Carrot Cake Doughnuts

There’s nothing like a hot, fresh, fried doughnut…but, indulging in them every time I crave one could become a huge problem, very quickly. Enter the baked doughnut. When I first got the urge to invest in a baked doughnut pan, I wasn’t sure it was worth it. After making batch after batch of tender, cake-y, goodness right at home, I could quickly see that splurging for another baking pan was well worth it.

These baked doughnuts channel one of my other favorite treats, carrot cake! The batter comes together much more quickly than cake, however, with fine bits of carrot throughout and a pleasant note of spice and sweetness from dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg and a splash of vanilla. To make these doughnuts even more like carrot cake, I frosted them with tangy cream cheese icing and a sprinkle of crunchy pecans. Here’s how to make them!

To begin, we mix up our dry ingredients in a bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Next, we whisk up our wet ingredients: oil, milk, egg, vanilla, finely grated carrot and molasses.

Then it’s simply about folding wet ingredients into dry to make the batter.

Pipe or spoon the batter into the doughnut pan, being careful to not overfill the tops of the centers, or you won’t get the requisite hole. Using a piping bag or zip-top bag with the corner snipped off makes this job super easy.

After a bit of bronzing in a hot oven, we have freshly baked, homemade doughnuts.

After they’ve cooled off a bit, frost and sprinkle with pecans. These delicious doughnuts are great on their own, or as part of a full brunch spread.