest, they’re the perfect breakfast, brunch, or dessert!
Servings: 15 donuts
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 5 tbsp salted butter melted
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest about 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp lemon juice about 1 lemon
- ½ cup buttermilk room temperature
- ⅓ cup full fat sour cream room temperature
- 1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp lemon extract optional if you want a more intense lemon flavor
- yellow food dye not necessary but if you want a bright yellow add a little to the batter before baking
For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3-5 tbsp whole milk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the donuts:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease the donut pan with nonstick spray. This ensures the donuts don’t stick and release easily after baking.
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, lemon juice, buttermilk, sour cream, egg, and egg yolk until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Be careful not to overmix—this keeps the donuts light and fluffy.
- Spoon or pipe the batter into the donut pan, filling each cavity ¾ full. Bake for 10-11 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the donuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
For the glaze:
- Whisk together powdered sugar, milk vanilla extract until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add a little more milk but you want to be able to pour it over but not be too thin. Top with lemon zest or sprinkles while the glaze is still wet. Let the icing set for about 15 minutes before serving.