It only took me three attempts, but guys? Srsly, guys? I nailed this one. First, I made some half-raw dough balls. Then I made some of the HARDEST BUNS KNOWN TO MAN. Seriously, they were borderline assault weapons. And then I got it. I mean, I GOT. IT. Perfectly crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, and not a spoonful of sugar in sight.
I genuinely wasn’t sure if these would work – I mean, lemon meringue donuts? But the heart wants what the heart wants, and I’m so glad I persevered, because these were so totally worth it. And it’s all ridiculously easy, and so quick to make. So without further nonsense, LET’S GET ON THIS TANG
Method
For the lemon curd
Squeeze out 60 ml lemon juice – 60ml is approximately 1.5 – 2 small lemons. You want to keep the pulp, and also set aside 0.5 tsp lemon juice for your meringue later. Also, when you separate your 1 egg yolk(s) , keep your egg whites in a bowl, as you will use these for your meringue too.
Add 60 ml lemon juice , lemon pulp , 4 tsps xylitol , 1 large eggs(s) and 1 egg yolk(s) into a pan (a small milk pan like this is ideal ) and whisk together. Then put the pan on a low (low! ) heat and add 45 g soft butter in cubes, stirring as you do.
Once the butter has melted completely, which should take 3-5 minutes, turn the heat up to medium and keep stirring continuously. You should find your lemon curd thickens up pretty quickly – usually only in a couple of minutes. Dip a teaspoon and, after giving it a minute to cool, taste it – if it tastes too sharp, you can add 0.125 tsp stevia to round out the taste a little.
Once it is nice and thick, taken the pan off the heat, pour into a small, cool bowl and set to one side. You may want to stir it every few minutes just to ensure there are no huge lumps. The consistency should be thicker than a pouring custard – more like the custard you would have in a trifle. If it coats the back of a spoon without dripping off, then it’s perfect. To stop a skin forming on the top, cover the top with cling film, so that it’s actually touching the lemon curd, and then place the bowl in the fridge.
For the meringue
Preheat your oven to 130°c fan (150°c no fan / 300°f).
Combine 0.5 tsp lemon juice with 0.5 tsp cornflour in a small bowl and mix together and set to one side.
Add 1 egg white(s) , 3 tsps powdered xylitol and 0.125 tsp stevia to a bowl and stir together briefly. If you don’t have powdered xylitol, simply grind up the same amount of regular granulated xylitol with a pestle & mortar until finely ground.
Using a handheld electric mixer, whisk together the egg-white mixture on high speed for 20-30 seconds. When it starts to whiten and thicken up and has approximately doubled in volume, pour in your cornflour-lemon-juice mix and then continue to whisk on high speed for another 1-2 minutes. Your meringue mixture should be stiff enough that when you remove the mixer, the meringue won’t fold in on itself but instead stay stiff and can easily form stiff peaks that don’t droop.
Use a palette knife or spatula to spread your meringue thinly onto a sheet of baking/parchment paper, spread until the whole thing is only around 1-2cm thick. Then place on a baking tray in the oven and set your buzzer for 20 minutes. When it goes off, open the oven rest a sheet of baking foil gently over the top to stop it from catching, then continue baking for another 20 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven and set to one side to cool and crisp up.
For the donuts
Add 25 g butter to a small bowl and melt in the microwave for 10 seconds, then mix together to ensure all the lumps have melted.
Put 60 ml semi-skimmed milk in the microwave for 10-20 seconds – you don’t want to combine cold milk with the butter! Add the now-warm milk to the butter. Add in 1 tbsp sunflower oil & 2 tsps lemon juice and mix everything together.
In a separate bowl, combine 125 g plain white flour , 25 g xylitol , 0.5 lemon rind(s) , 0.5 tsp baking powder and 0.25 tsp salt and mix together with a metal spoon or knife.
Combine the flour mixture with the wet mixture and mix together with a metal spoon or knife until the dough comes together in a glossy ball. It should be ever-so slightly sticky, but not so wet that it sticks to your fingers. Divide your dough in half, and then divide those halves in half again. Poke a hole in the middle of each ball, swirling gently; then pull outwards from the middle until the donuts are around 3-4 inches in diameter. Try to ensure the donut ring isn’t too thick – you want it to cook through in a very short space of time.
Fill a small pan with sunflower or vegetable oil to a depth of around 2 inches, and place on a medium heat. You’ll want to watch it carefully and monitor with a sugar thermometer if you have one. Just before the oil reaches a temperature of 180°c (360°f), turn the heat down to medium-low – you want to try to keep the oil at that constant temperature.
Place one donut at a time onto a large metal slotted/perforated spoon or spatula and VERY, VERY CAREFULLY lower into the oil. It will begin to fry instantly – wearing a protective oven glove or similar, poke a small dinner knife into the middle of the donut and gently swirl it in the oil. Cook the donut for around 2-3 minutes or until golden brown, using tongs or similar utensil to turn the donut and make sure each side is cooked evenly. Once done, place on some kitchen towel and leave to cool.
Once the all the donuts are cooked and have cooled to room temperature, use a knife to spread your lemon curd over the top of each donut, covering them like icing.
Peel your cooled sheet of meringue away from the baking paper. It should be stiff and crispy, but don’t worry about keeping it all in one piece – you want to break it up into small pieces, then dice it using a large, sharp kitchen knife. Once diced, sprinkle your crumbled meringue over the top of each donut; you can also use the meringue dust to cover the rest of the donut in a fine powder, just like powdered sugar.
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…and you’re done! Four small, deliciously devilish donuts destined to be devoured.
Nutritional Info
Total Carbohydrates
34.6g
*Typical values per serving.
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