Dreamweaver’s Lilac Donuts
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If you happen upon a Dreamweaver, they may entice you with the allure of lilacs. With their calming scent, lilacs are not only pleasant but helpful with activating your brain's memory and emotion. The Dreamweaver's Lilac Donuts will whisk you away to a land of positive thoughts with each melt-in-your-mouth bite! These super soft donuts are infused with lilac blossoms and covered in delicious lilac sugar.
baking with lilacs:
The common lilac, or Syringa vulgaris, is an edible perennial plant that has been cultivated and naturalized in Europe, Asia, and North America. This beautiful spring flower with its light to bright purple blossoms, is one that many people have fond memories of and they often invoke whimsical nostalgia. Lilacs have a sweet essence that is similar to honeysuckle, which creates a pleasing floral scent and flavor when used in baked goods. It’s often overlooked as being edible, but it’s oh-so-wonderful to include!
You can learn more about harvesting and cooking with lilacs in my Ultimate Guide to Harvesting & Using Lilacs in Your Kitchen.
gathering ingredients to make lilac donuts:
Before you begin making your homemade lilac donuts, you will need to wander out to the garden to gather some key ingredients. If you do not have lilacs growing at your home, you may have to go off and find some! While I do not encourage stealing plants from someone’s yard, there is nothing wrong with asking your neighbor or friend if you might borrow a flower head or two.
Lilacs. For this recipe you will want to use fresh lilac blossoms, removing the stems and any green parts.
Sugar. To really infuse the delightful flowery flavor of the lilacs, you will be rubbing some of the blossoms into granulated sugar.
Milk. I suggest using whole milk for this recipe, but really any type of milk will work. If you use plant milk, feel free to use your favorite kind in this recipe.
Butter. I always used salted butter in my recipes, but you can definitely use unsalted if you would like.
Flour. For this recipe, you will need all-purpose flour.
Active Dry Yeast. This yeasted dough uses active dry yeast for a quick rise!
how to make Lilac sugar:
One of the main components in this Lilac Donuts recipe is Lilac Sugar! It’s incredibly easy to make sugars that are infused with the scents and flavors of various plant ingredients like citrus, edible flowers, and herbs.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup (200 g) sugar, any kind will work, and about 1/2 cup (10 g) fresh lilac blossoms.
With your fingers, rub the lilacs into the sugar, squeezing out the natural oils into the sugar. You can also easily do this in a food processor. Simply pulse the mixture together a few times until the lilacs are well blended but the sugar is still granulated.
You can choose to use the lilac sugar immediately or let it infuse! If you want to save the sugar for later, spread the lilac sugar on a large baking sheet and let it dry fully for about 1 to 2 days in a cool place with good air circulation. Toss the sugar occasionally to help dry it out faster.
Once dry, you can store the sugar in an airtight container for about 3 months.
tools for making donuts:
While purchasing fancy new tools is not necessary for making donuts, there are a few things that can make the process easier! These are some of my favorite tools for making donuts:
Donut Cutter. If you do not have a donut cutter, you can use a round cookie cutter to cut out your donuts. You may need to use a smaller round cookie cutter if you want to cut out the centers! With a donut cutter, you can do both steps in one motion.
6 Quart Dutch Oven. If I am not using an electric deep fryer, I love using my enameled dutch oven to deep fry in. A 5 or 6 quart dutch oven has the perfect depth for deep frying, and it maintains temperature really well.
Deep Frying Thermometer. If you don’t have a built-in thermometer, I would highly suggest having one for your pot. It’s so much easier to maintain the right temperature for frying donuts this way without having to guess!
Tabletop Electric Deep Fryer. This is the deep fryer that I have, which is actually a multi-cooker. You can use it as a steamer or a crockpot, but I enjoy using it as a deep fryer. You can set the temperature exactly where you want it, which is great for frying food, and it maintains the temperature beautifully. It’s also quite easy to clean!
how to make lilac donuts:
Step One: Begin by infusing the flavor of lilacs into the sugar that will go into the donut dough. Rub the lilac petals into the sugar to release the natural oils and fragrance in the lilac.
Step Two: Then, you will infuse the flavor even further by steeping lilacs in the milk. Combine the lilacs and milk in a saucepan over the stove and bring the mixture to a simmer. Then, turn off the heat and cover the pot, leaving the lilacs to steep for 10 minutes.
Step Three: Next, make the dough. Combine the lilac sugar, steeped milk, butter, and salt. Combine this with the flour, yeast, eggs, and some vanilla and begin mixing on medium speed until a shaggy dough forms. If you want, you can add some depth of color by squeezing in a few drops of purple food coloring.
Step Four: Once the dough comes together, knead it for about 6 minutes in your mixer or with your hands to develop the gluten. Shape the dough into a tight ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Step Five: Once the dough has gone through its first proof, it’s time to cut the donuts. Roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch (1-cm) thick. With a donut cutter, begin to cut out as many donuts as possible. Lay these out on prepared baking sheets and cover with plastic, waiting for them to puff or nearly double in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Step Six: Fry the puffed donuts in a neutral cooking oil of your choice for about 2 minutes per side, or until they are a lovely golden brown and cooked through the center. Let the donuts cool on wire cooling racks set over baking sheets or parchment paper. Then, roll them in Lilac Sugar!
should you re-roll donut dough?
While you absolutely can re-roll donut dough, you will lose some of the tenderness each time that you do this!
When you cut out your first round of donuts, you will be bound to have leftover scraps of dough. At this point, you can make a decision: You can re-roll the dough scraps together and cut out more donuts, or you can cut the scraps into small pieces and make donut holes. The donut holes will be more tender!
If you do decide to re-roll (I usually do!), let the dough rest for at least 15 to 20 minutes after you knead the pieces back together. This allows the gluten to rest and will make the dough more easy to roll out without it springing back at you.
final thoughts:
These delightful purple donuts are the perfect spring time treat! The floral scent of lilacs infuses every bite of tender, delicious pastry giving you feelings of springtime nostalgia. I love how beautiful these lilac donuts look with their lovely lavender colored sugar coating. These edible flower donuts will be your new favorite springtime breakfast or afternoon treat!
xoxo Kayla
Dreamweaver's Lilac Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup (xx g) fresh lilac blossoms, green stems removed, divided
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp (80 g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk
- 1/4 cup (58 g) salted butter, softened
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp (12 g) active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Purple food coloring, optional
- 2 quarts (1.9 L) neutral frying oil, like peanut, avocado, canola, etc
- 2 cups (236 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp (20 g) cornstarch
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) lilac syrup
- Purple food coloring, optional
- Fresh lilac blossoms, for decorating
- Large sugar crystals, for decorating
Instructions
- Begin by combing 1/4 cup (xx g) of the lilac blossoms and the sugar in a medium bowl. Rub the lilac flowers into the sugar to release the oils in the flowers, scenting and flavoring the sugar, for about 1 to 2 minutes. Set this aside for now.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 3/4 cup (xx g) lilac blossoms and milk. Bring this combination to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat as soon as the milk begins to bubble around the edges. Cover the pot and let it steep for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the lid and stir in the lilac sugar, butter, and salt. Stir until the butter is just melted.
- In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a hook attachment, combine 2 cups (250 g) of the flour and the yeast. Pour the warm milk mixture over the flour and begin to mix the dough on medium-low speed. Add in the eggs and the vanilla. You can also add the purple food coloring at this point, if using.
- Once the dough has started to come together, about 2 minutes, begin adding in the remaining flour. Add the flour until the dough forms one large mass on the hook and no longer clings to the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough on medium-high speed for about 6 minutes.
- Lightly grease a large bowl. Then, remove the dough from the mixer and shape it into a tight ball. Place the dough into the prepared bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Gently deflate the dough with your hands, pressing out as much air as possible. Transfer the dough to the countertop. Try your best not to flour the countertop, as this will add more flour to the dough than you need. The dough should not be so sticky that it will not gently lift from the work surface. If this is the case, then the dough needs more flour in the future - for now, just lightly flour your work surface.
- Prepare 2 large baking sheets and line them with parchment paper. Set these aside for now. Roll out the dough until it is about 1/2-inch (1-cm) thick. With a donut cutter, begin to cut out donuts using as much of the dough as possible. Arrange the cut donuts on the prepared baking sheets, about 2-inches (5-cm) apart. Cover the cut donuts with plastic and let rise until nearly doubled, or puffed, about 30 to 45 minutes.
- With the remaining dough, gather it back together as best as you can. Then, cover it with plastic and let it rest for about 15 to 20 minutes before you re-roll the dough to cut more donuts. Otherwise, you can cut the scraps into small pieces for donut holes.
- To make the Lilac Donut Icing, whisk together the powdered sugar and cornstarch. Then whisk in the lilac syrup and purple food coloring, if using. The consistency should be quite thick!
- Heat the oil to 375° F (191° C) and maintain the temperature. Prepare a drying area for the donuts by placing a couple of wire cooling racks over a baking sheet or some parchment paper. Fry the donuts with the risen side down, flipping after about 2 minutes. Fry the opposite side for another 1 to 2 minutes or until golden and cooked through the middle. Set the finished donuts on the wire cooling racks.
- Continue to cook the remaining donuts this way, while simultaneously dipping the cooked donuts into the finished icing.
- When the donuts are cool enough to handle, gently dip the tops of the donuts into the icing. You can dip the donuts while they are still warm for a more glazed look. For a decorated top look, like mine, wait until the donuts have cooled. When they are coated to your liking, Set them back on the wire cooling racks to drip. While the icing is still wet, decorate the tops of the donuts with lilac blossoms and crystal sugar.
- Serve the donuts on the same day. If you would like to keep them longer, store them in paper bag or on a domed cake plate for about 2 to 3 days. They do not keep well in a plastic bag or tupperware container.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
888Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
