These moist and fluffy baked carrot cake donuts are spiced and doused in tangy cream cheese frosting! The bake time is only 20 minutes and they are made with simple ingredients! These healthy baked donuts will be sure to cure your tweet tooth and will make for a perfect spring breakfast! The best way to eat these baked donuts are with the cinnamon cream cheese frosting! It’s not too sweet and makes a perfect pairing with the delicate carrot cake texture!
Delicious Homemade Donuts!
I have been wanting to make a baked donut recipe for months. I saw I had a bunch of carrots in the fridge and instantly thought about carrot cake donuts! I was never a huge fan of carrot cake growing up because who wants vegetables in their dessert right? It’s safe to say my palate has matured and I am now a fan! This recipe is a healthier version of your traditional donut and has the texture of a cake donut mixed with a moist carrot cake.
The best part of this recipe though, has to be the cinnamon cream cheese frosting! I don’t like frosting that just tastes like straight up sugar so I made this frosting with cream cheese and honey to create a perfectly balanced sweetness for these donuts! So if you are craving donuts for breakfast or even just for dessert, skip the donut shop and try this easy recipe instead! All you need is some wholesome ingredients, 20 minutes of your time, some friends or family, and these donuts will be gone in no time!
Healthy Baked Donut Recipe Ingredients
- Whole Carrots I grated about 4 whole carrots for this recipe! You can use more or less depending on your preference.
- Olive Oil: You can use olive oil for this recipe or melted butter.
- Eggs: Eggs will give our donuts their structure and make fluffy donuts.
- Milk: I used 2% but feel free to use whole milk, coconut milk or even almond milk for this recipe.
- Honey: To make this a healthier donuts recipe, I used less sugar and swapped the white sugar for honey
- Spices: I used nutmeg, saigon cinnamon, and ginger as my spices but feel free to leave one out or swap in your favorite baking spice!
- All-Purpose Flour: I used all purpose flour for the base of these baked donuts. You can experiment with half almond flour and half all-purpose if you want to make this low carb.
- Brown Sugar: I used 1/4 cup of brown sugar to give these donuts that classic carrot cake taste and golden brown color! You may be able to get away with using coconut sugar but I have not personally tested it!
For Optional Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream Cheese: I used cream cheese to give the frosting that signature tangy flavor.
- Saigon Cinnamon: I love using this kind because it’s much sweeter than regular cinnamon.
- Butter: I used unsalted butter for the base of this frosting.
- Vanilla Extract: Just a dash of vanilla helps bring out the flavor of the decadent frosting.
- Powdered Sugar: I used 2 cups but you can play around with the honey and see if you can lower it to 1 cup if the sweetness is sufficient for you!
Substitutions/Add-Ins for Carrot Cake Donuts Recipe
If you are missing a few ingredients, don’t worry! You can still make this carrot cake donut recipe! I included a list below of some good substitute options and add-ins for this recipe!
- Pecans or Walnuts: I purposely made this recipe nut free, but feel free to garnish with nuts or put them in your batter for an extra crunch!
- Raisins: You could add any dried fruit to this donut batter!
- Coconut: You could add in shredded coconut to your batter after the dry ingredients get folded. Or just use for garnish!
- Butter: You can swap the olive oil for the same amount of melted butter!
- Sour Cream: Swap half the amount of milk for sour cream for a more moist crumb!
I had a lot of fun developing this recipe! It is perfect for Easter and spring! Leave a star rating is you enjoyed it and as always, poftă bună!
Easy Carrot Cake Donuts
Ingredients
- 4 whole carrots ( 1 1/2 cup), grated
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2/3 cup milk
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1-2 cups powdered sugar adjust for personal preference
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp heavy cream
Instructions
- First, set your egg and milk out so they can get to room temperature before we start. Then preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Grate your carrots then set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- In a separate bowl, mix together your carrots, milk, sugar, butter (or oil) and eggs. I whisked the egg first then added it to the wet mixture.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently fold using a spatula. DO NOT OVER MIX!! You want to mix just until no more streaks of flour remain. If you over mix, your donuts will be dense and rubbery and we don't want that!
- If you want to add mix ins like nuts, dried fruit, or coconut, do it at this step.
- Spray your donut pan with cooking spray then fill the greased donut pan until 3/4 full. You can use a piping bag for this or just a spoon. This recipe makes about 12 donuts. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely before adding your frosting.
For the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- First, you want to make sure you use room temperature ingredients before you start. I usually leave my butter and cream cheese out 30 minutes before I start baking.
- First, mix the butter and cream cheese on medium high speed for about 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract and honey.
- Add the powdered sugar in increments of 2 or 3 then continue mixing on medium high speed. Add the cream as needed. If you want it less sweet you can increase the honey and decrease the powdered sugar.
- Top on the cooled donuts and enjoy!
Made this this morning! They were so moist and exactly like mini carrot cakes! The frosting was perfect!
I’m making these for Easter brunch!