Looking for a delicious batch of donuts to make? You must try these fluffy baked Carrot Cake Donuts. They're bursting with carrot cake flavor and have the best homemade dairy free cream cheese luscious icing on top!
So simple to make, these homemade donuts are gluten and dairy free and are sure to be a hit for!
You can serve these fantastic donuts at Easter brunch, for an ordinary breakfast, or as a tasty dessert recipe.
These homemade donuts are sooo much better than any donuts you can buy at the grocery store!
Everyone will think you're a professional baker when you serve this sweet treat.
Why You Need This Recipe
- It's insanely easy to make
- What's better than gluten and dairy free donuts?
- Kids and adults love carrot cake donuts
- You can easily double or triple the recipe to make more
Ingredients Needed
Get more info on these simple ingredients in the recipe card below. These are the list of ingredients with our brand suggestions to help you navigate living gluten and dairy free.
Donut Batter Ingredients
- gluten free flour- our favorite flour is Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Mix. This does contain xanthan gum. We buy it in bulk here to save money. You can use any other gluten free blour blend that you prefer in place of our suggestion. However, don't forget to check that your flour has xanthan gum in it or guar gum. If it does not, you will need to add some.
- baking powder -- you can use whatever baking powder you like. We like to use the aluminum free baking powder
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger
- ground nutmeg
- salt
- dairy free buttermilk-- make yours by mixing ⅓ cup dairy free milk with 1 teaspoon vinegar
- vegetable or canola oil
- packed brown sugar
- egg
- vanilla extract
- finely grated carrots- you can also use fresh shredded carrots for this easy donut recipe
- chopped pecans- optional, you can swap these out for other chopped nuts like chopped walnuts
Dairy Free Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients
- dairy free cream cheese-- we like to use Kite Hill dairy free cream cheese but you can use whatever df cream cheese you have on hand
- dairy free butter-- we always, always have Earth Balance Buttery Sticks in our fridge. But you can also use country crock plant based butter or other dairy free butter options you prefer
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract
- dairy free milk- you can use almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, oat milk or pea protein milk, whatever dairy free milk alternative you prefer.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
Donut pans
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Measuring Cups and Spoons
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Mixing Bowls
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Whisk
[amazon box="B07TJJTL34" template="horizontal" description_items=1]
Grater
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Piping bags
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Wire rack
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Mixer or Stand Mixer
[amazon box="B01K2FQ4DE" template="horizontal" description_items=1]
Nonstick Cooking Spray
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Food processor for if you need to chop your nuts up
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How to Make Carrot Cake Donuts
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray two oven-safe donut pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: gluten free flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk together the dairy free buttermilk, oil, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract in a separate medium-sized bowl, until well blended.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir donut batter until combined. Fold in the grated carrots.
- Carefully, transfer the fresh made batter into a piping bag or gallon-sized freezer bag with the end snipped off. Squeeze the donut batter into the sprayed donut baking pans.
- Bake donuts for 10 to 12 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle of the donuts and it comes out clean.
- Remove the donut pans from the oven and place the doughnut pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing the donuts and letting the baked donuts rest on the wire racks.
- In another mixing bowl, beat the dairy free cream cheese and dairy free butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and dairy free milk. Beat until creamy.
- Pipe or spread the frosting over the fresh made donuts. Sprinkle with chopped pecans if using.
Storage
The best way to store freshly baked carrot cake donuts is in an airtight container, such as a plastic food container or gallon-sized freezer bag.
Make sure the donuts are completely cooled before putting them away.
Place parchment paper between each layer of donuts to prevent them from sticking together and seal the container completely. Refrigerate if not eaten within 1 - 2 days.
Tips and Variations
- Always check all of your ingredients to ensure they're still gluten free and dairy free.
- Sweeten these donuts up a bit naturally by using maple syrup in place of the powdered sugar and brown sugar. You can even use honey in place of either if desired to make this a slightly healthier batch of donuts to crush that donut craving.
- This carrot cake donut recipe is really easy to scale, in fact, these donuts would be great to sell at a fundraiser bake sale.
- Feel free to make mini donuts instead of full size ones.
Help, my donuts are stuck to the donut mold! What do I do?
It's super simple. You can run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to help release the carrot donuts.
Do I have to use homemade cream cheese frosting?
Nope. If you want to use regular dairy free frosting, you can totally change it up. I think this dairy free buttercream frosting would be fantastic on these donuts.
More Delicious Treats
If you love this carrot cake donuts recipe, you are going to love these other donuts recipe!
Baked Carrot Cake Donuts
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free flour suggestions in post
- 1 teaspoon baking powder suggestions in post
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup dairy free buttermilk suggestions in post
- ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup finely grated carrots
- For the icing:
- 3 ounces dairy-free cream cheese softened and suggestions in post
- 2 tablespoons dairy-free butter softened and suggestions in post
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon dairy free milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray two oven-safe donut pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: gluten free flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk together the dairy free buttermilk, oil, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract in a separate medium-sized bowl, until well blended.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir donut batter until combined. Fold in the grated carrots.
- Carefully, transfer the fresh made batter into a piping bag or gallon-sized freezer bag with the end snipped off. Squeeze the donut batter into the sprayed donut baking pans.
- Bake donuts for 10 to 12 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle of the donuts and it comes out clean.
- Remove the donut pans from the oven and place the doughnut pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing the donuts and letting the baked donuts rest on the wire racks.
- In another mixing bowl, beat the dairy free cream cheese and dairy free butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and dairy free milk. Beat until creamy.
- Pipe or spread the frosting over the fresh made donuts. Sprinkle with chopped pecans if using.
Notes
- Always check that your ingredients are gluten and dairy free.
- See our brand suggestions for these ingredients in the Ingredients Needed section of the post.
Nutritional Disclaimer
These Nutritional Facts are ESTIMATED. Your actual nutritional info with this recipe may vary depending on the brands you choose. “Eating Gluten and Dairy Free” is not a registered dietician or nutritionist. The provided nutritional info above is based on a generic calculator, if you want more accurate info, use your nutritional calculator of choice where you can choose brands and get more info that way.
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