Carrot Cake Doughnuts

I know I must be maturing because I’m starting to develop tastes for things I never before liked. Lemon desserts? Before I could best describe them as “meeeeh,” but now? Cannot. Get. Enough. Cream cheese frosting? I know I’ve previously said (on more than one occasion) that anything with the word “cheese” in it’s name obviously wasn’t meant to be included in my sweets. Now, I’m pretty sure I could eat that stuff out of a jar. In the middle of the night. With my bare hands. And now, I’m even starting to like carrot cake. What is the world coming to??

Carrot Cake Doughnuts
Makes 6 baked doughnuts

For the carrot cake doughnuts:
2 tbsp. (30 grams) butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup grated carrot (about 1 large carrot)

For the cream cheese glaze:
1/4 cup cream cheese
2 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Optional toppings:
Shredded coconut
Chopped walnuts

Start by preheating your oven to 350*F (175*C) and greasing your doughnut pan. Finely grate 1/2 cup of carrot, which is the equivalent of about one large carrot. In a large bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients (melted butter, egg, milk, and vanilla extract). Whisk in your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon) until the batter is lump free. Using a spatula, fold in the grated carrot. Fill a large piping bag with the batter and pipe your doughnut batter into your prepared doughnut pan. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the doughnuts comes out clean. Let the doughnuts cool until the pan is cool enough to handle, then turn them out onto a cooling rack.

To make the glaze, whisk together your cream cheese, milk, and vanilla extract in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the cream cheese has melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in your powdered sugar, and continuing whisking and heating the mixture until it’s hot but not boiling. Cooking your glaze like this will ensure that it hardens rather than remaining mushy.

Dip your cooled doughnuts in the glaze and immediately garnish with your topping of choice, or just leave them plain. I promise they’re tasty either way!