Baked donuts might be one of my favorite breakfasts. Don’t tell waffles or scrambled tofu that though. Shhhhh. I love them too, but baked donuts are like my favorite child. Cuz, let’s be honest, parents have a favorite child. So, why do I love them so much?
Baked donuts can be customized easily and flavors changed with just a few minor tweaks. These carrot cake donuts are really just a variation of my Chocolate Donuts which can also be made vanilla and these booooomb S’mores Donuts that were so fun to make! Baked, in my opinion, are more flavorful than fried donuts because the flavor isn’t masked by old oil and the inevitability of heart burn. The other part is that you don’t need to use as much sugar because you want them a little more dense and cake like so, even though I’d never call them a healthy option, you can enjoy them without the sugar crash of standard donuts.
These carrot cake donuts have been in the works for a while now, because I wanted to get them just right before revealing them. I put a lot of time into recipes because I want to make sure they work how I intend and can be made by anyone. These donuts are cakey, carroty, cinnamony, all the “y” that you want. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour blend which is, in my opinion, the most reliable GF flour blend. Plus, most places that sell groceries carry it which means no special orders.
Carrot Cake 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
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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.