I didn't used to like carrot cake when I was younger as I never ate carrots, but now I absolutely love the stuff! Carrots are actually quite a sweet vegetable and they lend a wonderful moistness to cakes. Then there's all the tasty autumnal spices, brown sugar and creamy frosting - irresistible! I've made non-vegan baked donuts several times, and I really wanted to try a vegan version, so I knew Carrot Cake Baked Donuts would be delicious.
Baked donuts are little ring shaped cakes that are baked in the oven in a donut tin. They are super moist and have a wonderful texture. I've spiced these Carrot Cake Baked Donuts with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and dunked them in a sweet glaze. They are truly yummy and will delight vegans and non-vegans alike. These carrot cake baked donuts are dairy and egg free, and they could be nut free too if you use soya milk rather than almond milk and don't add the chopped pecans on top.
The photos for this post were updated in December 2020.
How to make Vegan Carrot Cake Baked Donuts
To start, place all of the dry ingredients (the flour, spices, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda) into a bowl and stir them together. In another bowl, whisk together the oil, almond milk, vanilla and cider vinegar.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, mix together, then stir in the carrots. Put the batter into a piping bag and pipe it into donut pans greased with dairy free butter. (This recipe make 12 donuts so you will need two 6 hole tins).
Bake the donuts for 15 minutes until they are risen and golden. Using a butter knife, gently loosened them around the edges, then tip them out onto a cooling rack. For the glaze, mix together the icing sugar with the milk and dip the donuts in. Sprinkle the pecans on while the glaze is still wet.
Do you need a donut pan to make this recipe?
The simple answer is yes! I highly recommend investing in a donut pan* (you will need two 6 ring tins, or one 12 ring tin, for this recipe), they are not expensive and they’re easy to obtain from Amazon, plus there are so many yummy baked donut recipes on my blog that you’ll be able to make with them!
Can the donuts be made gluten free?
Yes! Just swap out the flour for a gluten free flour blend.
Tips for making the Vegan Carrot Cake Baked Donuts:
- The easiest way to get the batter into the donut tin is using a piping bag, you could also use a jug or carefully spoon it in.
- You can easily make the donuts nut free by omitting the pecans, and using soy milk instead of almond milk.
- I used a blend of self raising flour and plain wholemeal flour to make the donuts. If you want to use all self raising, you can do this just omit the baking powder.
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
*I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!
More carrot cake recipes...
Vegan Carrot Cake Baked Donuts
Ingredients
For the donuts
- 160 g Self raising flour
- 80 g Wholemeal flour
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp Baking powder
- 100 g Light brown sugar
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp Mixed spice
- ¼ tsp Ground ginger
- 100 g Carrots grated (one medium carrot)
- 200 ml Almond milk or other dairy free milk
- 30 ml Vegetable oil
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 tsp Cider vinegar
- Dairy free spread for greasing the tin
For the glaze and decoration
- 200 g Icing sugar
- 3 tbsp Almond milk or other dairy free milk
- 30 g Pecans chopped
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas mark 4, grease a 12 ring donut pan (or two 6 ring pans) with the dairy free spread
- Put both flours, salt, light brown sugar, baking powder. bicarbonate of soda and all four spices into a bowl and stir together
- In another bowl whisk together the oil, almond milk, vanilla and cider vinegar
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk together
- Then add the grated carrots and stir in
- Put the batter into a piping bag and pipe it into the donut pan(s)
- Bake the donuts for 15 minutes until they are risen and golden
- Using a butter knife, gently loosen them around the edges, then tip them out onto a cooling rack
- For the glaze, mix together the icing sugar and the almond milk. Dip the donuts in to coat the top half. Sprinkle the pecans on while the glaze is still wet
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and eat within 3 days
jenny paulin
ooooh these sound lovely Kat. Baked doughnuts are much healthier than the fried version after all! Carrot cake flavoured ones are a great idea - both my boys would love these
thank you for linking to #Bakeoftheweek x
Cat
I was never a fan of carrot cake until recently and now I can't get enough of it! As well as carrot cake I love doughnut and these look delicious! x
Louise Cayzer
Carrot cake is my favourite, these look amazing! I need a new baking challenge too...
CakePants
I'm a lifelong carrot cake fan, so I'm definitely on board with anything that allows me to enjoy those flavors at breakfast! These look wonderful 🙂
Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook
These vegan donuts sound so good! It is nice to see you again at Fiesta Friday, Kat. I hope you are enjoying the week! Thanks for sharing these lovely treats!
Sage
I'm an American living in Denmark where the only donuts they sell in most places are Berliners (not my favorite). These just made my weekend 'recipes to try' list! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂 #CookBlogShare
johanna @ green gourmet giraffe
So gorgeous - I would love to try these but my doughnut mad youngster is probably going to shriek at the idea of carrot cake - though if there is any way to get her to eat carrot cake this is it!!!!!
Balvinder
These are adorable!! I totally wish I had these for breakfast right now!
shaheen
Just two words 'nom nom'
Monika Dabrowski
These look beautiful and seem so easy to make, I always think making donuts must be complicated. I like the fact that you used wholemeal flour too. Thank you for bringing these lovely little creations to #CookBlogShare:) Stumbled!
Sandhya Nadkarni
These baked donuts look picture perfect, Kat! They look so spongy and I like the idea of eating them moist and sticky the next day....but don't think I can wait until the next day either! Thanks for sharing them with us at FF!
Angie | Fiesta Friday
Gasp! Two of my favorite things in the world, carrot cake and donuts, COMBINED!! Excellent!!
Justyna
Oh, dear... now I'm in trouble! My diet went out the window when I saw these babies! Thanks for sharing Kat - I'm making them next weekend! 🙂
Ai @Ai made it for you
Carrot cake in doughnut form?! Yum! I've been debating whether I should get a doughnut pan or not and I've just been putting it off... I might have to after seeing your beautiful doughnuts!
Elinor Hill aka Beach Hut Cook
What a great recipe. I am hooked and will never want a fried doughnut ever again!
Helen at Casa Costello
I'd definitely say you nailed it with these donuts! They look wonderful. Thanks so much for joining in with #BakeoftheWeek - Very happy to let you know you are our featured bake in this week's roundup x
Kate - gluten free alchemist
It's so long since I made doughnuts! These are very tempting. I have always loved carrot cake, so I could probably wolf the lot...... or are they too pretty to eat?! x
Amy Jo
Why does it say 215 kcal? Isn’t that like 215,000 calories? Dumb American, party of one 🙋🏻♀️
thebakingexplorer
Hi Amy, I wasn't sure of the reason for this either so I've done some research and google tells me that "A kilocalorie is another word for what's commonly called a calorie, so 1,000 calories will be written as 1,000kcals" I hope that helps!