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    Home » Recipes » Baked Goods

    Baked Carrot Cake Donuts

    Published: April 8, 2020 Updated: April 8, 2020 / By: Dawn | Girl Heart Food 24 Comments

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    Stack of carrot cake donuts with icing sugar glaze and chopped nuts.

    Treat yourself with these easy carrot cake donuts! With plenty of shredded carrot, juicy pineapple and an icing sugar glaze generously sprinkled with nuts, this baked donut recipe is sure to be a favourite!

    Stack of carrot cake donuts with icing sugar glaze and chopped nuts.

    I love baked donuts! You too? Some of my faves are these blueberry baked donuts and vanilla glazed donuts.

    Today I’m sharing another easy donut recipe. These carrot cake donuts are super easy to prepare and a favourite around here!

    If you’re a fan of carrot cake, then I know you’ll love these too.

    I grew up with pineapple in my carrot cake, so I used it in these donuts. Plus, the pineapple juice is used for the simple icing sugar glaze.

    And because there’s a veggie in these donuts, they’re practically considered a health food, right? Okay, not really, but they are delicious.

    These carrot donuts are great for a random Wednesday, but would also be a lovely Easter dessert or addition to brunch. Plus, who doesn’t love homemade donuts?

    Now, all that’s left to do is put on a pot of coffee (or boil the kettle) and whip up a batch of these bad boys. Sound good?

    Why We Love These Carrot Cake Donuts

    • They take minutes to prep!
    • Baked donuts are an easier and healthier version compared to fried donuts.
    • The ingredients are mostly those that one would find in their pantry or have on hand already.
    • They’re an easier version of carrot cake, nice-n-portable too.
    • You don’t have to visit your local coffee shop to enjoy fresh donuts. Homemade is always a good idea!
    • These carrot cake donuts are so delicious!
    Carrot donuts with icing sugar glaze and chopped nuts on a blue plate.

    How To Make Baked Donuts

    Full details on how to make these donuts are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:

    1. To a bowl, add flour, sugar, shredded carrot, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix to combine.
    2. In another bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, egg and vanilla extract.
    3. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk or blend to combine.
    4. Add in chopped pineapple.
    5. Spoon or pipe donut batter into a greased donut pan and bake.
    6. Once baked, allow to cool in the pan for a little bit.
    7. Then place the donuts onto a cooling rack to completely cool before glazing.
    8. Make the icing sugar glaze, then invert each donut into the glaze to coat. For added flavour and texture, sprinkle over chopped nuts.
    Collage of steps to make carrot cake donuts.
    A glazed carrot cake donut with nuts on a cooling rack.

    Do I Have To Use Icing Sugar Glaze?

    Not at all!

    The glaze adds an extra special touch to donuts, but you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. Alternatively, you can simply dust with a little icing sugar.

    Tip: If you opt not to glaze (but still want to use nuts), mix some into the batter.

    Close-up of a glazed carrot cake donut with chopped nuts sprinkled over top.

    Tips and Variations

    • Do not glaze the donuts until they are fully cooled. Otherwise, the glaze will melt right into the donuts.
    • The icing sugar glaze is on the thicker side (which works great for these donuts). It’s best to add a little pineapple juice, mix in and see how you like the consistency. Then, add more as needed. And if you thin out your glaze too much, no worries! Just add a little more icing sugar to thicken things.
    • Canned pineapple is used, but you can totally use fresh if you prefer.
    • Another delicious addition to these carrot cake donuts is fresh orange zest. You can mix some into the batter, as well as top the glaze.
    Hand holding half of a baked doughnut.

    More Easy Desserts

    • Baked Coconut and Lemon Donuts
    • Carrot Cake Banana Bread

    If you make these glazed carrot cake donuts, be sure to leave a comment below!

    Stack of glazed carrot cake donuts on a blue plate with more donuts around it.

    Baked Carrot Cake Donuts

    Dawn | Girl Heart Food
    Treat yourself with these easy carrot cake donuts! With plenty of shredded carrot, juicy pineapple and an icing sugar glaze generously sprinkled with nuts, this baked donut recipe is sure to be a favourite!
    5 from 10 votes
    Print Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 12 mins
    Cooling Time 30 mins
    Total Time 52 mins
    Course Dessert
    Servings 8 donuts
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients
     

    Carrot Cake Donuts

    • Cooking spray, to grease donut pan
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • ½ cup granulated sugar
    • ½ cup grated carrot, about 1 small carrot
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ⅓ cup milk
    • ¼ cup melted unsalted butter
    • 1 large egg
    • 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • ½ cup small dice canned pineapple, about 3 slices of pineapple (drained from juice, but juice reserved)

    Glaze and Garnish

    • 1 cup icing sugar
    • 2 tablespoons pineapple juice, approximately
    • ⅓ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

    Instructions

    Carrot Cake Donuts

    • Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Spray a donut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
      Note: This recipe yields 8 donuts. If you have a 6-count donut pan, you can bake in batches. Just make sure to wash, dry and re-spray your pan when you are baking your remaining donuts. Or, if you have a larger count donut pan, even better!
    • In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, grated carrot, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and salt until well combined. Set aside.
    • In another bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter (allowed to cool for a few minutes before adding to milk and egg mixture), egg, and vanilla extract until well combined.
    • Whisk or mix the milk mixture into the reserved flour mixture until combined and there are no streaks of flour remaining.
    • Stir in pineapple.
    • Pipe or spoon donut batter into the prepared donut pan. Smooth tops and tap on a hard surface to settle things.
    • Bake for about 12 minutes or until a wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted in the donuts comes out clean. Don't overbake.
    • Let donuts cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then remove the donuts from the pan and allow them to fully cool on a cooling rack before glazing.

    Glaze

    • In a bowl, whisk together the icing sugar and pineapple juice until smooth. It's better to start with a little juice first and add as necessary. As you stir it, the glaze will get smooth and should be thick.
      Note: If you add too much juice and the glaze is too thin, add a little more icing sugar to thicken.

    Glaze and Garnish the Donuts

    • Once donuts are cool, invert each donut into the icing sugar glaze and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. If you like, you can allow the glaze to set, so let the donuts rest on a cooling rack for a little bit (or you can dig in). Serve and enjoy!

    Notes

    • Do not glaze the donuts until they are fully cooled. Otherwise, the glaze will melt right into the donuts.
    • The icing sugar glaze is on the thicker side (which works great for these donuts). It’s best to add a little pineapple juice, mix in and see how you like the consistency. Then, add more as needed. And if you thin out your glaze too much, no worries! Just add a little more icing sugar to thicken things.
    • Canned pineapple is used, but you can totally use fresh if you prefer.

    A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.

    Keyword baked donut recipe, Easter dessert, easy donut recipe

    Tried this recipe?

    If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!

    More Baked Goods

    • Pumpkin Bread With Pecans and Cranberries
    • Glazed Gingerbread Donuts
    • Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
    • Banana Gingerbread Recipe

    © Girl Heart Food Inc. All photographs and content are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Michelle

      February 21, 2021 at 2:32 pm

      5 stars
      I found the recipe to be very easy to follow, I didn’t have nutmeg so I subbed that out with cloves and they were still delicious! Thank you for sharing!!

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        February 22, 2021 at 8:46 am

        Thanks Michelle! So happy you enjoyed the recipe!

        Reply
    2. Tasia ~ two sugar bugs

      April 13, 2020 at 12:31 pm

      I baked these up for Easter morning and they were loved by the whole family! I mean, what’s not to love?? Carrot cake + donut + coffee = very happy belly! The pineapple juice in the glaze is brilliant and tasted AMAZING!! Thank you for the delicious recipe Dawn!

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:43 am

        Oh my goodness! Thank you, Tasia! So very happy to hear that!! You made my day. 🙂 XO

        Reply
    3. Valentina

      April 10, 2020 at 3:11 pm

      Brilliant combination. And I love when two of my favorite things are served up together — donut+carrot cake! 🙂 ~Valentina

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:39 am

        Thank you so much!!

        Reply
    4. Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen

      April 09, 2020 at 10:14 pm

      5 stars
      OMG! I am so into make donuts lately Dawn. So excited to add these to my baking list. They look super yummy! Pinned!

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:39 am

        Happy to hear it! Thanks Mary Ann! Enjoy!

        Reply
    5. Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop

      April 09, 2020 at 9:41 pm

      5 stars
      I love carrot cake and I love a good donut so these are made for me! And by the way….the glaze, in my mind, is not optional! 🙂

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:31 am

        Yay! Thank you, Kathy. 🙂

        Reply
    6. Sarah

      April 09, 2020 at 5:38 pm

      5 stars
      My sis in law is the one with the donut pans. I just sent this to her and now I’m waiting to see if they appear at my door 🤣 These sound soooo good!!! I wonder if I could make them in Madeleine pans instead of donut pans? (Idk why I have Madeleine pans and not donut!)

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:27 am

        Lol..wouldn’t that be wonderful?? Thanks Sarah. 🙂

        Reply
    7. [email protected]

      April 09, 2020 at 4:22 pm

      5 stars
      Carrot. Cake. Donut. Are you kidding me?! And that glaze? Oh man – ’twill be difficult to share!! Happy Easter, my friend! XO

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:26 am

        Lol…right?? Thanks Annie! Hope you had a good one! XO

        Reply
    8. David @ Spiced

      April 09, 2020 at 8:30 am

      5 stars
      Twist my arm! Coffee and a carrot cake donut? Yup, I think that sounds like a great idea…so great that it needs to happen this morning. Robbie and I have been doing a lot of baking lately, and we actually made donuts the other day. He’s been asking to make them again, so perhaps we’ll put a carrot cake twist on ’em this time. These look amazing, Dawn!

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:26 am

        Right?? Thank you David!

        Reply
    9. Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen

      April 09, 2020 at 12:24 am

      5 stars
      I mean, carrot cake is clearly a health food! These look SOOO good, Dawn! I could easily eat an entire batch–carrot cake is one of my favorites!

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:26 am

        Lol! Thanks Kelsie!

        Reply
    10. Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers

      April 08, 2020 at 9:23 pm

      5 stars
      Such a fabulous donut and loving that pineapple glaze! I’ll take a dozen 🙂

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:25 am

        You got it. 😉 Thanks Jennifer!

        Reply
    11. Marissa

      April 08, 2020 at 8:42 pm

      5 stars
      My mouth is literally watering looking at these beautiful treats, Dawn! What a fun idea to mashup two favorites: carrot cake and donuts! Love that they’re lighter than your average deep fried version.

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:25 am

        Thanks Marissa! 🙂

        Reply
    12. Haylie / Our Balanced Bowl

      April 08, 2020 at 5:18 pm

      5 stars
      Dawn, oh my word. I’m salivating and I immediately need one of these! Carrot cake is my favorite dessert….so I am ecstatic that I can now eat it for breakfast in donut form!

      Reply
      • Dawn - Girl Heart Food

        April 16, 2020 at 10:24 am

        Yay! Thanks Haylie!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Dawn! Welcome to Girl Heart Food, a food blog that's all about easy comfort food recipes (especially cheesy recipes) that'll satisfy your taste buds and make your belly happy. Have a look around and find something that'll inspire you to get into the kitchen and whip up something delicious to enjoy today!

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