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–+ servings
carrot cake donuts topped with cream cheese icing.
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5 from 5 votes

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!

Equipment

Ingredients

Carrot Cake Batter

  • ¾ cup buttermilk room temperature
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • ¾ cup finely grated carrots
  • 3 tbsp sour cream room temperature
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour *spoon measured*
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ + 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • ⅛ tsp nutmeg
  • ⅛ tsp clove
  • ¼ cup finely chopped pecans

Candied Pecans

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

Cream Cheese Glaze

  • 2 oz cream cheese softened
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract
  • 4-5 tbsp whole milk
US Customary - Metric

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.
  • Then mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and finely chopped pecans until just combined.
  • 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 3/4 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.
  • Stir in the sugar and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
  • Stir in the cinnamon, water, and salt, cooking until the water has evaporated, 2 minutes.
  • Stir in the vanilla.
  • 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.
  • Then mix in the powdered sugar.
  • Whisk in the vanilla and heavy cream, then set aside 2 tbsp of the icing in a small bowl for the green carrot top, and 3-4 tbsp for the orange carrot.
  • Whisk the milk into the rest of the glaze until it is thick, but still runs smoothly off the whisk.

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.
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