Earl Grey Donuts
I always get in a very Earl Grey mood when spring comes around every year. It’s floral and citrusy and everything that’s perfect about springtime. As much as I love a nice cuppa Earl Grey tea, I’ve been experimenting with adding Earl Grey flavors to some other baked items. Most recently, I made a batch of Earl Grey Donuts, and they turned out so good, I had to share them here.
Okay, so these are really more like London Fog Donuts. They’re inspired by the London Fog Latte, with notes of lavender, vanilla, and bergamot. But the spotlight ingredient here is Earl Grey tea, so… Earl Grey Donuts it is.
Earl Grey Donuts
These donuts are soft, moist, floral, warm, just perfectly sweet, and not too heavy or indulgent. That’s largely due to the fact that they’re baked, not fried. I personally prefer baked donuts to fried yeast donuts, because they tend to be lighter, more tender, and less oily. They’re really more cake-like than anything, but they feel more breakfast-y than dessert-y. And if you ask me, that’s everything I want from a baked donut! As much as I’d like to think I’d enjoy them, I just can’t get behind those big, overly decorated dessert donuts with mile-high icing and toppings. Keep it simple, people.
To bring the Earl Grey flavor to the donuts, you start by steeping milk with tea. For the tea, you can use a regular Earl Grey tea bag, or loose leaf, or some of both. I used a Lavender Earl Grey loose-leaf tea from local business Wildflower Tea Shop. It really added that nice, subtle, floral lavender flavor that I wanted from the latte.
You can glaze or dust your donuts however you wish. They’d be delicious tossed in a powdered sugar coating. I made a quick glaze with some leftover infused milk and powdered sugar, and dipped my warm donuts in that. Using that same infused milk adds an extra hit of that Earl Grey, London Fog flavor that really takes these baked donuts to the next level. These would also work well with a cream cheese icing, or even a light lemon glaze.
How to Make Earl Grey Donuts
First, steep the milk. Warm your milk gently in the microwave, making sure it doesn’t simmer or boil. Once it’s warm, add your tea and let it steep and infuse. I let mine go for about half an hour, to make sure the flavor was really there.
While that’s steeping, preheat your oven and prep your pan(s). Donut pans don’t need a lot of prep, just a light coat of cooking spray. These donuts bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Gather and combine dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and Earl Grey tea powder in a mixing bowl, and set aside.
Mix the wet ingredients. Combine the eggs, yogurt, steeped milk, vanilla extract, oil, melted butter, and sugars in another mixing bowl, and whisk until well combined.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Mix until the dry ingredients are just moistened and combined; don’t over-mix! The batter will be pretty thick and might have some lumps.
Add batter to donut pan. You can scoop the batter into the pan with a spoon, or fill a piping bag with the batter and pipe it in. Either works. The spoon method can be a bit messy, but it’s less work than filling a piping bag and dealing with that. Fill each well about 3/4 full.
Bake your donuts. It only takes about 10-12 minutes in your heated oven. Let them cool for about 5 minutes in the pan before turning them out.
Glaze and enjoy! I dipped mine in a quick glaze of powdered sugar and the same steeped milk as before.
There y’all have it—that’s how you make my baked Earl Grey Donuts! These are great for sharing, or enjoying with your morning coffee (or London Fog Latte) on the back porch. If you enjoyed this post and recipe, you might also like:
- Baked Peach Donuts
- Orange Spice Tea Latte
- Apple Cider Muffins
- Cinnamon Toast Crunch Breakfast Cocktail
- Sunday Morning Muffins
Thanks so much for reading and baking along, y’all! If you enjoyed this, follow me on Instagram and Pinterest for more deliciously simple Southern recipes from my kitchen to yours.
Earl Grey Donuts
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp Earl Grey tea leaves/powder from tea bag
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup Earl Grey infused milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar
Instructions
- Gently warm the milk (do not let it simmer or boil). Add one Earl Grey tea bag or the proper loose leaf serving, and steep in the milk for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a donut baking pan.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and tea powder in a bowl, and set aside.
- In a large mixing bow, add the eggs, oil, yogurt, sugars, vanilla, and infused milk, and whisk to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet, and fold to combine. Batter will be thick and may have some lumps. That's okay.
- Carefully spoon or pipe the batter into each well in your donut pan. Fill about 3/4 full.
- Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.
- Cool baked donuts in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
- Glaze or dust as desired while still warm. Then cool completely.
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