Baked Carrot Cake Doughnuts

These tasty doughnuts are light and fluffy, low in sugar, and could easily be made gluten-free by swapping the flour for your preferred gluten-free blend. The recipe also uses a simple wet-into-dry technique, which means there's zero skill involved – so this a great bake to make with children, or if your confidence in the kitchen is a bit wobbly!

The result is a batch of doughnuts that are spiced to perfection, and topped with a delicious maple cream-cheese glaze. If you don't have a doughnut ring mould to hand, you can always turn the batter into cupcakes instead, and they'll keep well in an airtight container for up to two days.

PREP TIME:
20minutes

COOK TIME:
15-20 minutes

SERVES:
12 doughnuts

Ingredients
Instructions

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour

½ cup buckwheat flour

½ cup coconut sugar

¼ cup pecans, finally chopped

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 tbsp cornflour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp grated nutmeg

Large pinch sea salt

Wet ingredients

1 cup almond milk, or dairy-free alternative

¼ cup light oil, such as groundnut

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 medium carrot, grated

For the glaze

¾ cup vegan cream cheese – I like to use almond

¼ cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

½ tsp ground cinnamon

To finish

Crushed pecan nuts

Ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180°C/fan160°C/Gas 4, and grease one 12-ring or two 6-ring doughnut moulds.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then combine all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, being careful not to overmix.
Divide the mixture evenly between the doughnut moulds, and bake for 15 minutes. Check to to see if they're ready by inserting a skewer – if it comes out clean, they're done. If not, return them to the oven for five more minutes.
Allow the doughnuts to cool in their moulds for 5-10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, beat the glaze ingredients together until silky smooth.
Dip each cooled doughnut into the glaze, and give them a little twist to remove, before placing them back on the cooling rack. To finish, dust with some crushed pecan nuts and a sprinkling of cinnamon.