3.31.2012

Baked Carrot Cake Donuts

.  Easter, Easter, Easter.  Oh, Easter.  How you have snuck up on me!

Shocking?  Not quite.  To me, it seems like the various holidays creep up on me faster and faster every year.  Good or bad thing?  I haven't quite decided yet.  I'll get back to you on that.


Anyway, we all know how fun holiday-themed goodies are.  And being the try-to-be seasonal baker, I obviously want to take advantage of the once-a-year opportunities I have to make certain things.  Because, duh, one can never make a pumpkin dessert in the Spring!  That is simply preposterous.

So my goal for this upcoming week is to pump out a couple of Eastery desserts and possibly even a little round up of past Easter-themed goodies I've made.  You may have to hold me to that though so I actually get it done.



When I think of Easter, my mind immediately jets to Carrot Cake.  That classic Carrot Cake with a dollop of thick, rich cream cheese frosting [queue in the drool].  Carrot Cake is actually one of Robbie's favorite cakes, so this time of year is particularly good to him.  I was personally never a huge carrot cake fan until I was older, I think the fact that the cake literally has carrots in it made me think there was no way it could be good.  But once I took a chance, I never turned back!  It got me.

So because of my [and Robbie's] love for Carrot Cake, I'm especially excited to share with you..ta dah!..Baked Carrot Cake Donuts.  But wait!  This isn't just any old Carrot Cake recipe.  Nope.  Well yeah, Jess.  It's a donut.  Yes, you are correct.  But!  There's also a few added ingredients that make this Carrot Cake Donut uber special.  Let's just say pineapple, nutmeg, and toasted walnuts are a few of those uber components.  Intrigued yet?  You should be.


These donuts were just too good.  I must say, they are extremely light and fluffy, you won't get that dense donut most of you are probably thinking of.  They're much more cake-like, but absolutely perfect for a morning treat that won't put you in a food coma.  I likey  .


My Notes:
  • I chose to ground up my walnuts because I thought it would look much prettier than the huge chunks.  But feel free to leave the walnuts in larger pieces and you don't even need to toast them if you don't like.  Completely up to you!
  • When making the frosting, make sure to have your cream cheese and butter pretty soft, otherwise you'll end up with a chunky frosting like I did.  If this does happen, I popped my frosting into the microwave for a few seconds to break down the chunks.


Adapted from BrueCrew Life

Ingredients:
Donuts:
1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 c. vanilla yogurt
2/3 c. crushed pineapple, drained (save juice for frosting)
2/3 c. finely shredded carrots
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting:
3/4 c. toasted walnuts, ground
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp. butter, softened
2 tbsp. pineapple juice
3/4 c. powdered sugar

Directions:
  1. Heat oven to 375°F.  Spray donut pan with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.  For the donuts, cream together butter, sugar and salt in large bowl.  Add egg, vanilla extract, and yogurt and beat until smooth.  Stir in pineapple and carrots.  
  2. Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda.  Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, beating on low speed until combined.
  3. Fill a ziploc bag with donut batter, snipping off one corner.  Pipe batter into prepared pan, filling cavities 1/2 full.  Bake 10 minutes.  Let cool in pan before removing to wire rack.
  4. Place walnuts onto baking sheet and bake about 8 minutes or until fragrant.  Let cool on baking sheet.  Place walnuts into food processor and pulse until walnuts are ground (don't ground them too much, some larger pieces are still desirable).  Set aside.
  5. For frosting, beat cream cheese, butter and pineapple juice in medium bowl until smooth.  Slowly add powdered sugar until smooth.  Frost cooled donuts as desired and sprinkle with ground walnuts.
Yield: 18 donuts


post signature

48 comments:

  1. Carrot cakemmmm
    Dad

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  2. Yummy cake :) I will try this soon !
    Saranya
    http://nicesaranya.blogspot.com/
    http://foodandtaste.blogspot.com/

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    Replies
    1. Oo, I'd love to hear if you test these out!!

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  3. I am so glad you tried my recipe and that it was a hit!!! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. These look delicious!!!

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    Replies
    1. And they are! And we can say they're healthy since they're baked, right? :)

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  5. They look so delicious and beautiful!

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    Replies
    1. Aww wow, thanks! I think the crushed walnuts make them.

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  6. Oh my, these sound so good!! I'd like to invite you to stop by my link party!

    http://cupsbykim.blogspot.com/2012/03/sweet-simple-sunday-3.html

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  7. I'll take a dozen! These look divine; thanks so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday :)

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  8. So good! I love carrot cake and I love donuts so, perfect!

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    Replies
    1. They really are a great blend of the two, and what really makes them special is the addition of pineapple and pineapple juice. You'll love these!

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  9. This looks like a great recipe! I would love for you to link it up to my Recipe Party at The Sweet Spot.

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  10. Congrats on the Top 9, girl! Way to go!

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    Replies
    1. Omgosh, I had NO clue what you were talking about until I checked my e-mail! Thanks so much for the heads up and for the comment, I'm still in shock my pictures are even looked at!

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  11. Gorgeous! These donuts look awesome!

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    Replies
    1. OH MY! Well thanks for even stopping by! I'm a big fan of yours :)

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  12. Congrats for being Top 9 :D YUM YUM! This looks great! I've always wanted a large donut pan hehe it's so cute ~ I'm a total fan of carrot cake hehe :D

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! I really can't believe I even made it!

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  13. Is there an alternate idea for baking them without a donut pan? Or should I look at it as a legit excuse to just go buy one?

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    Replies
    1. Well I would definitely suggest getting a donut pan, it's one of my favorite purchases and they aren't terribly expensive. But this donut is rather cakey, so I would assume you could make cupcakes or maybe even mini bundts. Hopefully that helps!

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  14. this looks soo good! i can not wait to make them. thanks for coming up with a way to have one of my favorite desserts for breakfast!!

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    Replies
    1. Haha well I will definitely give credit to BruCrew Life, they had a fantastic recipe!

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  15. Oh wow these sound amazing!!! That frosting looks delicious, and the donuts look beautiful!

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    Replies
    1. The frosting is awesome, I loved the subtle flavor of pineapple in it. And you didn't need a TON of frosting to really make an impact.

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  16. Love, Love, LOVE these ! they look incredible. thanks for sharing :)

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  17. I wish I had a donut pan to make these in. I love carrot cake too but didn't really like it when I was younger - I think because of the name more than anything! Or maybe because the alternative was usually chocolate cake!

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    Replies
    1. I'm thinking you could possibly make these as cupcakes if you don't have a donut pan?! Or maybe mini bundts?

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  18. Those donuts look fantastic. I cannot wait to make them. My husband will love them. Come visit us this week. We have some wonderful things to share.

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  19. Carrot Cake Donuts! Pineapple Cream cheese frosting. These sound like my kind of a breakfast. Definitely pinning these. I'd love it if you stopped by my April Linky Party to share these.
    http://acraftycook.blogspot.com/2012/04/1-month-of-fun-april-link-party-and.html

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  20. Yummy! I'll take a dozen :) Thanks so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday!

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  21. These look so good, they are perfect for Easter! I would love if you would share this and any other post at my new link party: http://whatscookinglove.blogspot.com/2012/04/showcase-your-talent-thursday-1.html
    Thanks and I hope to see you there!

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  22. oooo I LOVE carrot cake... put that in donut form and that sounds like heaven!! Thanks for linking to Tasty Tuesday. Just wanted to let you know I'll be featuring you at this weeks party! http://nap-timecreations.blogspot.com/

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  23. My husband will love these! They look delicious and the photos are beautiful.

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  27. Recipe sounds awesome! I'm wondering if my mom's super moist carrot cake recipe will work for these donuts. What do you think? Thanks again :)

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  35. These are best the same day made, right? Trying to think ahead for Easter....LOVE THESE!! Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. I think they are the BEST the day they are made, but I don't think it should be a problem if you made them the night before. I do remember them getting a little soft (from all of the moistness) but they were still so yummy. Happy [almost] Easter!

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