These lemon cake donuts are soft and tender. They only need 4 ingredients and don’t require any eggs, dairy, butter or oil. The donuts are easy to prepare and you don’t even need a mixer to make them.
A pile of lemon cake donut holes

These lemon flavored cake donuts are soft, fluffy and light. I made mine as donut holes but you can bake them as mini muffins or regular sized donuts using a donut pan.

Ingredients

  • Lemon
  • Self-rising flour
  • Canned coconut milk
  • Sugar

Lemon: Fresh lemon juice and zest are used to give the donuts a nice lemon flavor. If you want a stronger lemon flavor, I recommend adding more zest or a few drops of lemon extract. I don’t recommend increasing the lemon juice because it will make the donut texture turn gummy.

Self-rising flour: Self-rising flour is a flour blend that already includes a leavening agent and sodium. Self-rising flour saves a few extra steps for making these donuts but you can also make a homemade self-rising flour blend using all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.

Canned coconut milk: This recipe uses canned coconut milk. It must be canned coconut milk and not the drinking kind of coconut milk. Canned coconut milk is used for baking and cooking and contains a higher amount of fat. Drinking coconut milk does not have enough fat and will not work for this recipe. I recommend using canned coconut milk with 14 grams of fat per 1/3 cup serving. If your canned coconut milk contains less fat than that, the batter will not rise as well and the donut texture will be more dense and gummy.

Sugar: These donuts are lightly sweetened with regular granulated sugar. You can likely substitute with another granular sugar substitute. You want to avoid using liquid sweetener because that will make the batter too wet.

How to Make Lemon Donuts

  • The coconut milk, lemon juice and sugar are whisked together until evenly combined.
  • The flour is mixed in with a spatula until fully incorporated and no lumps remain. Stir in the lemon zest just until combined.
  • Scoop the batter into your prepared pan. Bake the donuts until they are puffed and cooked through. Allow the donuts to cool a little before serving. You can also dust them with powdered sugar or dip them in glaze before serving. I added a simple lemon glaze on mine.

Donut holes with a lemon glaze and lemon zest on top

Expert Tips

  • It’s important to use coconut milk with 14 grams of fat per 1/3 cup serving. Coconut milk with less fat will cause the donuts to turn out gummy and dense.
  • The donuts are very lightly sweet on their own since donuts are usually topped with glaze or sugar. If you don’t want to add any glaze or sugar, you can increase the sugar in the batter by 2-3 tablespoons.
  • If you want a stronger lemon flavor, add a few drops of lemon extract or increase the amount of lemon zest. Do not add more lemon juice because that will make the donuts have a gummy texture.

Lemon donut holes on a white plate

More Lemon Recipes

Recipe Save - Raptive

Envelope icon

WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?

Enter your email and we'll send it straight to your inbox!

Plus, you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!

I’d like to receive more tips & recipes from Kirbie's Cravings.

4.84 from 6 votes

4 Ingredient Lemon Cake Donuts

These lemon flavored cake donuts are soft and tender. They only need 4 ingredients and don't require any eggs, dairy, butter or oil.
Servings: 17 donuts
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Leave a Review

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (118ml) canned coconut milk, see note before starting, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp (30ml) lemon juice + zest from 1 small lemon
  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated white sugar
  • 1 cup (138g) self-rising flour, see note before starting

Instructions
 

  • If you are baking the donuts in the oven, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease your baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Whisk the contents inside the can of coconut milk with a small whisk. This is important because the fat often separates. When the mixture is uniform, measure out 1/2 cup for the recipe.
  • Add canned coconut milk, lemon juice and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
  • Add in the flour and mix it in with a spatula. Using a spatula will help prevent overworking the batter. Mix until there no more flour lumps. Add in the lemon zest and stir until just combined.
  • Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop and release the batter into your prepared pan. The amount you need to scoop may vary depending on the pan you are using. My donut hole pan had a 1 tablespoon capacity for each donut hole. If using a mini muffin pan or a larger cake hole pan, you may need 1.5 tablespoons of batter. If you are using a regular donut pan, it is better to pipe the batter into the pan.
  • Bake the donuts for about 15-25 minutes or until lightly golden, puffed and cooked through. If you apply light pressure to the surface, it should bounce back. If cooking in a donut hole or cake pop maker instead of the oven, the donuts will only need a few minutes to cook (around 5-10 minutes. Using the light indicator will help you determine when the donuts are done).
  • Allow the donuts to cool slightly before serving. You can also dust the donuts with powdered sugar or dip them in lemon glaze before serving. The lemon glaze recipe I used is in the recipe notes. Store uneaten donuts in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

  • Donut pan note: You can cook these donuts in a variety of pans or molds. I made mine using my cake pop maker* which makes 12 at a time, with 1 tbsp of batter for each mold. You can also use cake pop molds meant for baking in the oven. Some cake pop molds have a bigger capacity (about 1.5 tbsp of batter). Baking time is going to vary depending on the size of your baking pan. If you don't have a cake pop pan, a mini muffin pan works well. You will need 1.5 tbsp of batter for each cavity and will get about 11 mini donut muffins. You can also make these in a regular donut pan but you'll end up with less donuts.
  • Canned coconut milk note: Make sure to use canned coconut milk with 14 grams of fat per 1/3 cup serving. Canned coconut milk with less fat will not work well for this recipe. Brands like Thai Kitchen Organic do not contain enough fat. I used Whole Foods Organic Canned Coconut Milk.* Make sure you use canned coconut milk and not the carton/drinking type of coconut milk.
  • Self-rising flour note. There are 2 main kinds of self-rising flour sold in the US. One that is a lower protein (2 grams per 1/4 cup serving) flour and one that has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup (30g) serving). The amount of protein affects how much liquid is absorbed. For this recipe, I tested it with Gold Medal self-rising flour* (regular amount of protein). Please use a self-rising flour with a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup), or make your own self-rising flour with the recipe below.
  • *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
  • Homemade self-rising flour: Whisk together 1 cup all purpose flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Make sure your all purpose flour has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup). Most brands in the US contain this amount but there are some brands with higher protein (4 grams per 1/4 cup) such as King Arthur Flour and Bob's Red Mill, which will not work well for this recipe.
  • Optional lemon glaze:
    • 2 cups powdered sugar
    • 3-4 tbsp lemon juice, or more as needed
    • Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice and whisk together until you have a smooth glaze. You can add more lemon juice or water to thin out the glaze or add more powdered sugar to thicken the glaze.
  • Estimated nutrition is for the donut hole and does not include glaze or sugar dusting. Estimated nutrition assumes 17 donut holes (1 tbsp batter per donut hole) and is for one donut hole. You may end up with larger donut holes depending on the size of your pan which will affect the nutrition estimate.
Serving: 1donut, Calories: 48kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 84mg, Fiber: 0.01g, Sugar: 3g, NET CARBS: 8
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!