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Home » Breakfast » Lemon Curd Filled Doughnut Holes

Lemon Curd Filled Doughnut Holes

Created: August 3, 2016 Updated: May 8, 2023 by Lyuba Brooke 11 Comments *This post may contain affiliate links. Read More...

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Super easy, no yeast doughnut holes made with a touch of lemon zest and then filled with tangy lemon curd. Quick and easy lemony sweet breakfast treat.

close up of a stack of lemon donut holes with a bite out of the top one to show the lemon curd.

DOUGHNUT HOLES

Have I mentioned that I’m not a morning person before? Well, I’m not. Not even a little bit. That’s why I’m sad, oh so sad, that the summer is almost over. I’m not looking forward to early mornings again. In the summer, even though the little man wakes up very early, he can go and play with his toys until I drag my butt out of bed to make him breakfast.

My husband calls me a morning zombie because I’m on auto-drive until it’s almost noon. I walking, I’m talking grunting, and I’m cooking like a zombie. It’s not just their breakfast I make half asleep, it’s also all the recipe prep that I have to get done early and if I’m baking something that takes a while, I have to start first thing in the morning. So until my coffee kicks in, I’m a zombie chef/mom.

Kind man that he is, hubs hands me my coffee and my ID creamer as soon as possible. I’m almost sure that it’s out of kindness, but it could also be out of self preservation. He gets me caffeinated and alive before I bite him.

grumpy cate meme that says "before my morning coffee.... I might as well be a dog"
Lemon Curd Filled Doughnut Holes with powdered sugar on top pilled up on a wood plate

Even half asleep, a breakfast treat always seems like a good idea. Homemade doughnuts are an even better idea. Who doesn’t love doughnuts in the morning? I know I do, but if I have a chance to avoid the long process that comes along with working with yeast dough, I will take it every time.

If I don’t feel like making my Ricotta Doughnuts, I use a great recipe for Vermont Doughnut Holes that I got from my favorite flour’s website years ago. I don’t love working with yeast, so any way around it, is awesome. I found this basic doughnut holes recipe years ago and I use it quite often, I just like to change up the flavors.

Just like in these little lemony bites of deliciousness. If you’re half asleep through the morning, like I usually am, you will very much enjoy an easy way of making some delicious doughnut holes.

**For the ease of making this treat, I used store-bought lemon curd that you can find in a jam/jelly isle of the store. If you would prefer to use homemade lemon curd, my friend has a great recipe for that. I’ve used this recipe before and love it.**

Lemon Curd Filled Doughnut Holes stacked up on plate with powdered sugar on top and lemon in the background.

Some More Doughnut Recipes:

Oreo Cheesecake Doughnuts

Blueberry Doughnuts with Creamy Whiskey Blueberry Glaze

Glazed Strawberry Ricotta Doughnuts

Apple Pie Baked Doughnuts

holding Lemon Curd Filled Doughnut with a bite out of it and the rest of the donuts in the background.

Close up photo of Lemon Curd Filled Doughnut Holes with powdered sugar on top pilled up on a wood plate.
holding Lemon Curd Filled Doughnut with a bite out of it and the rest of the donuts in the background.

Lemon Curd Filled Doughnut Holes

Super easy, no yeast doughnut holes made with a touch of lemon zest and then filled with tangy lemon curd.
5 from 2 votes
Print SaveSaved! Rate
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 10 Makes about 20
Calories: 327kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 Tbsp. white granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 lemon – zest
  • 10 oz. lemon curd for filling
  • 2 tbsp Powdered sugar for topping
  • 5-6 cups of vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • Pour oil into a medium pot, a frying pan with high sides, or a large sauce pot. Heat it over medium heat until oil reaches 350 degrees. (I find that heat setting that’s just a little bit over medium holds the temperature best.)
  • Line a large cookie sheet with paper towels to catch oil and place a cooling rack on top of paper towels.
  • Add lemon curd into a piping bag fitted with a long, filling attachment. Set aside.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk milk and egg until smooth.
  • Add flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt, mix until all combined.
  • Add melted butter and mix well.
  • Fold in lemon zest until evenly spread throughout.
  • Using a cookie scoop, scoop out dough and drop it into heated oil in batches of 5-6, depending on how big your pot is. (I dip the cookie scoop into some oil and shake it off before doing each batch, this prevents dough from sticking and created smooth dough drops. I also rinse out the scoop between batches, to wash off any stuck on dough. Again, this is to help create smooth doughnut holes.)
  • Fry doughnut holes for about 4-5 minutes (until they turn deep golden), turning them over every couple of minutes if they haven’t turned themselves. (Remember to use metal tongs or metal slotted spoon to take doughnuts out and turn them.)
  • Take doughnuts out onto the prepared cooling rack. Repeat frying the dough in batches with remaining batter.
  • Once the doughnut holes are cooled enough to handle, gently inert the pastry filling tip into the doughnut and squeeze some lemon curd inside. Repeat with all doughnut holes.
  • Sprinkle filled doughnut holes with powdered sugar.

Nutrition

Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 296mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 205IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 135mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles

LYUBA

ABOUT LYUBA

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read more...

15.3K shares

Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Mother's Day

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

Comments

  1. Sally Small says

    April 4, 2021 at 11:42 am

    Can you do recipes in ounces as it doesn,t say what size cup to use

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      April 5, 2021 at 1:40 pm

      Hi Sally,

      The quantity of the ingredients is listed in cups above in the recipe card is it not showing for you?

      Reply
  2. Sally says

    April 1, 2020 at 11:48 am

    5 stars
    These look amazing. I am a lemon lover so, want to have a go with this recipe.

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      April 1, 2020 at 1:40 pm

      Thanks, Sally! I hope you like them! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Bere says

    May 31, 2019 at 4:38 pm

    Hello!
    How many donut holes does one recipe yield aprox?
    Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  4. Rachel Rhodes says

    March 14, 2019 at 5:52 pm

    How well do these hold up if you made them the night before?

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      March 16, 2019 at 11:43 am

      Hi Rachel!
      They will hold up but won’t taste as good as fresh. It’s much like any other doughnuts, they will start getting stale and start drying out.
      I hope this helps 🙂

      Reply
  5. Fatima says

    December 15, 2018 at 8:09 am

    Hello! These look amazing but i have a question, does the dough have the same consistency as the ricotta doughnut holes? I saw the video and was wondering that, i need something to compare them to so if mine doesn’t turn like your dough I’ll know that something went wrong

    Reply
  6. Kathy says

    January 8, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    These look and sound amazing, lemon is my favorite!
    One question, what do you do with the leftover oil?
    Is it reusable for anything? Or do we throw it out?

    Reply
  7. Karly says

    August 15, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    5 stars
    Yep, totally drooling over here. I’d start every day (and fill it, and finish it) with this lemony-goodness if I could! These look incredible!

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      August 15, 2016 at 9:04 pm

      awe, thanks, girl! I’d totally do it too, I have no self control around these doughnuts 🙂

      Reply

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Well, hey there!

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read More.

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