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All the flavors of carrot cake in a soft baked vegan and gluten-free donut!
When I posted my first donut recipe, it was such a huge success with people! So then I worked on a second donut recipe which was also a success! Here is a third and I’m not stopping there!
Soft Baked Carrot Cake Donuts are filled with carrot cake flavor like cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom all while maintaining a soft and somewhat fluffy texture. I also added shredded carrots (of course!) and raisins which take the flavors to the next level.
Just a heads up- these donuts are made to have the flavors of carrot cake, but the texture is different-they are not heavy and cake-like.
These are so easy to make and are a healthy alternative to a heavy cake! Totally acceptable for breakfast, too!
How to Make
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. You always want to make sure you oven is preheated for at least ten minutes before you put any batter in the oven, ensuring a correct oven temp.
Next, add a little bit of coconut oil to your donut pans to ensure they don’t stick. The donut pans I have do not have a chemical non-stick coating on them (which I recommend and prefer!) so I use a little oil in mine. Not a lot, just a tiny bit.
Grab your carrots and start shredding with a grater until you have 1/2 cup. Set aside.
After your oven is preheating and your donut pans are greased and carrots are shredded (make sure you do all prep work ahead of time, once the batter is done you want these in the oven ASAP!), grab two bowls for mixing.
In one bowl, add all your dry ingredients and stir: oat flour, almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
In the other bowl, add your wet ingredients and whisk. Nut milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, coconut sugar (you’ll add this in wet as it dissolves in liquid), vanilla extract and lemon juice.
Slowly add your wet ingredients to your dry, mixing but don’t over mix. Add your shredded carrots and raisins (or walnuts!) and mix again only a few times until well incorporated.
At this point, taste your batter and add more spices if you want stronger flavors. Get that batter into your donut pans ASAP! Fill each donut cavity about a little more than 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until firm to the touch on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Let the donuts cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
These donuts are so delicious fresh out of the oven, but you can also store them. I like to keep mine at room temp in an airtight container. Don’t forget the frosting!!!
If you make this recipe, don’t forget to take a photo and tag @wholesome.crumbs on Instagram!
Vegan Soft Baked Carrot Cake Donuts [GF]
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups oat flour about 2 1/4 cups rolled oats in the blender to make a soft flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 tsp fine grain pink salt plus an extra pinch
- 2 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking power
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cup nut milk (make sure your milk is room temp/slightly warmed and NOT cold!)
- 3 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 & 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup shredded carrots (about 1 large carrot) OR packaged shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup raisins or walnuts
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup vegan cream cheese, softened at room temp
- 4 oz vegan butter, softened at room temp
- 4 cups unrefined powdered sugar, or a little more to taste if you want it sweeter
- Splash of vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon or more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and add a little coconut oil to your donut pants. Shred carrots with a grater.
- Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and stir well.
- Add all wet ingredients to a bowl and whisk well.
- Slowly add your wet ingredients to your dry, mixing well but don't overmix.
- Add carrots and raisins and mix again.
- Add batter to your donut pans ASAP, filling each donut cavity 3/4 way full.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are firm and a toothpick comes out clean.Cool in the pans for about 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
- When cooled. add glaze.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
Notes
- Make sure to do all your prep work before your batter is ready as these need to go in the oven as soon as the wet and dry ingredients are mixed.
- You need your nut milk to be at room temperature or else your coconut oil will solidify in the batter. If the coconut oil solidifies, it won’t be evenly distributed. I just put mine in the microwave for about 15 seconds or so until slightly warmed. To be certain your coconut oil doesn’t solidify, mix your milk and oil first and you can always put it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds if it starts to solidify
Loved these! The flavors of the spices made these taste better than your average carrot cake recipe
Yay! Thank you for the rating and comment, Veronica! 🙂