BAKED CARROT CAKE DONUTS WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

These Baked Carrot Cake Donuts with Cream Cheese Frosting are a real treat! They are healthier than traditional donuts and perfect for a Spring brunch or Easter dessert. Incredibly moist and flavourful!

Donuts are such a fun treat for breakfast or brunch (these would be perfect for your Easter get togethers!), even without frosting. I have a hard time holding my kids off long enough to get any frosted! I think they're suckers for the fun shape

But since the only reason for anyone to eat cake with vegetables in it is the frosting, we've slathered these in a creamy, tangy cream cheese frosting.

Frosting holds up better than a glaze on donuts, which means you can easily make these ahead of time and store in the fridge or freezer completely frosted. Just pull them out a couple hours before you need them and you are good to go! No one will ever know they're not fresh out of the oven ??

You can mix things up by adding in some raisins or toasted coconut into the donut batter, but I like to keep these simple and just sprinkle with a little toasted coconut on top. It adds a fun little crunch and goes perfectly with the carrots and cream cheese!

INGREDIENTS:

Donuts:

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
• ¼ cup oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large carrots, peeled and shredded (about 2 cups)
• 2⅔ cups all purpose flour
• pinch of nutmeg

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese, room temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

INSTRUCTIONS:

Donuts:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and spray donut pans with non-stick spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together butter and oil. Whisk in sugar until combined.
3. Add milk, eggs, vanilla and whisk until combined. Stir in carrots.
4. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and nutmeg and stir until combined.
5. Spoon batter into prepared pans or use a large piping bag, filling about ¾ full.
6. Bake for 7-8 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla on high speed until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth -- this might take 4-5 minutes.
2. Spread on cooled donuts and decorate as desired (I used toasted coconut!). Serve.
3. Leftovers may be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days or in the freezer up to 3 months.

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