Mini Baked Lemon Donuts

Yield: 24 mini donuts

Ingredients:

½ cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1¼ cups cake flour, sifted
1¼ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1½ tbsp. butter, melted
½ teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

Prepare pan with baking spray.
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl combine sugar and lemon zest until the sugar is moistened and fragrant.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in sugar mixture.
4. Add buttermilk, egg, butter, and vanilla and stir until just combined.
5. Add batter to a piping bag and fill each donut cup approximately one-half full.
6. Bake 4–6 minutes or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched.
7. Let cool in pan for 4–5 minutes before removing. Finish the donuts with glaze, sprinkles, or cinnamon sugar.

Notes:

- To decorate the mini donuts, I dipped them in candy melts and adorned them with cute Valentine's Day sprinkles from Wilton. Simply melt according to package directions, invert the top of the donuts into the melted candy melts and immediately top with sprinkles.