These carrot cake doughnuts are baked with warming spices and finished with a silky cream cheese maple frosting.
Happy Monday!
How adorable are these carrot cake doughnuts with maple frosting?
After a hectic week I decided to bake for fun—sprinkles included. I used a doughnut pan and my favourite carrot cake batter. My favourite cake is carrot cake: warming spices and a tangy cream cheese frosting make it irresistible.
I don’t post many cakes here because I usually cook savoury food and I’m still growing as a blogger, but I’m determined to bake more this year and share plenty of sweet recipes.
I already have a different carrot cake recipe (mini coconut and carrot cakes), but this one—baked into doughnuts—is very different and completely charming.
You can never have too much carrot cake, right?
Baked doughnuts are great fun and look impressive straight from the oven. If you don’t yet own a doughnut pan, it’s a worthwhile addition to your bakeware—these turn out beautifully every time.
These carrot cake doughnuts with maple frosting are also a lovely treat for Valentine’s Day. I found heart-shaped sprinkles and thought they’d be perfect on a festive doughnut—skip the box of chocolates and make these instead. Much better!
You can buy the doughnut pan I used as well as other kitchen items I recommend.
Step By Step Photos Above
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Carrot cake doughnuts with maple frosting
By Emily
Ingredients
Dry
- 200 g carrots, grated
- 200 g light brown sugar
- 200 g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- Pinch nutmeg
- Zest of 1 orange
Wet
- 150 ml sunflower oil
- 3 large free range eggs
- Juice of 1 orange
Frosting
- 200 g cream cheese
- 220 g light brown icing/powdered sugar (regular powdered sugar is fine)
- 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
- 40 g butter, softened plus extra for greasing
- Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). In a bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet using a wooden spoon until just combined.
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Grease the doughnut pan with a little butter and spoon the batter into the moulds. Bake for 15–20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the doughnut comes out clean. Allow the doughnuts to cool in the pan for 5–10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Combine the frosting ingredients in a bowl and whisk with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Once the doughnuts are completely cool, top with the frosting and decorate with sprinkles.
Notes
If using a single 6-ring doughnut pan, bake each batch for about 10 minutes per batch.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I often use extra virgin olive oil in recipes unless stated otherwise.
- When using canned or jarred tomatoes, I recommend trusted brands for consistent flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise.
- Recipes are tested using a fan (convection) oven unless noted.
- Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate.
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