Making donuts last week made me start thinking about other donuts I can make. Funny how that works, right? I always forget just how easy it is, as long as you have the right kind of pan.
I was browsing cake directories, as you do, and came across a carrot cake. Now, I love a good carrot cake, but I haven’t made one before, not really. I always thought they were pretty difficult, but I never actually looked into it. Turns out? As with most things, it’s pretty easy once you give it a try.
A carrot cake has a lot in common with a tea cake or coffee cake, and in fact has a lot of similarities to the spiced pumpkin cake I already made. Really, the most difficult part of the whole thing is peeling, grating, and shredding carrots.
My pro tip for this cake is to shred your own carrots, by the by. If you buy pre-shredded carrots, they’ll probably be quite dry, and a little larger than you actually want. Getting whole, fresh carrots works much better and really isn’t that hard to prepare. A good box grater is all you need.
What’s a carrot cake without cream cheese icing? I was going to just glaze these, but my partner insisted that I at least make a cream cheese icing for his, and I ended up icing all of them. A dash of chopped pecans on top gives it that extra bit of crunch and is perfect for a dessert.
Carrot Cake Donuts
Equipment
- Box Grater
- Mixing Bowls
- Donut Baking Sheet
- Piping Bag Or any suitable plastic bag
- Whisk
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
For the Donut Batter
- 1 Cup Flour
- ½ Cup Carrots Peeled and Grated
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Egg Room Temp
- 2 Tbsp Butter Melted
- ½ Tsp Baking Powder
- ½ Tsp Baking Soda
- 1 Tsp Cinnamon
- ½ Tsp Ground Ginger
- ¼ Tsp Salt
- ¼ Tsp Nutmeg
- ¼ Tsp Cloves
- ½ Cup Milk
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- ¼ Cup Toasted Pecans Chopped
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 Oz. Cream Cheese Softened
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tsp Milk
Instructions
Make the Donut Batter
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prep your donut pan by greasing it and set it aside.
- Peel your carrots and grate them.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, gloves, nutmeg, and ginger.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the egg and brown sugar, until combined.
- Add the milk, melted butter, and vanilla, to the egg and sugar, and combine.
- Add the dry mix and stir until just combined.
- Mix in the carrots.
- Divide the batter into the donut pans. I prefer a piping bag, but it can be spooned in or poured however you like. Aim for about half full or slightly more.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool for a few minutes, then run your toothpick around the edges to loose them. Remove the donuts from the baking tray and place on cooling rack to finish cooling.
Making the Frosting
- Combine the cream cheese and butter, mixing until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar a little at a time, stirring to mix.
- Add and mix in the milk.
- Dip donuts, or use an icing spatula to ice them.
- Top with your chopped pecans, and enjoy!