Dessertscambreabakes5.0
Carrot Cake Donuts
Carrot cake lovers will love these carrot cake donuts! Baked, not fried, they start with a perfectly spiced carrot cake batter and are topped with cream cheese icing and candied pecans. They are perfect for Easter brunch, breakfast, and beyond!
👥 10 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 1h⏳ Prep: 50 min🔥 Cook: 10 min👤 Cambrea Gordon📖 cambreabakes
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- pan
- oven
- bowl
- mixing bowl
- whisk
- saucepan
- baking sheet
📝 Preparation Steps
1
For the Donut Batter
2
Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Lightly butter or spray two donut pans and set them aside.
3
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, brown sugar, egg, finely grated carrots, sour cream, olive oil, and vanilla extract until combined.
large egg (room temperature)1sour cream (room temperature)3 tbspolive oil2 tbspvanilla extract1 tbsp¼ tsp vanilla extracttsp clear vanilla extract1/2
4
Then mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and finely chopped pecans until just combined.
5
Fill a piping bag or ziplock bag with the carrot cake batter and cut the tip.
6
Pipe the batter into the greased donut pan about 3/4 full. You will have enough batter to make 10 donuts.
7
Bake the donuts in the preheated oven for ⏱️ 10-11 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched.
8
Let them cool on a wire rack for ⏱️ 10 minutes, then gently remove them from the pan.
9
Make sure they are completely cool before frosting! You can decorate them with cream cheese carrots, candied pecans, or half and half like I did!
cream cheese (softened)2 oz
10
For the Candied Pecan Topping
11
In a saucepan, melt the butter with the pecans, stirring constantly, for ⏱️ 1-2 minutes until toasted.
12
Stir in the sugar and cook, stirring constantly for ⏱️ 2 minutes.
13
Stir in the cinnamon, water, and salt, cooking until the water has evaporated, ⏱️ 2 minutes.
water2 tsp
14
Stir in the vanilla.
15
Spread the nuts in an even layer on a lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 F/180 C for ⏱️ 5-7 minutes until fragrant and lightly crisped.
16
Set aside to cool, then chop into pieces.
17
For the Cream Cheese Icing
cream cheese (softened)2 oz
18
Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth and combined.
cream cheese (softened)2 oz
19
Then mix in the powdered sugar.
powdered sugar1 cup
20
Whisk in the vanilla and heavy cream, then set aside 2 tbsp of the icing in a small bowl for the green carrot top, and 3-4 tbsp for the orange carrot.
heavy cream1 tbsp
21
Whisk the milk into the rest of the glaze until it is thick, but still runs smoothly off the whisk.
22
Decorating
23
Dip the tops of the donuts in the glaze, then place them back on the wire rack.
24
Sprinkle half of the donuts with the chopped candied pecans.
25
For the piped carrots: Chill the donuts in the fridge for ⏱️ 20 minutes, or until the tops feel set but still tacky.Mix the 3-4 tablespoons of reserved buttercream with a tiny bit of orange food coloring, then do the same for the other bowl but color it with green food coloring.
26
Pipe the orange in a triangle for the carrot, then pipe one green line for the top of the carrot.
27
The icing on these donuts is really creamy and delicious but doesn't completely set. They will be tacky straight from the fridge and get softer as they sit at room temperature.
Nutrition Facts
calories
378 kcal
fat Content
21 g
serving Size
1 serving
fiber Content
2 g
sugar Content
25 g
sodium Content
202 mg
protein Content
5 g
trans Fat Content
0.4 g
cholesterol Content
51 mg
carbohydrate Content
43 g
saturated Fat Content
9 g
unsaturated Fat Content
12 g
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