Cinnamon Glazed Baked Carrot Cake Donuts
Cinnamon glazed baked carrot cake donuts. Try saying that 3 times, fast. (Actually, I just tried it and it wasn't too difficult; I did quite well.)
You know what else isn't all that difficult? Making these baked carrot cake donuts. And consuming them. No, these actions are not hard at all. They're actually startlingly easy. Or un-startlingly. Because why would eating donuts ever be difficult?
Now now. Baked donuts. They may look and sound intimidating. But appearances can be deceitful. Especially in the case of baked donuts. Because with baked donuts, the donut pan actually does all the work to ensure that your donuts come out perfectly rounded and hefty and lovely.
So really, these carrot donuts are just carrot cake. You'll be making a carrot cake batter just as you would for carrot cake. And portioning off that batter and baking it in donut molds.
But obviously, this is not just any old carrot cake batter. It's a stupendous, fantabulous one. Obviously.
Because first off, like I mentioned, these carrot cake donuts are easy to make. Whisk together the wet ingredients, stir in the dry, and divide the batter into the donut pans. Then, whisk together the spiced glaze and dip the baked and cooled donuts into it. All done.
The only semi-annoying part about making these baked donuts is grating the carrots. Because obviously we're using fresh carrots for these carrot donuts I can't believe you may have thought otherwise. It's especially annoying in my case because I always manage to somehow grate and shave off my knuckles in the process as well (tmi?). Honestly, a grater is more dangerous than a knife for me.
But if you wanna cheat, you can buy a bag of already shredded carrots. Just make sure they're the finely shredded kind.
But enough about grating carrots. Let's talk about the other aspects of these baked carrot cake donuts.
Such as how moist and tender and soft they are. And how they're filled with warm fall spices like cinnamon and nutmeg and ginger. And how they're topped with a sweet glaze that's got cinnamon and nutmeg in it as well. And how they're sprinkled with raw sugar for a nice little crunch and sparkle. The raw sugar is optional though.
Easy and quick. Soft and moist. Dairy-free and stupendous and fantabulous. Packed with fresh carrots and warm spices. Topped with a glossy, sweet, spiced glazed.
Autumn officially begins in two days. And I think I'm ready. Thanks to these cinnamon glazed baked carrot cake donuts.
Cinnamon Glazed Baked Carrot Cake Donuts
Yield: 12 donuts
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup oil
1 cup milk (or non-dairy milk)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup finely grated carrots, loosely packed
2 cups packed flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
Glaze:
1 ½ cups confectioners sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons milk (or non-dairy milk)
-Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 12 donut molds well.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, milk, egg, vanilla extract, and grated carrots until smooth.
3. Pour the dry ingredients over the wet and mix everything together until just combined.
4. Divide batter into donut molds evenly, filling till just about the top. Bake donuts for 12-14 minutes, until donuts spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
5. Let donuts cool a few minutes in molds before easing out with a knife. Let donuts cool completely before glazing.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together all glaze ingredients until a thick yet pourable consistency forms. Dip the tops of the donuts into the glaze and then set right side up. If desired, sprinkle with Turbinado sugar before glaze sets.
