There is no dough, no proving and no rolling. Store-bought crumpets are soaked in a lemon custard, fried until the edges crisp, and then coated twice — first in lemon sugar while hot, then in a lemon glaze.
The crumpet's open structure is doing the work a batter normally would. Twenty to thirty seconds a side is enough for it to take up custard all the way through without collapsing.
Why This Recipe Works
- Squeezing gently rather than wringing after the soak removes surplus custard while leaving what has soaked into the holes, which is what stops the middle staying raw.
- Lemon zest appears in three separate places — the custard, the sugar and the garnish — so the flavour is layered rather than concentrated in the glaze.
- Rubbing the zest into the sugar with your fingers releases its oils, which is why the recipe says to rub until fragrant instead of just stirring.
- The cornstarch slurry sets the compote in 30 to 60 seconds, so it spoons rather than runs off.
Ingredient Notes
- Store-bought crumpets
- Six, and the recipe is built on buying them rather than making them. Their open structure is what takes up the custard.
- Lemon zest
- From two lemons, divided across the custard and the garnish, plus one more lemon's zest for the lemon sugar.
- Ground cardamom
- A pinch, optional.
How to Make It
Make the compote first
Cook the blueberries with 2 tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of lemon juice over medium for 4 to 6 minutes until juicy, stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer 30 to 60 seconds to thicken. Let it cool.
Rub the lemon sugar
In a shallow bowl, rub half a cup of sugar together with the zest of one lemon until it smells strongly of lemon.
Whisk the soak
In a wide bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, 2 tablespoons of sugar, vanilla, salt, a tablespoon of lemon juice and half the remaining zest, keeping the rest back for garnish.
Soak the crumpets
Submerge each crumpet 20 to 30 seconds per side, then lift and squeeze gently to shed the excess. Do not wring them.
Fry them
Air fry at 375F (190C) in a single layer, lightly oiled and sprayed on top, 6 to 8 minutes with a flip halfway, until deep golden and crisp at the edges. In a pan, use 2 tablespoons of melted butter over medium and give them 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Coat while hot
Toss or press each one in the lemon sugar straight out of the fryer, while the surface is still hot enough to hold it.
Glaze and finish
Whisk the powdered sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, and the melted butter if using, to a pourable glaze. Drizzle over the warm doughnuts and scatter the reserved zest.
Serve with the compote
Spoon the blueberry compote over the top, or split a crumpet and tuck the compote inside. Serve warm.
The Three Places Lemon Appears
This is a lemon recipe with a blueberry accent, and the lemon is deliberately split across separate components rather than concentrated in one.
- InsideZest and a tablespoon of juice in the custard soak
- Goes all the way through the crumpet with the custard, so the middle is not plain.
- On the crustHalf a cup of sugar rubbed with the zest of one lemon
- Applied hot so it sets into the fried surface. Rubbing rather than stirring is what releases the oils.
- On topPowdered sugar glaze with 2-3 tablespoons of juice
- The sharpest of the three, and the one that is adjusted by how much juice goes in.
- Against all of itBlueberry compote, thickened with a cornstarch slurry
- Sweet and jammy rather than sharp, spooned over or tucked inside.
The glaze is where the recipe leaves room: 2 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice against a cup of powdered sugar, to taste and to pouring consistency.
Success Tips
- Squeeze, do not wring. A wrung crumpet loses the custard it just absorbed and fries dry.
- Coat in the lemon sugar while they are hot; once cooled the sugar slides off instead of sticking.
- Let the compote cool before serving — hot compote thins the glaze it lands on.
Serving Ideas
Six doughnuts, served warm, with the compote either spooned over or tucked inside a split crumpet — either way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why crumpets rather than dough?
Their open structure absorbs the custard quickly, so the recipe skips making, proving and rolling a dough entirely.
Can I make these without an air fryer?
Yes — the recipe gives a pan option: 2 tablespoons of melted butter in a nonstick skillet over medium, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Can I use frozen blueberries for the compote?
Yes, the recipe allows fresh or frozen for the cup and a half.
