Recipe: Mini Limencello Glazed Vanilla Baked Doughnuts

I’d had the tab for a mini baked doughnut pan on Amazon open on my laptop since the doughnut episode of Great British Bake Off, but honestly I’ve been after one for over a year; I just kept on forgetting to buy one. They’re not really a thing here in the UK, you can’t just walk into most bake shops and find one. I think my influence comes from the disturbing number of American baking blogs I consume on a daily basis. 

Mini Baked Vanilla Doughnuts with Limoncello Glaze and Freeze Dried Raspberries
Mini Baked Vanilla Doughnuts with Limoncello Glaze & Raspberries
Mini Baked Doughnut Tin

Because I’m pretty terrible at remembering to buy things I’ve already decided I need (for example, I wrote to get a refill for my L’Occitane lavender bubble bath when I had just one bath left, and I kept on forgetting until I’d used up all my shower gel as bubble bath too), I never actually got around to it. Thankfully for everyone who has been enjoying my mini doughnut experiments since I got the tin, to showcase their online store, York department store Barnitts offered to send me one for my kitchen instead. You can find this non-stick mini doughnut tin on their website for £9, and I wholeheartedly recommend you buy one, because they’re both fantastic, and I have so many more flavour combinations planned. I feel an obsession coming on… 
Mini Baked Doughnuts

I wanted to kick things off with a basic vanilla doughnut batter, so that those of you looking into getting a tin would have a basic recipe to work from. I’ve adapted it a little from the recipe that came with my Aunt’s tins my grandmother ordered from Lakeland back when they still sold them; I love you dearly Auntie Nina, but if you can manage these, anyone can! However, if you wanted to up the lemon flavour in these you can switch out the vanilla extract for a little freshly grated lemon zest. As for the topping, I wanted something that was both a little bit special, and a little bit everyday. Limoncello makes a basic sugar glaze so much more grown up and exciting, and freeze dried raspberries add both a blast of flavour and a bit of texture, as well as making these look very cute and pretty. I might have to encore these in February. The recipe makes 12-16 doughnuts, depending on the size of your tin. You’ll get 16 out of this one, and need to bake twice.
Mini Vanilla Baked Doughnuts

  • 75g (2 1/2 oz) Plain (All Purpose) Flour
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 55g (2 oz) Golden Caster (Granulated) Sugar 
  • 60 ml (2 1/4 fl oz) Whole Milk
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1 tsp Vegetable Oil
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 4 tbsp Icing (Confectioners) Sugar
  • 2 tsp Limoncello 
  • Freeze Dried Raspberries (I get them from Sainsbury’s and Waitrose) 

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees (325 F). Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. In a jug, whisk together the egg, vanilla, oil and milk until combined, and stir into the dry mixture. My tin is non-stick, but if your pan is not grease the holes with butter then coat in a dusting of flour to create a non-stick surface. You can spoon the batter into each hole until just over 3/4 full, but I like to use a disposable piping bag for this, as it is quicker and easier. Bake in the oven for 9 minutes and then gradually ease the doughnuts out of the pan with your fingers as soon as they are cool enough to do so; don’t leave it too long though, because the cooler they get the more likely they are to stick to the tin. 

Set the doughnuts aside to cool completely. Meanwhile mix together the icing sugar and liquor in a shallow dish. When the doughnuts are cool, tip them face down in the icing and leave on a drying wrack.The icing should smooth out after a few seconds. Sprinkle each doughnut with freeze dried raspberry pieces as you go along before the icing dries. These are best consumed the day you bake them, but honestly, I don’t think there is much of a danger of them hanging around for day two!

Mini Baked Vanilla Doughnuts with Limoncello Glaze & Freeze Dried Raspberries

I’m so happy with how these came out, and I can’t wait to share more mini bite sized baked (so much better for you) doughnut recipes with you all. I’m already plotting apple and spice, and cinnamon sugar varieties, as well as perfecting a chocolate batter. I’d love to hear your suggestions for any other flavour pairings, too! 

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