These Baked Carrot Cake Donuts are deliciously sweet and moist with a tang from the cream cheese glaze. Plus, they are free of butter and oil; wonderfully light, yet satisfying.
Alright people. Comin’ in hot with another donut recipe. Dad-approved might I add. (I often use my dad’s approval as the perfect sign that a recipe has, shall we say, won).
If you follow me on Instagram, you saw this photo of some donuts I made the other day…
I’ll admit, I was happy with how the photos came out. But the donuts? They look more like cookies. Because they’re flat. AF.
I was so frustrated, but I was so excited because they tasted like HEAVEN. I had to share for that reason, but I knew I wasn’t totally satisfied with them.
So, the carrot cake donuts went in the oven, one mo’ time. This time, I added baking soda, after chatting with my friend Ashley about the science of baking (homegirl is a genius and gave me some pointers).
And, voila!
Carrot cake donuts that don’t look like pancakes!
Baking soda, you da real MVP.
[Tweet “Baked Carrot Cake Donuts to celebrate … anything!”]
These donuts are:
- Moist (I hate that word but it’s oh, so necessary)
- Crunchy (hello, walnuts!)
- Spicy (in a dessert-y kinda way)
- Sweet (but not TOO sweet)
- Fluffy
- Perfect for the season!
- [b]For the donuts:[/b]
- 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- [b]For the glaze:[/b]
- 4 oz 1/3 fat cream cheese, room temperature (or place in microwave 10-15 seconds)
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a donut pan.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
- Add in Greek yogurt, vanilla, almond milk, and applesauce, and stir to combine well.
- Add in carrots and walnuts and fold in to mix well.
- Using a spoon, spoon mixture into each donut round in the pan, filling it to the top.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.
- For the glaze, simply mix the cream cheese, sugar and milk together until smooth.
And the moral of the story is… don’t settle when a recipe isn’t exactly as you’d hoped/preferred. Keep going until you perfect it – that’s how you learn! And in the kitchen, you never stop learning.
If you liked this recipe, pin it for later!
Just a little glaze porn for ya. If you’re into that sort of thing.
Join the conversation:
Bloggers: have you ever loved a recipe but hated how it looked?
Is there a type of cooking that you just don’t have a good grasp on yet? (Baking is a total science to me!)
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Blueberry Lemon Donuts
Glazed Pumpkin Protein Donuts
Okay, these look so perfect and my mouth is watering. That may have to do with the fact that I haven’t had coffee or anything to eat yet… But STILL. I loovveeee the sounds of these donuts. And I am so beyond thrilled they worked out for you! I’m definitely no scientist or genius, but sometimes I can figure out tweaking a baking recipe to get it right 😉
That glaze pour though… TEASE.
lol thanks Ash! <3
I wish I could master the art of fancier dinner dishes, but my heart lies in the science of baking .
I prefer to follow recipes for savory dishes! Thanks for sharing these amazing-looking donuts Christina <3
We all have our strengths and weaknesses! Thanks for the comment love! <3
These look SO perfect! I need immediately. And I get dissatisfied with food I make alllll the time. I have a good grasp on cooking and baking but there are some foods (I’m looking at you salmon) that I struggle with making correctly.
Totally it’s always that oneeee thing that frustrates us. Let me think… I think for me, specifically it would be cooking chicken in a pan because I feel like I have to pay such close attention to it or I overcook!
I love love love donuts! I have been craving one for way too long and these sound like the perfect excuse to make some at home!
Yes you have got to try it! Super easy and yummy!! Thanks Hilary <3
I do not bake EVER! It just doesn’t appeal to me and the fact that you have to be so exact all the time is not how I cook…Plus, as a single lady who lives alone, baking is dangerous…HAHA! I could bake and then eat the whole thing myself…LOL!
Omg you are so right… if I didn’t have two other people to eat my baked goods I would have zero self control haha
OMG I’m in heaven! These are perfect for Easter morning too. I love that you went back and tried the recipe again. I’ve had to do that a few times but it makes all the difference
It totally does!! I don’t like to share anything unless I am absolutely proud of it. Thanks girl happy Easter!
I am SO excited to try these out. Carrot cake anything is my favorite, and I can justify eating these any time of day since they’re super healthy and contain carrots, right? 😉 Also, I can totally relate to the whole re-making a recipe when it tastes good but wrong since I’m currently working on retrying a recipe myself.
Carrot cake anything is my favorite too!! Def my favorite food group ;D
Yum! Donuts are one baked good I’ve yet to attempt, but they are on my list along with macarons and meringues. All are treats I love, but the issue of flatness and delicacy makes me a little nervous!
I have been really wanting to try making macarons!!
Thanks to you and Les, all I want in life is a donut pan. I had one in Seattle but left it behind when I moved back to Florida. Time to buy another one!
Oh girl go on ahead to Bed Bath, get another one, and make these donuts!! ;D haha thanks for the love <3
OMG I AM SALIVATING RIGHT NOW! Moist is one of my favorite words (oops) and you sold me on these when you described them as moist! I have to try this when I get a donut pan eventually!!
FAVORITE words?! hahah gahhh well when it comes to baked goods I certainly love it lol
And…I still don’t have a donut pan. What’s wrong with me.
I love carrot cake everything!! Glad you figured out how to make them fluffyyyy
GIRL WUTS WRONG WITCHU!! Hop on the bandwagon ASAP! Thanks Jess <3
Okay yum. Also, still need to get a donut pan! I haven’t had carrot cake in forever and I need more of it in my life.
Get one get one! The one I use is in my ‘food blog resources’ page
I missed these yesterday but I NEED these. Love carrot cake anything, and I’ve only ever made homemade donuts once.. why??? And yes Ashley is the baking queen–I should probably start consulting her more often, aka every time I try to bake anything 😀 YAY baking soda
bakin’ soda bakin’ soda ….. ok im done lol, i would love to see a donut recipe on TAE
Who knew that baking soda made a huge difference!? I sometimes put baking soda in my baked goods but not consistently. This makes me want to do it every time! These donuts look amazing, and that glaze <3
I never know when it’s needed or not. As soon as they came out flat I was like… dammit Christina, the baking soda lol but some recipes don’t need it so im like WHEN THEN!?!/
These look SO good! I have never made donuts, homemade, but these make me want to try. I mean, plus #carrotcake!
Oh you’ve got to it’s super easy!
Thanks Nichole! <3
OOooOOoo!!!! These look and sound amazing!! Perfect for Easter morning breakfast! <3
Thank you Laura!! <3
Woah now, these look amazing, and we just finished our baked goods yesterday. <3
Thank you Emily!! <3
These look awesome! I have to get a donut pan to make them : ) Thanks for sharing!
You can find the one I use here! — http://theblissfulbalance.com/resources/
You are the queen of making drool worthy donuts. I NEED to make these this weekend!!
Haha thanks Liz!! Quite a mighty title to uphold ;D I hope you enjoy em if you do!!
Crazy how much and how well these plumped up! I’ve actually never made donuts because I’ve never been the biggest fan (blasphemous I know!), but I feel like I would absolutely love homemade ones, especially if their carrot cake! You have such an amazing talent for recipe development and food photography, I always cannot wait to see what you post next!
Its almost like eating a muffin in donut form haha I think you’d like it!! Aw thank you Margaret that means so much <3
I LOVE carrot cake! And these donuts look INCREDIBLE.
P.S. I hate the word “moist” too. {Cringe!}
Haha UGH worst word but if it’s describing a baked good it’s totally a good thing. But still.. moist…. blegh. haha thanks girl!! <3
Oh my gosh! YUM! These donuts look amazing! What a great recipe! Thanks for sharing girl! Hope that you have a great long weekend! Happy Easter love!
xoxo Cailee!
Thank you so much Cailee!!! <3 Have a happy Easter!
Baking soda is KEY!!! Didn’t you know?! They made a rap song about it. A rap song about a baking ingredient… what has the music world come to
BAKIN SODA BAKIN SODA
Wow, Christina! These sound beyond amazing! I must get my hands on one of those nifty donut pans!
Thank you so much Alexa! <3
Donut twinning! <3
LOL great minds think alike ;D
I love carrot cake! And I’ve been all about donuts these days. I’ve never made my own, so this is a must try!
Yes yes you’ve got to try! I can’t eat fried foods (aka real donuts) so this is the next best thing for me
These look so delicious!
Thank you Nicole!! <3
OMG YUM! I am so happy I stumbled upon your blog because you have so many delicious recipes. I cannot wait to try these out and actually made some protein donuts the other day that were so good and I was thinking to myself how do I add variety! Thanks for sharing can’t wait to eat these for breakfast xo C
Aw thanks Courtney! Thank you for stopping by and sharing some love <3
These donuts look so cute! Unfortunately, I don’t have a donut pan. Do you think they would work as carrot cake muffins instead?
Oh my gosh…donuts are my love language!! And you’ve made a carrot cake version?! I’d devour these EVEN if they looked like pancakes. So perfect!!
I love carrot cake and these doughnuts not only look delicious but more healthy than the traditional doughnut. I cannot wait to try this recipe at home.
Carrot cake but in donut form? Take my money now!! Oh wait, you’re not selling anything.
I’m definitely going to make these on the weekend.