Baked donuts might be one of my favorite breakfasts. You can customize them easily, they are more flavorful than fried donuts, and you can enjoy them without the sugar crash you typically get. These carrot cake donuts have been in the works for a while now, because I wanted to get them just right before revealing them. Cakey, carroty, cinnamony, all the “y” that you want.
Carrot Cake Donuts
Baked and not fried. The recipe is gluten free but can be made using standard all purpose flour with the same results. Don't have a donut pan? Go get one! Otherwise you could bake these as muffins by adjusting the cooking time for longer.
Servings – 12 Donuts
Equipment
- 2 donuts pans with 6 molds each
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I use oatmilk for most recipes)
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tbl baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 3/4 cup gluten-free flour blend (Bob's Red Mill has a great 1:1 blend)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup finely shredded carrot
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Shred carrots, chop walnuts, and set aside.
- Whisk together dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until no dry clumps remain. Because this recipe is gluten free you won't need to worry about over-mixing. However, if you are using all-purpose flour make sure you stop mixing before it seems like you should stop. You don't want to develop gluten which will make your donuts tough and not cakey.
- Fold the carrots and walnuts into the mix until fully incorporated.
- Spray donut pans with oil or brush with oil.
- Fill each mold to just below the top. Approximately 3-4 Tbl per mold.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes. Let rest in pan for 2 minutes then remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
Notes
You can top these in a variety of ways. Eat them as is, dust with powdered sugar, or drizzle with a thinned cream cheese frosting.
Simple cream cheese frosting
3 Tbl vegan cream cheese (I used Daiya brand), 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 Tbl non-dairy milk, 1 tsp vanilla.
Can you use pureed carrots in place of the applesauce for extra carrot flavor?
I’m not sure. I haven’t used that so I can’t speak with certainty. But it seems like it would work. The one thing that apples do though is add pectin which helps to bind other ingredients.
Have you tried a sugar substitute like monk fruit?
I have but they don’t bake the same. It’s a different chemical property that affects the structure of the baked good. I keep the sugar but I just enjoy treats like this infrequently.