Carrot Cake Donuts with Apple Cider Glaze
These Carrot Cake Donuts with Apple Cider Glaze are cozy fall donuts that are light and sweet. This recipe is quick and simple and takes under 1 hour to make! Try these moist and fluffy easy carrot donuts this weekend.
If you're looking for more brunch recipes check out Maple Pumpkin Spice Baked Donuts, Homemade Sesame Bagels, Maple Cream Cheese Spread, or Healthy Pumpkin Waffles with Bone Broth.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Carrot Cake Donuts with Apple Cider Glaze
- Ready In: 30 minutes
- Makes: 10 donuts
- Main Ingredients: carrots, butter, all purpose flour, sparkling apple cider
- Flavor Profile: cozy, lightly spiced with apple cider and a sweet glaze
- Dietary Info: no seed oils
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: moist, fluffy, lightly spiced carrot fall donuts
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Twist on a Classic: If you're looking for something else pumpkin right now, then you will love these easy carrot donuts! These fall donuts have all the flavors of fall with apple cider glaze and a soft and moist carrot cake.
- Easy AF: These Carrot Cake Donuts with Apple Cider Glaze come together quickly in one bowl using a hand mixer (or your stand mixer!). You can use whatever you prefer for this recipe, making it really simple.
- Quick: These Carrot Cake Donuts are quick to make. They're ready in under 1 hour!
- Moist & Fluffy: These fall donuts are moist and fluffy carrot donuts with spices. I top them with a sweet apple cider glaze that pairs perfectly with the subtle spice of the carrot cake.
- Fall Inspired: While these organic donuts are fall inspired with a sweet apple cider glaze, it's a great alternative if you want a break from pumpkin!
Ingredients
- Carrots: I use organic carrots that are finely grated. You need to use a fine grate on the carrots, otherwise if you use a larger grate the cake can become gummy and gross in texture.
- Brown Sugar: I use my homemade light brown sugar. But, store bought also works!
- All Purpose Flour: My favorite is Cairnspring Mills.
- Cinnamon: My favorite is organic Korintje Cinnamon, which has a distinct flavor. You can read more in Best Cinnamon to Bake With.
- Sparkling Apple Cider: I use Martinelli's Organic Sparkling Apple Cider. You could also use flat apple cider too, either will work!
- Sprinkles: I used India Tree Nature's Colors Harvest Decorating Sugars. These are naturally colored and make a beautiful fall donut! They also don't have any seed oils in them, like many sprinkles do.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- I'm just using a hand mixer here, as this batter is quick and easy. But, you can use just a whisk or even a stand mixer if you prefer.
- If you only have flat apple cider, you can also use that it in place of sparkling apple cider too.
- Make sure to wait until the donuts are cool before glazing.
- You can make these ahead of time if you want, just store them under a cake dome so they stay fresh and don't dry out.
- High Altitude — Bake at 400°F for 8 to 12 minutes, or until a wooden pick comes out clean.
How to Make Carrot Cake Donuts with Apple Cider Glaze
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grate the carrots into a large mixing bowl using a fine grater.
- To make the batter: Add the grated carrots, melted butter, light brown sugar, and the egg to a large mixing bowl.
- Using a hand mixer, mix until combined.
- Add in the heavy whipping cream, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and sea salt.
- Mmix together until combined.
- Lightly grease 2 donuts pans with the olive oil cooking spray. Pipe the donut batter into 10 donuts. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the donut pans before removing. (If you’re baking at high altitude be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).
- To make the glaze: In a medium mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar and apple cider. Whisk until a smooth glaze forms.
- Dip the tops of the donuts into the glaze. Top with the decorating sugar (optional).
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More Ways to Bake with Apple Cider
While you can definitely drink the rest of the open bottle of apple cider, you can also bake more delicious treats too! Check out some of my favorites like:
- Persimmon Apple Cider Jam is a perfect bagel or toast topper!
- Try Sparkling Apple Cider Donuts for another amazing donut recipe!
- Enjoy a cocktail like Sparkling Apple Cider Mimosas or Sparkling Apple Cider Bourbon.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, you can use a mini donut pan instead. You'll need to bake them for much less though, start with half the time and check them.
Well, you cannot make baked donuts without a donut pan! This batter is similar to a muffin batter, so you could make them into muffins instead, but you'd need a muffin pan.
Store under a cake dome or in an airtight container, this will keep them fresh.
You can freeze the baked donuts in an airtight container. Just thaw in the fridge.
More Fall Recipes
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Carrot Cake Donuts with Apple Cider Glaze
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Hand Mixer
- Mixing Bowl
- Donut Pans
- Piping Bags
- Whisk
Ingredients
Batter
- 142 grams carrots (finely grated)
- 85 grams salted butter (melted)
- 170 grams light brown sugar
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream (room temperature)
- 255 grams all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Olive oil cooking spray
Glaze
- 212 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 3 tablespoons sparkling apple cider
Topping
- India Tree Nature’s Colors Harvest Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grate the carrots into a large mixing bowl using a fine grater.
- To make the batter: Add the grated carrots, melted butter, light brown sugar, and the egg to a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix until combined.
- Add in the heavy whipping cream, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and sea salt and mix together.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag.
- Lightly grease 2 donuts pans with the olive oil cooking spray. Pipe the donut batter into 10 donuts.
- Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the donut pans before removing.
- To make the glaze: In a medium mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar and apple cider. Whisk until a smooth glaze forms.
- Dip the tops of the donuts into the glaze. Top with the decorating sugar.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- I'm just using a hand mixer here, as this batter is quick and easy. But, you can use just a whisk or even a stand mixer if you prefer.
- If you only have flat apple cider, you can also use that it in place of sparkling apple cider too.
- Make sure to wait until the donuts are cool before glazing.
- You can make these ahead of time if you want, just store them under a cake dome so they stay fresh and don't dry out.
- High Altitude — Bake at 400°F for 8 to 12 minutes, or until a wooden pick comes out clean.
Nutrition
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Love these carrot donuts!