Carrot Cake Baked Doughnuts

Four finishes on the Carrot Cake Dougnuts are plain, pecan topped, sugared and filled with cream cheese.

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These Carrot Cake Baked Doughnuts are light, moist doughnuts loaded with flavor and have three different finishes or none to choose from. You can serve them as is, with a pecan topping, dipped in cinnamon sugar or fill the hole with cream cheese - your choice.

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Course: Doughnuts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Baked doughnuts, donuts, doughnuts,

Servings: doughnuts

Calories: 273kcal

Author: Helen S Fletcher

Equipment

2 baked doughnut pans
1 or 2 regular size muffin tin if not using doughnut pans.

Ingredients

Pecan Topping

½ cup pecans (58 grams)
¼ cup all-purpose flour (35 grams)
¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (30 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Carrot Cake Baked Doughnuts

½ pound carrots, peeled
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (175 grams)
1 ¼ cup brown sugar (250 grams)
2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
⅓ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
¼ cup + 1 T vegetable oil
¼ cup + 1T buttermilk
2 tablespoons honey

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 tablespons butter, softened (60 grams)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened (114 grams)
1 ¾ cup powdered sugar (225 grams)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Pecan Topping

Place the pecans, flour, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process until everything is finely cut together.
Remove from the processor bowl and add 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix with a fork until it forms crumbs. Add a bit more butter if necessary.

Carrot Cake Baked Doughnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Cut the carrots into ½" pieces. Without cleaning the bowl of the processor place them in the food processor and process until very finely cut into very small pieces. Remove from the processor.
Without cleaning the bowl, place the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in the processor bowl. Pulse several times to mix.
Add the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and honey to the bowl. Process to mix everything well.
Return the carrots to the processor and pulse several times to mix everything completely.
Spray the baked doughnut pans with a non-stick baking release. Spray 5 muffin cups. If using the pecan topping, add it to the pans first. Make sure the pans are well sprayed or the topping will stick. Spoon the carrot cake mixture almost to the top of the doughnut pans. Fill the muffin tins about ¾ full.
Bake the doughnut pans 13 to 15 minutes until they are set and spring back when lightly touched. Bake the cupcake pans for 15 to 17 minutes.
Cool for about 5 minutes. Remove from the molds, turning the doughnuts upside down.
This makes about 17 doughnuts.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Combine all in the bowl of a mixer. Beat on low until combined. Raise to medium speed and beat until smooth and the volume increases.

Finishing the Doughnuts

If finishing with cinnamon sugar (combine sugar and cinnamon to taste), coat them immediately while the doughnuts are warm. After a few minutes, repeat the cinnamon sugar.
For the cream cheese frosting, fit a pastry bag with a #4 open star tip. Fill the bag with the cream cheese frosting and pipe a swirl into the hole of the doughnut or on top of the ones baked in the muffin cups.

Notes

There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post above.

As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest.

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The pans for cake muffins are from Wilton. They come packed 2 tins (12 muffins) together. Amazon. has the best price I saw.

The batter should cover the top of the pan enclosing the hole in the center. I love this because it allows me to put something delicious in the hole instead of glazing them.

Standard size muffin tins can also be used. The yield will be less.

Cut the peeled carrots into about ½ inch slices before processing.

This seems like a lot of cinnamon, but the doughnut is very balanced in flavor.

Nutrition