Say hello to your new favorite teatime treat! These easy Baked Matcha Lemon Glazed Donuts are like taking a bite of spring and are ready in under 30 minutes.
You are going to love the earthy taste of green tea paired with the zesty citrus glaze. These fresh and tender matcha donuts are like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.
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Baked Not Fried
We love baking donuts as we are not huge fan of that greasy mess in the kitchen. How about you? Unlike traditional donuts, these matcha baked donuts without yeast are light, not fried and do not require any waiting for the dough to rise. Just like our black sesame mochi donuts, these donuts are just lightly sweet.
How to Make Donuts Without a Donut Pan?
- Use a muffin pan with aluminum foil.
- Cut each piece of foil approximately 4 inches by 4 inches.
- Place the aluminum foil in the muffin hole and scrunch it up in the middle to form a well for the batter to be piped around.
- Spray your aluminum lined muffin pan with oil to prevent sticking and then pipe the batter around the aluminum foil well.
Ingredients
- butter or dairy free margarine
- vegetable oil
- granulated sugar or sugar alternative of choice
- brown sugar light
- eggs
- baking powder
- baking soda
- matcha green tea powder
- salt
- vanilla extract
- all purpose flour or gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour
- milk or a dairy free milk alternative
- powdered sugar
- lemon juice and zest
What Does a Matcha Donut Taste Like?
When you take your first bite of a baked matcha donut, you will first taste the delicate sweetness and tartness of the lemon zest glaze, just like our lemon jello poke cake. Then, you will be greeted with the complex earthy flavors of the matcha green tea.
Matcha has an earthy, vegetal flavor and to some has been described as have umami flavor. When combined with the lemon glaze, the flavors can be described as fresh, light and balanced.
What is Matcha?
Did you know that springtime is harvest time for matcha? Matcha is green tea that has been finely ground to a powder.
Matcha green tea is rich in anti-oxidants, minerals and has mood boosting qualities. If the matcha does not boost your mood, these baked matcha lemon glazed donuts sure will.
You can feel good about indulging in these baked matcha donuts because matcha green tea powder is packed with antioxidants. If you enjoy the extra boost of matcha for breakfast, you may like to try our matcha chia seed pudding or vegan matcha pancakes
How is Matcha Made?
The spring harvest time for good matcha is between May to early June. Great matcha is sweet, without bitterness and is a brilliant bright green color. The reason why really good matcha is brilliant green is because of the harvesting process.
During the early parts of spring, the plants are covered to make it dark to slow down the rate of photosynthesis. The purpose of this is to help elevate the amino acid level and this is responsible for that delicious earthy full flavored matcha. Then the leaves are harvested, steamed, cooled and dried and then ground to a powder.
Grades of Matcha
Enjoying the springtime tradition of drinking and cooking with matcha is like visiting Japan without ever leaving the comfort of your home. If you cannot find matcha at your market, you can purchase online right to your home.
You can use either ceremonial grade or culinary grade matcha for this recipe. However, if you want to have a bright green color to celebrate St. Patrick's Day- be sure to use ceremonial grade matcha powder. The better the matcha the brighter the green hue and the more sweeter the taste.
Recipe Tips
- Don't overmix as this can make the donut tough
- Use a piping bag or a baggie with a hole cut out of end to pipe the matcha donut batter into the donut pan.
- Don't over bake. Start looking at your donuts at the 5 minute mark.
- Use the tooth pick method to determine if your matcha doughnuts are baked properly not time as each oven is different.
- Allow the donuts to cool completely before drizzling on the lemon glaze.
Hanami
Happy Hanami (Sakura Cherry Blossom viewing season)! The Sakura buds are now starting to show. In some of the warmer locations in Japan, the cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom. Late March to April, depending on the weather, is the prime-viewing season.
If you are lucky enough to be in Japan at this time of the year, then bring a blanket or mat to sit on and a few Baked Matcha Lemon Glazed Donuts or Sakura shortbread matcha cookies and enjoy the view.
However, you do not need to hop on a plane to enjoy the sweet tradition of Hanami. You can do this right in your own kitchen. In less than 30 minutes, you can have freshly Baked Matcha Donuts with a lemon glaze on your table for a delicious brunch or a midday treat.
Improve your health by "Forest Bathing"
Don't be grabbing your shower gel and soap on a rope yet as it is not bathing in the literal sense. Scientist have found that when we go for a walk/hike, in green spaces with trees, grass and foliage, it has a positive effect on our mood. Our brains can forget about the negatives of life and think more about the positives. The Japanese call this practice "Shinrin-yoku".
Right now it is peak Sakura (cherry blossom) viewing season in Japan. Our Baked doughnut recipe is the perfect treat to enjoy this season and green spaces. Be sure to pack a few Tuna Mayo Rice Balls and Japanese Egg roll Tomagoyaki for a fun picnic.
More Delicious Breakfast and Brunch Ideas
Sautéed Greens Breakfast Salad
Sautéed Asparagus and Mushroom with Poached Eggs
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Baked Matcha Lemon Glazed Donuts
Ingredients
Matcha Donuts
- 4 tablespoon butter or dairy free margarine room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar or sugar alternative of choice
- ⅓ cup brown sugar light
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt ¾ teaspoon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 and ⅔ cups all purpose flour (2 and ⅔ cups)
- 1 cup milk (we used a dairy free milk alternative)
Lemon Glaze Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 - 4.5 teaspoons
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C)
- Lightly spray donut pans with oil
- Beat together butter, oil and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Stir in baking powder, baking soda, matcha green tea powder, salt and vanilla just until everything mixed.
- Turn down your mixer and the flour a little bit at time and a little bit of the milk (dairy-free alternative) alternating between milk (dairy-free alternative) and flour just until all the flour and milk has been added. Do not over mix.
- Place matcha batter into a piping bag or Ziploc bag, cut about a ½ inch tip off the end. Pipe the matcha batter into the greased donut pan, leaving about a ¼ inch from the top. They will rise so do not overfill too much.
- Bake in oven for about 6-8 minutes. Start checking on them at 5-6 minutes mark and when the toothpick comes out clean they are done. Let the donuts rest for about 6 minutes in the donut pan. Carefully remove matcha donuts from the donut pan and cool on a wire rack.
- Make the lemon icing- in a medium bowl combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest and stir into well mixed.
- Drizzle lemon glaze over the top of the cooled matcha donuts. Set aside for about 30 minutes until icing is dry.
- Enjoy! Can also be frozen in a sealed Tupperware for up to 3 months.
Michelle says
These matcha donuts are incredibly beautiful! Love that combination of lemon and matcha -- I'm thinking yuzu would take it a notch up! So delicious with a cup of tea 🙂
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Michelle. Yuzu would be extra delicious in our matcha donuts, if you have access to that in your location. Take care
Aubry says
MY grandkids will laugh about green donuts. So cute.
ken says
PERFECT for St. Pats day!
HWC Magazine says
Indeed! Thanks so much and wishing you a very Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Julie @ HostessAtHeart says
Wow those donuts look like a work of art and I love matcha and can't even fathom how amazing these donuts taste. I love your site. It looks amazing!
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much Julie for your kind words. These baked matcha lemon glazed donuts do not seem to last long in our house. Take care
Demeter | Beaming Baker says
These donuts look absolutely amazing! So perfectly fluffy and delish. I'm totally drooling over the glaze too! Thank you for sharing such an awesome recipe! 🙂
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much Demeter. I think next time we will try the recipe with an egg substitute and make a vegan version just for you. Take care
Maureen says
I can already taste these in my head and now I want to taste them with my mouth! Yum.
HWC Magazine says
I wish you lived closer Maureen so we could you a plate of donuts. Wishing you a super weekend and take care!
HWC Magazine says
Wish you lived closer Maureen, we would send a few right over!
kitchenriffs says
Great recipe! Pretty color, and I'll bet the flavor is wonderful. The new design/format looks wonderful! Congrats.
HWC Magazine says
Thanks so much John. Glad you like the donuts and the new design. Thanks for your patience during the change over. 🙂