Easy baked carrot cake donuts topped with a cream cheese frosting!  Perfect for Easter or carrot cake lovers!

Baked Carrot Cake Donuts

I think at this point you all know how much I love baked donuts, right?  Between these pumpkin and chocolate donuts and these insanely delicious pumpkin donut holes, I think it’s safe to say I’m a little obsessed with them.

Honestly, I’ve never been a huge fan of fried donuts.  They’re just really heavy and not something I prefer to eat for breakfast.  But when it comes to baked donuts?  They’re so soft and light, I could literally eat the whole batch.  Especially if they come in the form of baked carrot cake donuts and they’re topped with cream cheese frosting.

Oh yes!

Baked Carrot Cake Donuts

These Carrot Cake Donuts are just like carrot cake, but in donut form.  They’re incredibly soft, light, moist, and perfectly spiced.

Plus they have veggies in them too, which makes them perfectly acceptable for breakfast.

Right?  Right.

Bob's Red Mill Flour

The donut batter is easy to mix up and only takes about 10 minutes.   For the flour, I love to use Bob’s Red Mill. Their flour is the same high protein flour used by professional bakers and produces high, well-textured loaves of bread equally as well as it produces light, airy baked goods.  Which makes it absolutely perfect for baking, especially with these donuts.  You’ll mix the flour with some baking powder, spices, and a little bit of salt.

Then you’ll mix up the wet ingredients, some buttermilk, oil, brown sugar, an egg, a little bit of vanilla extract and some finely grated carrots.  Next, you’ll combine the two until just combined.  Spoon it into the prepared donut pan and bake them for about 10 minutes.

Baked Carrot Cake Donuts

While they’re cooling, you can mix up the cream cheese frosting.  The frosting is incredibly easy too, just a mixture of cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and a touch of vanilla extract.  You can add a little bit of milk to the frosting to thin it out some, but after testing it out I found that it was much better without it.

Once they’re cooled, frost the donuts as desired and enjoy!  These donuts would be so perfect for breakfast or brunch on Easter or just for anyone who loves carrot cake.

Baked Carrot Cake Donuts

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Easy baked carrots cake donuts topped with a cream cheese frosting! Perfect for Easter or carrot cake lovers!
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Ingredients

Servings: 8 donuts

Carrot Cake Donuts

  • 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour (spooned & leveled)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup finely grated carrots

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 3 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 2 tablespoons butter softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

To make the carrot cake donuts:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a donut pan well with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, mix together the Bob's Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the buttermilk, oil, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until fully combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the grated carrots and gently mix them into the batter.
  • Spoon the batter into each cavity of the donut pan, making sure to only fill them 2/3 - 3/4 of the way full. You should get about 8 donuts, if you have a 6-count donut pan you will need to bake in separate batches.
  • Bake for about 10 minutes at 350°F or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the donut comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Remove the donuts from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

To make the cream cheese frosting:

  • In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until fully combined.
  • Frost the cooled donuts as desired.

Notes

Prepared donuts are best eaten the same day, but can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Cuisine: American
Course: Breakfast
Author: Danielle Rye
Did you make this recipe?Mention @livewellbakeoften on Instagram or tag #livewellbakeoften.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.