I haven’t made doughnuts in forever. In my first year of blogging I was making them left and right, but as of late my doughnut pan has been collecting dust. There’s no good reason for it, I just hadn’t really thought about it. Until now…and oh, what a comeback. These Carrot Cake Doughnuts are hands down the best doughnuts I’ve made to date. I’m so proud of them! They are light, yet filling, and the maple flavored cream cheese glaze adds the perfect amount of sweetness. I’m swooning.
If you don’t own a doughnut pan, I use this one (affiliate link) you can order from Amazon. They’re also carried in lots of different housewares stores. It’s pretty much worth buying one just for this recipe (seriously), but I also have recipes for Lemon Poppyseed Doughnuts, Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts, Spice Doughnuts, Peanut Butter & Jelly Doughnuts and Strawberry Doughnuts. It’s easy to just stir some ingredients together and pop them into your doughnut pan, and so much healthier than buying the deep fried kind at a donut shop.
These Carrot Cake Doughnuts would be a perfect addition to an Easter brunch, but they’re also just a fabulous recipe for a family breakfast or to make ahead for a grab and go morning meal all week long. Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers because of the cream cheese glaze. No matter who you serve them to, I promise these are going to be a big hit. To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
These Carrot Cake Doughnuts are light, yet filling with a sweet maple flavored cream cheese glaze!
Yield: 6doughnuts
Ingredients
1cupwhite whole wheat flour, I use King Arthur Flour – yes, you can use all-purpose instead
1teaspoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonbaking soda
¼teaspoonsalt
½teaspooncinnamon
¼teaspoonnutmeg
¼teaspoonground cloves
¼cupbrown sugar
1egg
2/3cupgrated carrots
1tablespooncanola oil
3tablespoonsunsweetened applesauce
¾teaspoonvanilla, divided
¼cup+ 2 teaspoons skim milk, divided
2oz1/3 less fat cream cheese
1tablespoonreduced calorie pancake syrup
1tablespoonpowdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 6 cup doughnut pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and brown sugar until well combined.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg and then add the carrots, oil, applesauce, ½ teaspoon of the vanilla and ¼ cup of milk. Stir until well combined and then add to the dry ingredients from step 2. Mix until well combined. Spoon the mixture evenly into the 6 prepared slots of the doughnut pan. Bake for 15 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Flip the pan to release the doughnuts onto a cooling rack and allow the doughnuts to cool.
In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ¼ teaspoon vanilla and 2 teaspoons milk and add the cream cheese, syrup and powdered sugar. Using a hand mixer, mix until well combined. When doughnuts are cooled, spoon the cream cheese glaze over top.
Notes
To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!Nutrition Information:181 calories, 27 g carbs, 13 g sugars, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 5 g protein, 3 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)MyWW SmartPoints per (1 piece) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Green: 6 SmartPoints/ Blue: 6 SmartPoints/ Purple: 6 SmartPointsWeight Watchers Points Plus: 5 per doughnut (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)