Lemon Curd Donut Holes

Lemon curd donut holes are a lemony delight – soft donut holes are filled with sweet and tart lemon curd, and covered with a sugar glaze.

These fresh, from-scratch donut holes are a lemony delight you’ll want to make again and again!

Don’t like Lemon? Try these Donut Hole Variations!

If you aren’t a huge fan of lemon, either skip it altogether or try these filling ideas instead:

• Nutella
• Strawberry Jelly
• No-Bake Cheesecake Filling
• Pastry Cream
• Bavarian cream
• Raspberry Sauce
• Custard
• Chocolate Custard

How to Make Homemade Lemon Curd

Lemon curd is surprisingly simple to make yourself. This is a classic lemon curd recipe that I absolutely love and use for everything. Perfectly sweet and tangy, it’s great for cakes, pies, danishes and these lovely little donuts.

You can make your lemon curd ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.

Of course, if you just don’t have time, you can use store-bought lemon curd but I would really recommend using homemade.

How Do I Make Fluffy Donuts?

If you’ve tried making donuts before, and they’ve ended up all hard and chewy, you’re probably worried the same thing might happen with these donuts.

Well, the trick to getting the most pillowy soft and fluffy donuts is to make sure the donuts are well-proofed, that they’ve had enough time to rest before you go ahead and fry them.

Also, while frying donuts remember to not put in too many donuts into the oil and overcrowd it.

Even if it takes a little extra time, consider frying them in batches, so that they get enough space to move.

Also, while frying them, make sure you have enough oil. The donuts must basically float when you put them in, yet they should not be entirely submerged in the oil.

Can I Use Store-Bought Donut Mix?

While our recipe includes step by step instructions to help you make your own donuts, you can totally swap that and instead use a ready-made donut mix.

Using store-bought donut mix will surely cut down the amount of time you spend in the kitchen, and you can whip these up quicker as well.

Just make sure you follow the instructions on the box when it comes to making them, and you’re pretty much sorted.

In fact, you can also refrigerate the donut dough and fry them later when you’re in the mood to make these!

Ingredients for the Lemon Curd Donut Holes

Flour – Spoon and level the flour when measuring it, otherwise you’ll wind up with dense donuts.

Yeast – You can use instant yeast instead but using dry active yeast and priming it in water ensures you are using alive yeast.

Milk – Make sure your milk is room temperature before starting.

Eggs – Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before starting.

Sugar – Just use plain old granulated sugar.

Butter – Unsalted butter, melt it first. If you only have salted, omit the salt altogether.

Salt – Helps to balance all the flavours and make em shine.

Vanilla extract – Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavour, but artificial is just fine too.

Lemon Curd – Use homemade lemon curd if you have time, otherwise store bought works just fine.

Looking for more incredible homemade donut recipes?

Check out some of my favourite donut recipes:

Dulce De Leche Donuts featuring a buttery tender dough that is stuffed with dulce de leche and fried up into a golden, fluffy masterpiece.

An easy recipe for Baked Pumpkin Donuts that results in soft fluffy and flavourful cake donuts without yeast in just 30 minutes.

These indulgent S’Mores Chocolate Doughnuts are a real summer treat you are sure to enjoy, even if you can’t sit by a campfire.

How to Make Lemon Curd Donut Holes

Yields: 35 Donut holes | Prep Time: 35 mins | Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

For the Donut Holes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup water, lukewarm
• 2 tablespoons milk, lukewarm
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Lemon Curd

For the Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Combine the warm water, milk, 1 tablespoon sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Whisk to dissolve the yeast. Leave for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

2. Add the remaining sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla.

3. Add in the flour and salt. Knead until smooth using the attachment on your mixer or by hand. Incorporate the butter and knead well until the dough comes together and forms a ball.

4. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

5. Meanwhile, make lemon curd, if making homemade.

6. Let curd cool and put in the fridge.

7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough out to a ½-inch thickness. Cut out donuts as close together as possible. Reroll the dough and cut out more donut holes. Transfer the circles to the prepared baking sheet and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let rise for 15-20 minutes.

8. Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot (cast iron) to 330°F. To fry donut holes, drop 5-6 at a time and allow to become golden about 1-2 minutes. Remove donut holes from the oil with the spider tool and place on a tray lined with paper towels. Let cool slightly.

9. Add the lemon curd to a pastry bag fitted with a small nozzle. Fill each donut hole with the curd.

10. For the glaze, mix all the ingredients until smooth. Dip each donut hole into the glaze.

Enjoy!