Lemon Cheesecake Donuts |Cooking With Amanda

I made us a treat. I married cheesecake and donuts.

I thought about putting the cheesecake into the donut batter and making this very tasty pairing happen that way. But… they weren't cheesecake-ey enough. I also thought about making traditional donuts and filling them with cheesecake.

But… when it boils down to it, I kind of hate frying things. Make no mistake — I LOVE FRIED THINGS. I just don't love the action of frying. I always manage to burn myself or ruin my clothes. I am leaving the frying to other, less clumsy people.

So I made the executive decision with these Lemon Cheesecake Donuts to go ALL IN with the shortcuts.

I bought the donuts.

Plain, soft cake donuts.

You could also go glazed, but I am partial to cake donuts with the cream cheese filling. It's a texture thing. (If you wanna go glazed AND homemade try this recipe for Krispy Kreme Donuts!)

The cream cheese filling is basically the beginning of cheesecake batter, minus the eggs. You will add lemon zest, lemon extract, powdered sugar, and heavy whipping cream. As you beat everything together, the cream and cream cheese will whip together making a light and fluffy cheesecake filling.

Adding fruit was an afterthought on my part. Partly because I love fruit and wanted some color, but partly because I feel like fruit and cheesecake just naturally go hand in hand. The glaze is simple; it's made with a little lemon juice and some powdered sugar.

This plate of sweetness is perfect for a brunch or breakfast buffet. They would also work well as a tea party snack and I think they are EASILY pretty enough for a shower. Enjoy!

If you love new kinds of donuts for breakfast you will also love these Cinnamon Roll Doughnuts, these Kahlua Chocolate Donuts, these Blueberry Key Lime Donuts, and this recipe for Chunky Monkey Banana Donuts which I love to infinity forever.

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Lemon Cheesecake Donuts Recipe

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Ingredients

12 plain cake donuts
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup powdered sugar, plus 1/3 cup, divided
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
3 tablespoons heavy cream
assorted fresh fruit, such as berries, peaches, etc.
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

Slice each donut in half horizontally.
Beat together the cream cheese, lemon zest, 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar, lemon extract, and heavy cream. Beat for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides halfway through. The mixture will be whipped and fluffy.
Spread one side of each split donut with the cream cheese mixture. Then cover the cream cheese with fruit (you can also skip the fruit).
Place the other half of each donut on top and then make the glaze.
Whisk together the lemon juice and the remaining 1/3 cup powdered sugar. Drizzle the glaze over each donut.