Lemon Cake Donuts

These lemon cake donuts are made with fresh lemon zest and juice for a bright flavor complemented by the almond flour and a fresh strawberry glaze!

These lemon cake donuts are soft, tender, and delightfully cakey. A bit of lemon zest and juice brightens, and the almond meal makes it lighter than a traditional cake donut. No one can argue with one of the greatest Spring combinations: strawberry and lemon. Bright, tart lemon and sweet, juicy strawberry: no happier couple has ever met, just ask this lemon pound cake!

If you are new to frying donuts at home, my glazed chocolate donuts and sour cream donuts cover the technique in detail and are a great place to build confidence before you tackle this one. Then you can make this krispy kreme donut recipe!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Sugar
• Lemon juice & zest: Juice adds brightness and sharpens the lemon flavor beyond what zest alone can. The zest carries aromatic oils that give the donuts their forward lemon character. Zest the lemon before juicing it, which is what I always do to avoid losing zest to a damp rind.
• Butter
• Egg yolks: Bind the batter and add fat, resulting in a tender, moist interior. Whole eggs will work in a pinch, but yolks alone give you a more cohesive crumb that holds up during frying. Unlike these French crullers that need the whole egg to get their rise!
• Sour cream: The acid in sour cream activates the baking powder and keeps the donut from tasting heavy. Full-fat is the right call; low-fat will make the batter looser and the texture less consistent.
• All-purpose flour: Provides the primary structure for the donut. Spoon and level it if you are measuring by volume to avoid a dense batter.
• Almond flour: Blanched almond flour keeps the crumb slightly open and adds a subtle nuttiness that pairs well with both strawberry and lemon.
• Baking powder: The sole leavener in this batter. Make sure yours is fresh: a pinch dropped into hot water should bubble immediately.
• Kosher salt
• Strawberry jam: Deepens the strawberry flavor in the glaze and helps it set with a slight sheen. A good-quality jam makes a noticeable difference here; I use my easy strawberry jam recipe, you can use store bought.
• Whole milk
• Powdered sugar: Thickens the glaze and gives it body. Sift it before adding to avoid lumps.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations on These Lemon Cake Donuts

• Change the glaze. Skip the strawberry glaze entirely and use a simple donut glaze recipe, a simple lemon glaze, or use the cream cheese glaze from these cinnamon scones. You could just dip them in sugar or a lemon zest sugar mixture! Take inspiration from these apple cider donuts.
• Donut holes only. Cut the entire batch into holes using the small cutter, then fry as directed, reducing the fry time slightly: 30 seconds, flip, 60 seconds, flip, then 40 to 60 seconds more, until golden all over.
• Change the citrus or fruit. You can swap the lemon out for limes, blood orange, key limes, or Meyer lemons! I’ll sign up for a Meyer lemon donut with a glaze made from this blueberry coulis.

Professional Tips

• Keep the dough cold at every stage. Warm dough spreads when cut and absorbs more oil when fried. Work quickly when rolling, and if the dough softens before you finish cutting, slide it back into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes before continuing.
• Heat the oil to 355°F before adding each batch. Cold dough drops the oil temperature immediately, so starting slightly above 350°F brings you back into the 350° to 360°F range within the first 30 seconds of frying. A clip-on thermometer is a game-changer here.
• Dip the donuts while they are still very hot. I tested this at different stages of cooling, and the difference is significant: a hot donut takes the glaze evenly and sets it thin and smooth, while a cooled donut ends up with a glaze that pools and slides. Twenty seconds off the rack is about right.
• Make sure to cut the hole. Cake donuts need a hole in the center to fry properly. If you don’t add a hole, they will take too long to fry and taste like oil, and we don’t want that! If you want a donut without a hole, make this jelly donut recipe!

How to Make Strawberry Lemon Cake Donuts

Start with the strawberry jam since it needs time to chill completely before you make the glaze.

Make Strawberry Jam

Step 1: Make strawberry jam. Mix the chopped strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a bowl, stir to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

This step is optional, but it draws out the juices and deepens the strawberry flavor, which is what I always do when I have the time.

Step 2: Cook the jam. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the strawberries begin to break down. Puree directly in the pot with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer to a blender, puree, and return to the pot. Continue cooking over medium heat until the jam reaches the desired consistency.

Frozen plate test: Drag your finger through a small amount on a cold plate, and it should hold a clean line without running.

Step 3: Strain and chill the jam. Pass the jam through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the seeds, then pour it into a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Cut a few small holes in the plastic to allow steam to escape, then refrigerate until fully chilled.

Make Donut Dough

Step 4: Mix the dry ingredients and the sour cream mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate small bowl, stir together the lemon juice and sour cream until smooth. Set both bowls aside.

Step 5: Prepare your lined sheet pan. Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap, then sprinkle it generously with flour. This is where your dough will rest and chill, so do not skip the flour, or the dough will stick and tear when you try to lift it. Set the pan aside.

Step 6: Cream the sugar and butter, then add the yolks. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the granulated sugar and butter together until the mixture resembles coarse, damp sand. Add the yolks one at a time, beating on high after each addition until fully incorporated. Continue beating on high until the mixture lightens to pale yellow and the volume increases noticeably.

Step 7: Add the flour and sour cream alternately. With the mixer on low, alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix only until just combined after each addition to create tender donuts.

Chill and Cut the Dough

Step 9: Press the dough flat and chill. Transfer the dough to the flour-dusted plastic-lined sheet, and sprinkle additional flour over the top. Press down until the dough is roughly one inch thick and fairly even. Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. The dough needs to be fully cold before you roll and cut, or it will stick, spread, and lose its shape.

Step 9: Roll out the chilled dough. Lightly dust a work surface with flour, then turn the dough out and roll it to an even ½ inch thickness.

Work quickly: the warmth of your hands and the room will soften the dough quickly.

Step 10: Cut the donuts and holes. Brush any excess flour off the top of the dough. Dip a 3-inch ring cutter and a 1¼-inch ring cutter in flour before each cut, then press straight down without twisting. Place the cut donuts and holes on the parchment-lined sheet pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Once you have cut everything from the first pass, go back and cut additional holes from the remaining scraps with the small cutter. Waste not, want not!

Step 11: Cover and chill the cut donuts. Cover the donuts and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The donuts can rest in the refrigerator for up to 3 days at this point. Cold rested donuts fry more evenly because the structure is firm when they hit the oil.

Fry and Glaze

Step 12: Make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, powdered sugar, strawberry jam, and salt until smooth. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and set aside. If the glaze feels too thick once your donuts are ready, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir until it loosens to a dippable consistency.

Step 13: Heat the frying oil. Pour oil into a Dutch oven or fryer to a depth of at least 2 inches and clip a candy or fry thermometer to the side. Heat the oil to 355°F before you add your first batch. The cold dough will drop the temperature by several degrees the moment it goes in, and starting slightly above 350°F keeps you in the 350°F to 360°F range throughout frying.

Step 14: Fry the donuts in batches. Gently lower 3 donuts into the oil. Once they rise to the surface, cook for 30 seconds, then flip with a slotted spoon. Fry until the bottom is a deep, even golden brown for about 80 seconds, then flip and fry for another 60 seconds. Lift each donut with a slotted spoon or spider, then test the center with a cake tester; it should come out clean. Transfer to a wire rack set over a sheet pan. For donut holes, fry 30 seconds, flip, 60 seconds, flip, then 40 to 60 seconds more until puffed and golden all over.

Cooking the holes for the same total time as full donuts will leave them dry. Pull them when they are golden and just pass the cake tester.

Step 15: Glaze the donuts while hot. Wait about 20 seconds after each donut comes out of the fryer, then dip it into the glaze and set it back on the rack. Dipping while the donut is still very hot gives you a thin, even coat that sets quickly rather than pooling. For a deeper strawberry hit, let the first coat begin to set, then dip again. Two coats on a cake donut are not excessive; they are the point.

Step 16: Serve immediately. These donuts are best the day they are fried. Store any leftovers in a container with the lid slightly ajar to allow airflow.

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

These lemon cake donuts are worth making on a slow weekend morning, when you have time to fry and glaze in peace. If you want to keep going, browse more donut recipes for your next project, or head straight over to these pumpkin donuts.