Last week, I decided it was time to make some doughnuts to celebrate #NationalDoughnutDay on June 1st and now I may be addicted to baking homemade doughnuts. These Vegan Lemon Lavender Doughnuts are made using a dried lavender & lemon zest infused sugar and topped with a sweet sugary glaze. Let’s just say, they are the perfect vegan lemon dessert you need this week!
The Inspiration Behind Baking with Lavender
It may surprise you that my original inspiration for these doughnuts came from walking around my neighborhood. I feel very fortunate to live in a beautiful neighborhood in Seattle where each home is more pristine than the next. Even more pristine that the homes, though, are the gardens. Living here has introduced me to flowers I previously didn’t know existed: Ranunculus, Peonies, Rhododendrons, the list goes on and on.
However, one flower keeps popping up that I can’t walk by without stopping and smelling- Lavender. These purple beauties are everywhere in Seattle this time of year and the smell is absolutely divine. This smell inspired me to go out and buy dried lavender to start baking with. Even though it might not be the lavender straight from my yard, it brings me so much joy knowing this recipe was inspired by my neighborhood.
How to Make Lavender & Lemon Infused Sugar
What truly makes this recipe so delicious and unique is the infused sugar you use to bake these vegan lemon lavender doughnuts. In addition to dried lavender, I added in some lemon zest so the tartness of the lemon would help even out the floral notes from the lavender.
Making infused sugar is much easier than it sounds too! It’s really a matter of buying the right ingredients and letting them sit and absorb flavors over time. While 4 hours is definitely enough time to get some lavender and lemon flavor, the longer you let infused sugar sit, the better it tastes! I personally let my sugar sit with the lavender and lemon zest in the fridge for 1 week before I baked with this sugar. If you have leftover sugar after making this recipe, you could even try using it in my Vegan Lemon Cupcakes!
How to Make Easy Baked Vegan Doughnuts
In order to make vegan doughnuts at home, you really need a doughnut pan to get the perfectly shaped doughnuts you see in all my pictures. This recipe makes 15-18 doughnuts so, while you can get away with just one pan, I have two on hand to speed up my baking.
Also, you may notice this recipe calls for pastry flour. I use pastry flour for most of my baked goods to get an ideal light and delicate texture. Pastry flour has less protein in it than all-purpose flour and makes baked doughnuts, cupcakes, and cakes so tender.
Lastly, don’t forget to buy some high quality organic dried lavender. The brand linked here is what I use in this recipe and it truly gives off such a lovely flavor.
If you haven’t already gathered, I am pretty obsessed with these doughnuts. They are so elegantly simple and fun to make. Whether you call them Vegan DONUTS or Vegan DOUGHNUTS, I know you will enjoy these perfectly sweet Vegan Lemon Lavender Baked Doughnuts!
Looking for More Vegan Doughnut Recipes? Check out these SGTO favorites!
-TSG
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These doughnuts are made with a sweet and slightly tart lavender and lemon infused sugar and topped with a light glaze for the best baked vegan doughnuts you have ever tasted!
Ingredients
Lemon Lavender Infused Sugar
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 tsp dried lavender
- 1 tsp lemon peel (chopped or zested)
Doughnut mix
- 1 cup almond milk (or other milk alternative)
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste/extract
- 1.5 cup white pastry flour (using pastry flour is important for right texture)
- 3/4 cup lemon lavender infused sugar (made above)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
Glaze
- 2–3 Tbsp coconut milk (*more coconut milk leads to a thinner glaze)
- 1/4 cup lemon lavender infused sugar (*made above)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Lemon Lavender Infused Sugar
- In a small blender, add in 1/2 cup of your sugar with all of your dried lavender and lemon zest. Blend 2-3 minutes until a powdered sugar is formed.
- Add the blended sugar mix to a small container and mix in the additional 1/2 cup sugar until evenly dispersed. Let sit at least 4 hours before using. The sugar is best when left to sit at least 1 week and will last up to 8 weeks stored in the fridge.
Baking the Doughnuts
- Preheat oven to 350F. Then, add your almond milk and apple cider vinegar to a large mixing bowl and use a fork or whisk to combine. Let sit 5-10 minutes so milk slightly curdles and forms “vegan buttermilk”.
- Once the milk is curdled, mix in your infused sugar, coconut oil, apple sauce, and vanilla bean paste/extract. Whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl sift together your flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the mixing bowl containing the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- Once the batter is mixed, spray your doughnut pan with non-stick spray. Then, use a spoon to distribute the batter evenly. Make sure not to cover the raised middle of each doughnut hole with batter.
- Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes. For my oven, I found the doughnuts were best at 12 minutes and were a little browned by 15 minutes. The doughnuts should be firm enough to remove from the pan without breaking, yet not browned and crunchy.
- Invert the cooked doughnuts over a cooling rack to release. Let cool to room temperature before dipping into the glaze.
Glazing the Doughnuts
- To make the glaze, add all the coconut milk and infused sugar to small pot and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice and powdered sugar. This will produce a thin glaze, so you can always add more powdered sugar if you would like a thicker glaze.
- Dunk the cooled doughnuts into the glaze and let dry on a cooling rack until glaze stiffens slightly. The glaze will remain semi-sticky, but should no longer be dripping off.
Notes
To store, place in a container between parchment paper. Doughnuts will keep at room temperature in a closed container for 2-3 days or frozen up to 1 month. I do not recommend refrigerating these doughtnuts as it will dry them out.
Make sure to add the glaze the day you are ready to eat the doughnuts as they store better without the glaze on. If you store doughnuts with the glaze on already they may get soggy.
Keywords: vegan doughnuts, vegan donuts, baked doughnuts, easy baked vegan donuts, how to make vegan donuts, lavender lemon desserts, lemon doughnuts, lavender doughnuts, baked glazed doughnuts
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