Sunday Sweeties 5/12: Coconut Lime Baked Donuts

Happy Mothers Day!!

This month, the ingredients for the Behind the Curtain Challenge were coconut and lime.

Understandably, I was really excited.

Unfortunately, it was AP week and the library at school was closed for testing, so I couldn’t write up this post in time for the Behind the Curtain Challenge link up 😦 But this recipe is too good to not post at all.

Not only are coconut and lime two of my favorite flavors, but they epitomize spring time. They’re refreshing and tropical, and a wonderful way to transition into summer. Plus, they work so incredibly well together, and I really needed an excuse to use them both in the same recipe.

I’ve had two donut pans sitting in my cabinet for almost two months now, but alas, I had never used them! So, this was my chance. My first time making baked donuts.

I have to say, the donuts were pretty successful.

I decided on a mini version, so I could eat like a million and not feel guilty. I mean so I could give them away to more of my friends.

To enhance the flavors, I used coconut oil instead of butter, and made buttermilk with lime juice instead of lemon. I liked the way this turned out, especially since I don’t have any coconut milk to add to the coconut aspect.

To fill the donut pan, spoon the batter into a Ziploc bag and snip off the end, then squeeze batter to fill each cavity about halfway. Make sure you do not fill them too high, or the batter will rise and bake over the spot where the hole should be! That happened to me on my first trial, and though it didn’t really matter because the top was dipped in coconut, the classic donut look requires a hole.

In the picture above, the cavities are too full. Aim for no more than halfway. When they’re done, the donuts will still be pale, and only slghtly golden around the edges. They will pop right out of the pan, even directly out of the oven.

After cooling, I dipped the mini donuts in a coconut lime glaze, and then shredded coconut. It was a very cute finish for a very cute dessert 🙂

Or breakfast. Why not? Lime’s a fruit.

Coconut Lime Baked Donuts adapted from Flavor the Moments

Yield: about 60 mini donuts

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tbs lime zest (from 2 small limes)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup Coconut milk or Buttermilk- Place 1 tsp lime juice in a liquid measuring cup and fill with soy or almond milk up to the 1/2 cup line
• 1/4 tsp vanilla or coconut extract if you have it

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbs lime juice
• 2 tsp lime zest (from 1 small lime)
• 2 tbs almond or soy milk

To Top:

• 3/4 cup toasted coconut
• 1/2 tsp lime zest

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a mini donut pan.
2. Cream coconut oil, sugar, and lime zest for two minutes. Add egg and mix until just combined. Stir in coconut.
3. In a medium bowl, sift flour with baking powder and salt.
4. Measure out coconut milk or buttermilk. Stir in vanilla.
5. Add dry ingredents to the coconut-lime mixture in three stages, alternating with buttermilk, but beginning and ending with the flour.
6. Spoon batter into a Ziploc bag and snip the tube. Squeeze batter to fill each donut cavity no more than halfway.
7. Bake 11-14 minutes. The donuts will still be pale but very slightly golden around the edges. When lightly pressed, the donut will pop right back up.
8. Remove from pan and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat baking with the rest of the batter- there will be about five batches.
9. Make the glaze. Combine powdered sugar, lime juice, zest, and milk in a shallow bowl. Dip the top of each donut into the glaze, tapping lightly to remove any excess. Immediately dip in the toasted coconut mixed with lime zest.

Conclusions:

Everyone loved loved loved these donuts. One friend had about twenty, I believe. The rest were split between five others. They’re so small that you don’t even realize how many you’re actually having! And the recipe makes so many, which was a tad unexpected, but very cool if you need them for a party or something. The glaze and coconut on top really made the flavor, I believe. The lime in the donut was soft and subtle but the coconut barely noticeable, so the toasted coconut balanced it out. I was surprised that the donuts retained their softness and moisture on the second and third days, so storing them at room temperature for this long is definitely okay. Can I just say, though, that juicing and zesting citrus fruits is the most annoying thing ever? It takes up like half the total time of the recipe. If you have some kind of easy juicing or zesting advice, please share.

Link Parties:

My Fashion Forward Blog’s All Things Pretty Thursday

Homemaker on a Dime Creative Bloggers’ Party and Hop

Sweet 2 Eat Baking’s Sugar and Slice Sunday Link Party

The Velvet Moon Baker’s Sweet and Savoury Sunday

Flour Me with Love’s Mix it Up Monday

Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms’ Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Pint Sized Baker’s Two Cup Tuesdays

Nap Time Creations’ Tasteful Tuesdays

Inside BruCrew Life’s Time to Sparkle

Ginger Snap Crafts’ Wow Me Wednesday

Bubbly Nature Creations’ Make Bake Create

Mom on Timeout’s Your Creative Timeout Party

Buns in My Oven’s What’s Cooking Wednesday

The Taylor House’s Pinterest Power Party

Hope In Every Season’s Homemaking Party

The Crafty Blog Stalker’s Blog Stalking Thursday

A Handful Of Everything’s Great Idea Thursdays

The Best Blog Recipes Weekend Retreat

Glued to My Crafts’ Crafty Thursday Obsessions

Angel’s Homestead Saturday Spotlight

Six Sisters’ Stuff Strut Your Stuff Saturday

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