These carrot cake baked donuts are the perfect treats to serve at your Easter brunch. They have a cakey texture, are filled with shredded carrots, and are topped with a cinnamon cream cheese icing!
These easy carrot cake donuts are full of warm spices that are normally found in a classic carrot cake, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, except they're in a soft-baked donut.
The tangy cream cheese frosting pairs perfectly with the spiced cake donuts too.
Looking for more carrot cake recipes? Then check out these: carrot cake cupcakes, hummingbird cake, and carrot pound cake.
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Why You'll Love These Donuts
- They're filled with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- The freshly grated carrots make them moist and chewy.
- They're baked, not fried.
- All you need are simple ingredients.
- You can make them for Easter morning or any springtime day!
You'll need a doughnut pan for this recipe since these donuts are baked instead of fried.
I recommend either these nonstick pans or these silicone ones. You can check out all of my donut recipes here for even more flavor options!
Ingredients Needed
Here are some notes on the ingredients we'll be using. For the full ingredients list, look at the recipe card below.
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour.
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are the three spices used.
- Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness and chewiness.
- Milk: I used 2% milk but feel free to substitute it with your milk of choice.
- Yogurt: You can use either plain or vanilla yogurt. If you don't have yogurt, you could even use sour cream.
- Carrots: You'll need about 1 large carrot, freshly grated.
- Cream Cheese: Always use the block-style cream cheese for baking.
Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions on how to make this carrot cake donut recipe.
Step 1: Dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.
Step 2: Wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, large egg, brown sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla extract.
Step 3: Combine the ingredients. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and gently fold together using a silicone spatula. Then fold in the shredded carrots.
Step 4: Bake. Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan and bake for 9-11 minutes. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then place them onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Step 5: Make the glaze. Beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and creamy using an electric stand mixer.
Then add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and milk and beat on med-high speed for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Step 6: Assemble. Once the donuts have cooled, dip them into the glaze and place them back onto the wire rack. Once set, serve immediately and enjoy!
If desired, you can top your donuts with chopped walnuts.
Storage Tips
Although donuts are best consumed the same day they are made, they will last for a short amount of time.
Keep leftover donuts in an airtight container in the refrigerator or on the counter at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Expert Baking Tips
- Baking Pan: You'll need a 6-count donut pan like this one or this wilton donut pan. I have both of these and use them interchangeably. Be sure to spray it with nonstick spray.
- Carrots: You will want to freshly grate your carrots instead of buying pre-shredded carrots from the store. This helps the donuts to be moist, so please don't skip this step!
- Donut Batter: I find it so much easier to scrape the donut batter into a pastry or ziplock bag and pipe the batter into the donut cups. This method makes it less messy too.
- Glaze: If you find your cream cheese glaze to be slightly lumpy, just heat it up in the microwave for about 5-10 seconds. Then use a whisk to mix everything together again.
Recipe FAQs
I highly recommend you have a donut pan (we make a lot of donut recipes around here!). If you don't have one, you could try baking these in a regular muffin pan (although I have not tested this).
Yes you can! You will have a total of 12 donuts. Just be sure to bake each pan separately.
This will happen if your cream cheese and butter are not at room temperature before making. To fix this, simply microwave your glaze for about 8 seconds. That will melt any lumps and make a smooth glaze.
If you made this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below. I love hearing from you! Also, please tag me on Instagram and check out my Pinterest for even more recipe ideas.
It brings me so much joy to see you make my recipes. 🙂
Happy baking!
More Donut Recipes
📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake Baked Donuts
Equipment
- Donut Pan
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients:
Carrot Cake Donuts
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ground
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves, ground
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons yogurt, plain or vanilla
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup freshly grated carrots
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Glaze
- 2 ounces cream cheese (block-style), room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tablespoons milk
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 6-count donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
Carrot Cake Donuts
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet and gently fold together using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until combined (be careful not to over mix). Then gently fold in the grated carrots.
- Scoop the batter into a piping bag or a zipped-up sandwich bag. Simply cut a corner off of the bottom of the bag and pipe the donut batter into each donut cup, filling it up about ¾ of the way full.
- Bake the donuts for 9-11 minutes. Use a toothpick to check the center. If it comes out clean, then they're done. Allow the donuts to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully removing them and setting them on a wire rack to finish cooling.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Glaze
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and creamy (about 1 minute). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and milk and beat on med-high speed for an additional 1-2 minutes. Scrape the glaze into a small bowl and if it's slightly lumpy, heat in the microwave for about 8 seconds. Use a whisk to mix everything together.
- Once the donuts have cooled, dip them into the glaze and place them back onto the wire rack (feel free to dip the donuts twice for extra glaze!). Once set, serve immediately and enjoy!
- Keep leftover donuts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes:
- Baking Pan: You'll need a 6-count donut pan like this one or this wilton donut pan. I have both of these and use them interchangeably. Be sure to spray it with nonstick spray.
- Carrots: You will want to freshly grate your carrots instead of buying pre-shredded carrots from the store. This helps the donuts to be moist, so please don't skip this step!
- Donut Batter: I find it so much easier to scrape the donut batter into a pastry or ziplock bag and pipe the batter into the donut cups. This method makes it less messy too.
- Glaze: If you find your cream cheese glaze to be slightly lumpy, just heat it up in the microwave for about 5-10 seconds. Then use a whisk to mix everything together again.
Nutrition
Recipe originally published in April of 2021.
Oh wow these donuts look amazing. I haven't made baked donuts in a while. I think this is the perfect recipe to try next!
I love carrot cake so these donuts are sure good with the flavors of cinnamon. Ive never had a carrot cake donut before, something to try!
I love baked donuts, and have not tried carrot cake ones before! These look amazing, I can see the spices in them and that cream cheese glaze looks divine!
Thank you, Sarah! Baked donuts are so fun to make and way easier than fried. 🙂