Description
Moist and chewy baked carrot cake donuts are perfectly spiced and topped with plenty of tangy cream cheese icing – and they’ll be ready in less than 30 minutes! Eat these for breakfast, then make my irresistible paleo carrot cake for dessert.
Ingredients
Carrot cake donuts:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup carrots, peeled and grated (around 3 carrots, depending on size)
Cream cheese icing:
- 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1–2 teaspoons milk of choice
- Pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup walnuts and/or pecans, chopped and toasted (optional)
Instructions
Carrot cake donuts:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a donut pan (aff link) with nonstick spray (aff link). Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together egg and brown sugar until combined and caramel in color. Add milk, oil, and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Add bowl of dry ingredients to bowl of wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Add grated carrots and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, filling each 2/3 full. The easiest way to fill them is to use a pastry bag (or a plastic bag with a hole cut into the corner). Bake for 13-15 minutes (14 minutes is perfect for me), until set and golden. Let set in pan for a minute or two, and then remove from pan and let cool completely on wire racks (aff link).
Cream cheese icing:
- In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter. Use a hand mixer (aff link) to beat on high speed until combined and smooth.
- Add powdered sugar, and beat again start on low speed then increasing to high speed to thoroughly combine.
- Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time, beating to combine after each addition, until you’ve reached a consistency that will be good for dipping (but not so thin that’s it’s liquidy).
- Dip the top of each donut in the icing, twisting as you remove it. Use a small spatula or knife to smooth out the tops.
- Top with chopped nuts, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Store in an airtight container for no more than 2, maybe 3 days.
- I have this Wilton donut pan (affiliate link), and I highly recommend getting two of them so you don’t have to wait for the pan to cool, clean it, and respray before you can bake the next batch.
- If you don’t want to add the cream cheese icing, you could definitely eat them without it. Maybe add a sprinkle of powdered sugar or cinnamon on top.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: carrot cake donuts, carrot cake doughnuts, baked carrot cake donuts, baked donuts, baked doughnuts
