This is my first recipe back on my blog in a few weeks! I took some time off to travel back home to California and settle back in. It is a lot to say the least. The hardest part was adjusting to my small kitchen again. And also not having a separate studio for my photography and editing. That was my little creative space. I finally learned the lighting and got comfortable with the space, and now I have to learn it all over again! The photos for these donuts are not my best, but I worked without a tripod and without backing stand. It was my first time using the west coast light (it’s MUCH brighter here and full sun all day so many diffusers are needed!), but I think they came out good enough to show you how delicious they are.
I didn’t want my first recipe in my new/old oven to be something complicated, so I made some donuts. You can’t go wrong with donuts! But I wanted them to be more breakfast donuts than dessert donuts. And I’m loving lemon lately, so the lemon blueberry donuts were born! Of course you can omit the blueberries if you want just lemon donuts. Or even add some poppy seeds in there if that’s your thing.
If you are looking for a delicious paleo dessert or gluten free treat, these donuts are perfect! They are also safe for a low fodmap diet, and gut friendly because they are free of grains.
These paleo lemon blueberry glazed are healthy and full of tangy lemon and sweet blueberries!
Lemon and blueberries has to be one of the best combinations. These donuts are not too sweet, they are lightly sweetened with coconut sugar and bursting with blueberries which also adds sweetness to the cake of the donut. They’re glazed in a tangy & sweet lemon blueberry glaze, which you cannot skip! They’re a great morning donut.
Are baked donuts just muffins in donut shape?
No. My baked donuts are made to be more dense than a muffin, similar to cake donuts you buy in packages or at a bakery. They have less moisture content than a muffin or a cupcake. However you could bake these in a muffin pan if you do not have a donut pan. They will still rise up and be delicious.
These lemon blueberry donuts are paleo — grain free, gluten free and dairy free
You’d never know they are grain free, they have the perfect spongey texture and bursting with flavor. No butter is needed in this recipe, just a small amount of non-dairy milk. If you are intolerant to almond flour, the flours can be substituted with a gluten free flour.
How to store the paleo lemon blueberry glazed donuts:
If unglazed, these will store well on the counter in an airtight container for up to 3 days, then transfer to the fridge for up to 7 days. If glazed, I suggest to place them in the fridge the evening they are made. The glaze tends to soak in and through the donut, leaving them sticky throughout and can get a little wet. The fridge will prevent this, you can also freeze them and defrost at room temp when ready to enjoy.
Can these paleo lemon blueberry donuts be vegan?
I use one egg in this recipe, but I do think it would work to replace with a flax egg or other egg replacement. This usually works in recipes where only 1-2 eggs are called for. I haven’t tried it, so let me know if you do!
What is in the lemon blueberry donuts?
Almond Flour: This is my preferred baking paleo flour, it’s moist and has no weird texture or taste. If you cannot tolerate almonds, see notes below on how to substitute.
Tapioca Starch: This is the compliment to the almond flour. It’s a starch that binds and soaks up some of the moisture from the almonds
Blueberries: Fresh are preferred in this recipe but you can use frozen, just make sure they are defrosted and juices are drained prior!
Fresh Lemon Juice: It must be fresh squeezed! Bottled lemon juice will make these donuts really bitter
Fresh Lemon Zest: Grate the skin on 1-2 lemons for a nice zesty flavor
Coconut Sugar: My preferred sweetener in baking. It’s low glycemic and does not taste like coconut sugar
Baking Powder: This gives your donuts a nice round rise
Sea Salt: Balances flavors out in baked goods
Egg: This recipe calls for 1 egg. I have not tried a substitute but I do think a flax egg will work here, or other egg substitute Coconut Oil: I prefer refined coconut oil, it has no flavor
Vanilla Extract: A touch of vanilla adds to the lemon flavor in these donuts
Non Dairy Milk: Any milk will work here but I always use oat milk (Oatly) for it’s thick texture and no gums or additives
Powdered Sugar: For the glaze. You can use traditional organic powdered sugar or you can make your own unrefined. See notes
Ingredients:
For the donuts:
1 1/2 cups fine almond flour*
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup coconut sugar, or maple syrup
1 egg, room temp
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup of non-dairy milk
2 tbsp coconut oil refined, melted and cooled
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen* defrosted and liquid drained if frozen
*For a nut free version, substitute both the almond and tapioca flour for 1 cup total of gluten free all purpose flour, I use Bob’s 1:1
For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar* unrefined
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp non-dairy milk
3-4 tbsp blueberries, frozen or fresh (optional)
Make the lemon blueberry donuts:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F (or 325F baking on convection setting). Spray a 6 cavity donut pan with cooking spray well and set aside.
2. Your wet ingredients work best when all at room temp, or the coconut oil will get clumpy and you will get an uneven bake. Make sure the egg is at room temp by placing it in warm water for a few minutes. Ideally you want the milk and lemon juice to not be cold as well.
3. In a medium bowl, rub together the coconut sugar with the lemon zest until fragrant. Add in the lemon juice. Whisk in the egg, coconut sugar, vanilla and non-dairy milk until frothy.
4. In another bowl, mix together the almond flour, tapioca starch, baking powder and salt until well combined. Add this into your wet ingredients and mix until a smooth batter forms. Now add in the melted and cooled coconut oil and mix again. Finally fold in the blueberries.
5. Carefully spoon the mixture into the donut pan so they are 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 12-14 minutes until tops rise and edges get just browned. Place on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the donuts to loosen them up and carefully pop them out. Let cool completely before icing.
7. Make the glaze. Mix together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and non dairy milk in a small bowl. You may add more milk for a runnier icing, or more powdered sugar for a thicker icing. You can use powdered monkfruit here as well, it’ll just be sweeter.
8. To add a blueberry flavor to your tangy lemon icing (like in my photos), add 3-4 tbsp of blueberries in a small saucepan with a small splash of water and heat until soft. Mash the blueberries down with a fork until they become a preserve. Add 1 tbsp of this preserve to your icing. Or strain the blueberries through a mesh strainer to yield 1 tbsp of just the blueberry juice. You may have some leftover blueberry juice/preserve but you could add on top after! Or eat with a spoon.
9. Transfer icing to a small shallow bowl and dip the tops of the donuts into icing and place back on cooling rack to harden. You can speed this up by placing in fridge or freezer to set. Repeat until all donuts have been dipped.
10. To Store: If unglazed, these will store well on the counter in an airtight container for up to 3 days, then transfer to the fridge for up to 7 days. If glazed, I suggest to place them in the fridge the evening they are made. The glaze tends to soak through the donut, leaving them sticky and a little wet. The fridge will prevent this, you can also freeze them and defrost at room temp when ready to enjoy.
Makes 6 donuts, sometimes 7 depending how large you make them!
Recipe notes:
* To make these nut free, substitute both the almond flour and the tapioca starch for 1 total cup of all purpose gluten free flour.
* If using the gluten free flour replacement, these donuts will come out denser like a traditional cake donut. If you are looking for a more soft spongey donut, add 1 more tbsp of coconut oil plus 1 more tbsp of milk to the mix. They’ll be softer and lighter!
* To make your own unrefined powdered sugar for the glaze, place any granulated sweetener in a high speed blender for 30-60 seconds. You can use any granulated sugar, even monkfruit. Powdered sugar is great to have on hand for frostings, icings, and shortbread cookies so I like to make a bunch and store it for later.
* If using frozen blueberries, make sure to defrost and drain the liquid before using in the recipe!
If you make these tangy paleo lemon blueberry donuts, please leave me comments or ratings below! I love to hear from you. And tag me in your creations @gutsy_baker on Instagram!
xo Stephanie