These carrot cake donuts are soft and moist and taste like carrot cake in donut form. The donuts are just 4 ingredients and don’t require eggs or dairy. The donuts don’t need to be fried but still have a crisp exterior and a soft and chewy interior. The donuts are also easy to customize.
These carrot cake donuts are an easy breakfast, brunch, dessert or snack. You can also customize them with various mix-ins or with different toppings and glazes. I enjoy eating them plain but I also like decorating them for a brunch gathering.
Ingredients
- Carrot puree
- Sugar or maple syrup
- Oil
- Self-rising flour
Carrot puree: You can use store bought carrot puree or homemade carrot puree. I prefer making my own and you can do so easily with just steamed carrots and water but if you want to save time you can use store bought. If using store bought, try to choose one with an applesauce-like consistency. Some brands of carrot puree are too watery.
Sugar or maple syrup: The donuts are very lightly sweetened with regular granular sugar. You can substitute with maple syrup but the donuts are slightly fluffier with a more tender crumb if you use regular granular sugar.
Oil: Oil helps the donuts have a more tender crumb. You can use canola oil or avocado oil.
Self-rising flour: Self-rising flour is flour that already has a leavening agent and salt added to it. I prefer using self-rising flour when possible because it saves a few extra steps. However, if you don’t have self-rising flour on hand, you can easily make your own with all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
How to Make Carrot Cake Donuts
- The carrot puree, sugar and oil are first whisked together. The flour is then folded in with a spatula.
- Add the batter to a piping bag and pipe into your prepared donut pan.
- Bake the donuts for about 20-25 minutes or until done.
- If desired, dip donuts in your favorite glaze or icing or roll in sugar.
Texture
If eaten soon after they are baked, the donuts have a slightly crisp exterior and a soft and slightly chewy interior, similar to a freshly fried donut. Once fully cooled, the donuts do lose that slight crisp exterior but they still have a soft and moist crumb that is also a little bit chewy.
The donuts are lightly sweet by themselves so they can be eaten plain. You can also top them with glaze or frosting to be more like classic donuts.
Expert Tips
- You can bake the donuts in a mini muffin pan if you don’t have a donut pan.
- You can make your own homemade carrot puree for these donuts. I share my carrot puree recipe in the notes section of the recipe card.
- The donuts are best enjoyed soon after they are done baking while they still have a slightly crisp exterior.
More Donut Recipes
4 Ingredient Carrot Cake Donuts
Ingredients
- 2 cups (456 g) carrot puree see note before starting
- 2 tbsp (24 g) granulated white sugar can substitute with maple syrup
- 2 tbsp (1 fl oz/30 ml) avocado oil or canola oil
- 2 cups (265 g) self-rising flour see note before starting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 6-cavity donut pans with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the carrot puree, sugar and oil. Mix in the flour with a silicone spatula until fully incorporated and there are no pockets of unmixed flour.
- Add batter to a piping bag. Cut a 1 inch opening at the bottom of the piping bag and pipe batter into the prepared donut pan, filling them about 3/4 full. You will likely have enough leftover batter for another 1-2 donuts which you can do after the first batch is done.
- Bake the donuts for about 20-27 minutes or until done (baking time will vary depending on how full your donut cavities are, mine took 25 minutes). Let donuts cool slightly before eating. Donuts are best consumed soon after they are done baking, while they still have a slightly crisp exterior. You can also dip the donuts in icing or sugar before serving. Store uneaten donuts in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Video
Notes
- Carrot Puree note: If using store bought carrot puree, you want to choose one with a consistency similar to applesauce. I like Happy Baby carrot puree.* Avoid brands like Gerber where the consistency is too thin and watery. You can also make homemade puree with the recipe below.
- Homemade carrot puree:
- 1 lb baby cut carrots (you can substitute with peeled chopped regular carrots, but I recommend baby cut carrots which are more tender and sweet)
- 1.5 cups water
- Steam carrots until fork tender. Add carrots and water to a blender and blend until smooth. Measure out 2 cups for the recipe. The recipe yields around 3 cups of puree so don't use the full amount.
- Notes: 1 lb carrots is measured before steaming. If using a 1 lb bag, there is usually slightly more than 1 lb of carrots in there so I do recommend weighing them with a scale. The carrots release water as they cook so they will weigh less after (mine weight about 13.5 oz). While you can use regular carrots, sometimes regular carrots result in a much thicker puree which will affect the texture of the donuts. If using regular carrots, try to choose very thin young carrots.
- Self-rising flour note: There are 2 main kinds of self-rising flour sold in the US. One that is a lower protein (2 grams per 1/4 cup serving) flour and one that has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup (30g) serving). The amount of protein affects how much liquid is absorbed. For this recipe, I tested it with Gold Medal self-rising flour* (regular amount of protein). Please use a self-rising flour with a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup), or make your own self-rising flour with the recipe below.
- Homemade self-rising flour: Whisk together 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tbsp baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make sure your all purpose flour has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup). Most brands in the US contain this amount but there are some brands with higher protein (4 grams per 1/4 cup) such as King Arthur Flour and Bob's Red Mill, which will not work well for this recipe.
- I tested the donuts with this donut pan*
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Sugar note: I prefer using regular granulated sugar to sweeten the donuts because they come out a little fluffier and the crumb is lighter. But you can use maple syrup instead if you want to use a healthier sweetener.
- Optional Cream Cheese Icing
- 8 oz cream cheese (brick type), softened
- 6 tbsp maple syrup, warmed up until hot
- 2 tbsp hot water, if needed
- To make the icing: Add softened cream cheese and hot maple syrup and mix until smooth with a whisk. If needed, you can briefly heat the mixture for a few seconds in the microwave if the cream cheese is not getting fully smooth. If needed, add hot water or more maple syrup until icing reaches desired consistency.
- If desired you can also garnish the donuts with finely chopped pecans. If you want to pipe little carrots on top, you will need orange and green food coloring. You will also need some powdered sugar to thicken up the icing enough to pipe the carrots. The carrots were piped with Wilton 16 (carrots) and round piping tip 2 (stems).
- Estimated nutrition does not include frosting.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
