My dream is to one day have a little house with a great big back yard that has tons of fruit trees, one of those being a lemon tree full of bright yellow fruit.
So after months thinking of all the delicious lemon dishes and treats I would create with a lemon tree, I brainstormed up these lemon poppy seed donuts. Unfortunately these were made with store bought lemons, but one day they’ll be from the huge lemon tree in my backyard.
Are strawberries or maybe pecans on your mind more than lemons? Check out these other great donut recipes for flavor inspiration.
Lemon Curd Filled Donuts with Poppyseed Glaze
- Total Time: 9 hours
- Yield: 12 donuts 1x
Description
Fluffy fried donuts are the perfect vessel to hold a tart lemon curd filling and a sweet vanilla poppyseed glaze.
Ingredients
donuts
- 1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
- 2/3 cups (160 ml) milk, at room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups (840 ml) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 3 eggs
- 7 tbsp (105 ml) butter, at room temperature, cut into 6 to 8 pieces
- canola oil, for frying
lemon curd
- zest of one lemon
- 1 1/4 cup (300 ml) sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) (120 ml) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 large eggs
- 1l2 cup (120 ml) fresh lemon juice
- pinch of kosher salt
poppy seed frosting
- 1 1/4 cup (300 ml) confectioners' sugar
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp poppy seeds
Instructions
donuts
- In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the yeast and milk. Stir together briefly, then let sit for about 1 minute to dissolve the yeast.
- Add the flour, ? cup of the sugar, the salt, and the eggs and mix on low speed for about 1 minute, or until the dough comes together. Then, still on low speed, mix for another 2 to 3 minutes to develop the dough further.
- Next, begin to add the butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to mix for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is soft and cohesive.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 15 hours.
- Lightly flour two baking sheets. On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12-inch by 9-inch rectangle about 1/2″ inch thick. Using a 3 1/2″ to 4″ round biscuit cutter, cut 12 donuts. You may need to re-roll out the dough to get 12.
- Arrange them on the prepare baking sheets and cover with plastic wrap.
- Place in a warm spot to proof for 2 to 3 hours, or until they are about doubled in height.
- When ready to fry, line a tray or baking sheet with paper towels.
- Pour the oil to a depth of about 3 inches into a large, heavy bottom saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees on a fry thermometer.
- Working in batches, place the donuts in the hot oil, being careful not to crowd them. Fry them for 90 seconds to 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
- Gently flip and fry them for another 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the donuts to the prepared tray and let cool completely until you can stuff with the curd.
lemon curd
- Using a carrot peeler, remove the zest of one lemon in large pieces.
- In a large bowl over a pot of boil water, combine lemon zest, sugar, butter, eggs, lemon juice and salt. Whisk together over the heat until the lemon curd will thicken and coats the back of a spoon. This will take 15-20 minutes.
- Once thicken, discard lemon zest and strain through a fine mesh sieve.
- Refrigerate until cool.
poppy seed frosting
- In a small bowl, combine the frosting ingredients and whisk till smooth.
to assemble
- Once the donuts and lemon curd are completely cool, poke a small hole in the side of each donut and create a little space in the middle of the donut for the curd.
- Transfer the curd to a piping bag and pipe each donut with lemon curd until full.
- Set donuts on top of a wire rack and spoon poppy seed frosting over top.
- Let set just enough for frosting to harden and then serve. These are best served immediately after frosting.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 donut
- Calories: 420
If You Liked This Recipe, You’ll Love These
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- Silky Lemon Curd Tart
- Shiso Meyer Lemon Tart
- Ginger Snappish Glazed Donuts
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the donut dough need to chill for 6–15 hours?
After 5–6 minutes of mixing to build the dough and incorporate 7 tbsp of butter, the dough is wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for at least 6 hours (up to 15). The long cold rest develops flavor through slow fermentation and makes the enriched dough much easier to roll and cut cleanly.
How do I know when the frying oil is the right temperature?
The recipe specifies 350°F on a fry thermometer. At that temperature, each donut fries 90 seconds to 2 minutes per side until golden brown. A thermometer is the only reliable tool here — oil that’s too cool makes greasy donuts; too hot and they brown before the center cooks through.
How do I get the lemon curd into the donuts?
Once the donuts and lemon curd are completely cool, poke a small hole in the side of each donut and create a cavity in the center, then transfer the curd to a piping bag and pipe each donut full. Both must be fully cool before filling — warm curd will thin and leak out.
When should I add the poppy seed glaze?
Spoon the glaze over the filled donuts and let it set just enough to harden slightly — then serve immediately. The recipe notes these are best served right after glazing, not stored for later, as the glaze softens and the fried dough loses its texture.
Awesome doughnut combo! Looks mouth-watering!
Thanks for sharing.
Oh my I never would have thought to put lemon curd in donuts, genius! I make home made lemon curd, this is going to totally change the game