This Carrot Cake Donuts Recipe is easy to make and tastes so good every-bunny loves it!

Carrot cake is one of my favorite spring desserts. Okay, truth be told I like it any time of year, but Easter is the perfect excuse to whip up this classic dessert. This year for Easter I wanted to do something really fun for breakfast. I couldn't think of anything better than combining my two favorite spring flings together – carrot cake and donuts!

Donuts are the most requested breakfast at my house. Usually, we pick some up from the local donut shop, but sometimes I make a homemade batch for us to enjoy. I've baked and fried my donuts, and while I'd love to tell you I have a preference between the two, I don't. It totally depends on my mood. Somedays I crave dense cake donuts and other days I crave fluffy yeast donuts. Today, we're going with this cake donuts recipe.

These donuts are like having dessert for breakfast. They're slightly sweet on they're own, but top them with cream cheese frosting and you're in business! You can leave these donuts frosted or top with chopped pecans or sprinkles. I l-o-v-e sprinkles on my donuts and so do my kids. But top 'em however you like. The nuts add more crunch and the sprinkles make them a little more festive. Either way they're crazy good!!

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Carrot Cake Donuts Recipe

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Prep Time: 10 mins     Cook Time: 10 mins     Yield: 12 donuts

Ingredients:

Donuts

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons pineapple juice

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup shredded carrots (about 1 medium-sized carrot)

Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Chopped pecans or sprinkles, for topping

Directions: 

Donuts:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until combined. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix until smooth.
4. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour in the milk and pineapple juice and mix. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
5. Fold in the carrots by hand.
6. Transfer the donut batter to a large ziploc bag or a piping bag (1/2 of the batter will fit in the bag at a time). Snip off a corner of the ziploc bag (or tip of the piping bag) and pipe the batter into two donut pans, filling each cavity about half full.
7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
8. Carefully remove donuts from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pans. Remove from the pans to a serving platter.

Frosting:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until combined and smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
2. Spread frosting over each donut, and top with chopped pecans or sprinkles, if desired.

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