• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Cambrea Bakes
  • Fall Baking
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Fall Baking
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Fall Baking
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • ×
    Cambrea Bakes » Recipes » Breakfast & Brunch Recipes

    Carrot Cake Donuts

    Published: March 14, 2023 Modified: Mar 14, 2023 by Cambrea Gordon. This post may contain affiliate links.

    274 shares
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Tumblr
    Jump to Recipe
    carrot cake donut pinterest pin.
    carrot cake donut pinterest pin.

    Carrot cake lovers will love these carrot cake donuts! Baked, not fried, they start with a perfectly spiced carrot cake batter and are topped with cream cheese icing and candied pecans. They are perfect for Easter brunch, breakfast, and beyond!

    carrot cake donuts with cream cheese icing.

    These carrot cake donuts use my favorite donut batter base (from my fruity pebble donuts, chocolate donuts, and banana donuts), so you know they will be super moist and fluffy!

    Carrot cake donuts are perfect for Easter brunch, but honestly, you can make them any time of year for any occasion!

    To complete your Easter holiday brunch, make my Puff Pastry Quiche and Easter Coconut Cake!

    Jump to:
    • why you'll love these carrot cake donuts
    • ingredient notes & substitutions
    • recipe instructions
    • expert baking tips
    • recipe faqs
    • more breakfast recipes to try!
    • Recipe 📖
    • Reviews
    baked carrot cake donut with a bite taken out of it.

    why you'll love these carrot cake donuts

    • Cake donuts: These donuts are made with simple ingredients and are baked in the oven in a donut pan, which gives them a soft and cakey texture.
    • Warmly spiced: These donuts feature all of the same warm spices as a classic carrot cake including chopped pecans and cream cheese icing!
    • Perfect for any occasion: Share these donuts for any occasion but especially for anyone who loves carrot cake!

    ingredient notes & substitutions

    ingredients needed to make baked carrot donuts.

    Freshly grated carrots: Do not use bagged shredded carrots! They are dry, thick, and just sad. Use the fine holes on a cheese grater, the big holes are too big and will leave the carrots feeling crunchy.

    Buttermilk: Do not try and make homemade buttermilk, it does not have the same fat content which is necessary for moist donuts!

    Pecans: You can leave out the pecans from the batter or replace them in equal parts with chopped walnuts.

    Sour cream: Full-fat sour cream is recommended, but can also be substituted with full-fat plain Greek yogurt.

    Butter: If you want to substitute salted butter, decrease the salt by ¼ teaspoon.

    Find the full ingredient measurements and instructions in the recipe card below!

    recipe instructions

    Step 1: Whisk the wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, dark brown sugar, egg, grated carrots, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract (image 1 below).

    Step 2: Whisk in the dry ingredients. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, clove, and pecans until just combined (image 2 below).

    a process collage of the steps for making carrot cake donuts.

    Step 3: Fill a piping bag with the donut batter. Use a spatula to transfer the batter to a piping or ziplock bag and cut the tip (image 3 above).

    Step 4: Bake! Spray a nonstick donut pan with nonstick spray or butter. Then fill the molds about ¾ full, almost to the top. You will have enough batter for 10 large donuts (image 4 above).

    Bake on the middle rack at 350 F/180 C for 10-11 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched. Let cool completely before decorating.

    carrot cake donuts with cream cheese icing and candied pecans.

    Step 5: Decorate! Make the cream cheese icing, then dunk the tops of all of the cooled donuts in the glaze (image 5 above).

    Feel free to decorate them however you'd like! For mine, I did half sprinkled with candied pecans, and the other half decorated with carrots. I have recipes for both in the recipe card below!

    expert baking tips

    • Use a kitchen scale. Baking with a scale is much more accurate than cup measurements. To convert this recipe, click the "metric" button next to the ingredients title on the recipe card. If you do not have a scale, use a spoon to fluff the flour first, then spoon it into your measuring cup.
    • Use room temperature ingredients: Using room temperature ingredients creates a smooth, fully blended batter that will result in a uniform texture and even baking.
    • Don't use bagged shredded carrots. These carrots are not as finely shredded and are also super dry!
    • Use a ziplock bag or piping bag. Spooning the batter into the pan is quite difficult and also super messy!
    • Grease the pan. Although the pan is nonstick, from time to time a donut will stick to the pan.
    • Cool before frosting. There's nothing worse than icing melting off the donuts because they were too warm!

    recipe faqs

    Can you make cake donuts without a donut pan?

    I haven't tried it myself, but I have heard many readers have had success using a muffin pan!

    How do I store carrot cake donuts?

    As you may know, donuts in any form are best eaten the day they are made! However, if you have some leftovers, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.

    Can they be frozen?

    These donuts can be frozen without the glaze, in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to one month.

    Can I make them without pecans? Or use walnuts instead?

    Yes! Feel free to leave them out or replace them with chopped walnuts in equal parts.

    What do I do if I only have one donut pan instead of two?

    You will need to bake in batches! Once the first batch is baked and slightly cooled, remove them, then wash the pan before reusing.

    more breakfast recipes to try!

    • cinnamon rolls in a pan with maple frosting and candied bacon on top.
      Bourbon Maple Bacon Cinnamon Rolls
    • peach cobbler cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing.
      Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Rolls
    • sour cream biscuits stacked on top of each other.
      Sour Cream and Onion Biscuits
    • homemade strawberry pop tarts with pink glaze and white sprinkles.
      Strawberry Rhubarb Pop Tarts

    If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below, I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you're there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!

    Recipe 📖

    carrot cake donuts topped with cream cheese icing.
    5 from 6 votes
    Rate this Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe

    Carrot Cake Donuts

    Carrot cake lovers will love these carrot cake donuts! Baked, not fried, they start with a perfectly spiced carrot cake batter and are topped with cream cheese icing and candied pecans. They are perfect for Easter brunch, breakfast, and beyond!
    Servings 10 donuts
    Prep 50 minutes mins
    Cook 10 minutes mins
    Total 1 hour hr
    Course : Breakfast
    Cuisine : American
    Author : Cambrea Gordon
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • nonstick donut pan
    Need Metric Measurements?Use the button options below to toggle between US cups and Metric grams!

    Ingredients 
     

    Carrot Cake Batter

    • ¾ cup buttermilk room temperature
    • 4 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
    • ½ cup dark brown sugar
    • 1 large egg room temperature
    • ¾ cup finely grated carrots
    • 3 tablespoon sour cream room temperature
    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour *spoon measured*
    • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    • ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
    • ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
    • ⅛ teaspoon clove
    • ¼ cup finely chopped pecans

    Candied Pecans

    • ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
    • ½ cup pecan halves
    • 1 tablespoon + 2 tsp granulated sugar
    • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
    • 2 teaspoon water
    • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Cream Cheese Glaze

    • 2 oz cream cheese softened
    • 4 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
    • ½ teaspoon clear vanilla extract
    • 4-5 tablespoon whole milk

    Instructions

    For the Donut Batter

    • Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Lightly butter or spray two donut pans and set them aside.
    • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, brown sugar, egg, finely grated carrots, sour cream, olive oil, and vanilla extract until combined.
      ¾ cup buttermilk, 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, ½ cup dark brown sugar, 1 large egg, ¾ cup finely grated carrots, 3 tablespoon sour cream, 2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • Then mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and finely chopped pecans until just combined.
      1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon clove, ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
    • Fill a piping bag or ziplock bag with the carrot cake batter and cut the tip.
    • Pipe the batter into the greased donut pan about ¾ full. You will have enough batter to make 10 donuts.
    • Bake the donuts in the preheated oven for 10-11 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched.
    • Let them cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then gently remove them from the pan.
    • Make sure they are completely cool before frosting! You can decorate them with cream cheese carrots, candied pecans, or half and half like I did!

    For the Candied Pecan Topping

    • In a saucepan, melt the butter with the pecans, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes until toasted.
      ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, ½ cup pecan halves
    • Stir in the sugar and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
      1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon granulated sugar
    • Stir in the cinnamon, water, and salt, cooking until the water has evaporated, 2 minutes.
      ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoon water
    • Stir in the vanilla.
      ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • Spread the nuts in an even layer on a lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 F/180 C for 5-7 minutes until fragrant and lightly crisped.
    • Set aside to cool, then chop into pieces.

    For the Cream Cheese Icing

    • Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth and combined.
      2 oz cream cheese, 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
    • Then mix in the powdered sugar.
      1 cup powdered sugar
    • Whisk in the vanilla and heavy cream, then set aside 2 tablespoon of the icing in a small bowl for the green carrot top, and 3-4 tablespoon for the orange carrot.
      ½ teaspoon clear vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon heavy cream
    • Whisk the milk into the rest of the glaze until it is thick, but still runs smoothly off the whisk.
      4-5 tablespoon whole milk

    Decorating

    • Dip the tops of the donuts in the glaze, then place them back on the wire rack.
    • Sprinkle half of the donuts with the chopped candied pecans.
    • For the piped carrots: Chill the donuts in the fridge for 20 minutes, or until the tops feel set but still tacky.
      Mix the 3-4 tablespoons of reserved buttercream with a tiny bit of orange food coloring, then do the same for the other bowl but color it with green food coloring.
    • Pipe the orange in a triangle for the carrot, then pipe one green line for the top of the carrot.
    • The icing on these donuts is really creamy and delicious but doesn't completely set. They will be tacky straight from the fridge and get softer as they sit at room temperature.

    Notes

     
    Step-by-step process photos are provided above, in the body of this post.
    • *Measure your flour properly. This is my #1 baking tip! Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour as this always leads to using too much flour. Instead, use the spoon-level method. This means fluffing the flour first, then spooning it into your measuring cup/spoon. For the BEST results, use a kitchen scale!*
    • Freshly grated carrots: Do not use bagged shredded carrots! They are dry, thick, and just sad. Use the fine holes on a cheese grater, the big holes are too big and will leave the carrots feeling crunchy.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 2051IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 1mg

    The calorie information provided for the recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.

    More Breakfast & Brunch Recipes

    • blueberry cinnamon rolls with blueberry glaze on top.
      Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls
    • baked banana donuts with brown sugar glaze and bananas on top.
      Banana Donuts with Brown Sugar Glaze
    • cookies and cream cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing.
      Cookies and Cream Cinnamon Rolls
    • a spinach croissant cut in half to show the cheese filling.
      Cheesy Everything Spinach Croissants

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Liz says

      March 22, 2023 at 10:13 am

      5 stars
      I can’t wait to make these ♥️♥️♥️♥️

      Reply
      • Cambrea Gordon says

        March 22, 2023 at 10:59 am

        Yay! So happy to hear that Liz! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Andrew Bear says

      March 22, 2023 at 9:49 am

      5 stars
      Great recipe and very fun idea for carrot cake. My grandmother and I used to make carrot cake cupcakes every year for Thanksgiving. Its been a while since we've made them together, and now im thinking about continuing the tradition with my daughters. Easier than i thought they would be to make and so moist! Definitely going to be making these for Thanksgiving this year. Thanks for the free recipe!

      Reply
      • Cambrea Gordon says

        March 22, 2023 at 10:59 am

        Thanks Andrew! So happy to hear they will be a part of your family traditions 🙂

        Reply
    3. Stephanie says

      March 14, 2023 at 11:36 pm

      5 stars
      I have tried all of your donut recipes and this one is by far my favorite! My family loves carrot cake so these were a huge hit. The cream cheese icing was so creamy and delicious, I can't get over how good they were!

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    head shot of cambrea.

    Hey, I'm Cambrea!

    Cambrea is a professionally trained pastry chef and food photographer. Here you'll find bakery-worthy sweet and savory kitchen-tested recipes that are unique twists on classics. Cambrea has been featured on Fox News, Shoutout Arizona, The Feed Feed, Domino Sugar, and more.

    More about me →

    Fall Recipes

    • toffee chocolate chip cookie on a baking tray topped with extra toffee pieces.
      Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • A collage of four pumpkin dessert photos.
      18 Unique Pumpkin Desserts
    • Chocolate turtle cupcakes with caramel swirled buttercream, chocolate ganache, and pecans.
      Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes
    • Chocolate chip pumpkin cookies on parchment paper.
      Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • a slice of oatmeal cream pie cake on a plate with a fork.
      Oatmeal Cream Pie Cake
    • Slices of apple cake on a wire rack with vanilla glaze drizzled on top.
      The BEST Cinnamon Apple Cake

    Cookie Recipes

    • a pile of chocolate chip pecan cookies topped with chocolate chips and flaky sea salt.
      Molasses Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
    • a few brownie crinkle cookies on brown parchment paper sprinkled with sea salt.
      Salted Mocha Brownie Cookies
    • butterscotch cookies with chocolate chips on parchment paper.
      Chewy Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • chocolate snickerdoodle with a bite taken out of it on a tray.
      Chewy Chocolate Snickerdoodles
    • a stack of mango cookies with the top one missing a bite.
      Coconut Mango Cookies
    • oreo cheesecake cookie cut in half to show the cheesecake center.
      Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

    Cake Recipes

    • Ding dong cake on a cake stand cut in half to show the cream filling layer.
      Ding Dong Cake with Cream Filling
    • chocolate ganache cake cut in half on a wooden cake stand.
      Malted Chocolate Ganache Cake
    • slices of chocolate chip pumpkin cake on parchment paper.
      Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake
    • slices of mint chocolate chip ice cream cake on parchment paper.
      Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake

    Brownie Recipes

    • nutella bars stuffed with gooey nutella in the center.
      Easy Brown Butter Nutella Bars
    • oreo brownie topped with chopped oreo cookies.
      Oreo Brownies
    • biscoff brownie with a layer of cookie butter in the center.
      Biscoff Brownies
    • mm brownies on a wire rack with one on its side to show the texture.
      M&M Brownies

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    read our terms

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy

    keep in touch

    • Sign Up! for emails and exclusive email-only recipes.
    • Find us on Instagram
    • Find us on Facebook
    • Find us on Pinterest

    about

    • About
    • Contact Me

    As an affiliate partner, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. I only recommend products I really use and love.

    Copyright © 2023 Cambrea Bakes LLC