Baked Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Doughnuts (Vegan, Allergy-Free)

Name: Baked Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Doughnuts (Vegan, Allergy-Free)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 17 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 Cups Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour; 1 Tsp Baking Powder; 1 Prepared Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacement; 1/3 Cup Granulated Erythritol (or preferred granulated sweetener); 1/4 Cup Shredded Carrot; 1/4 Cup Carrot Puree; 2 TB Unsweetened Raisins; 1 Tsp Cinnamon; 1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger; 1/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg; 1 TB Crushed Pineapple; 1/2 Tsp Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract; 6 TB Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk; 1 Cup Powdered Erythritol (or preferred powdered sweetener); 1/2 Cup Plain Vegan & Allergy-Free Cream Cheese (softened); 2 TB Vegan & Allergy-Free Butter (softened); 1/2 Tsp Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract; Unsweetened Shredded Coconut; Allergy-Free Natural Sprinkles

April 8, 2019 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 60 Comments

These are the best Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Doughnuts you’ll ever bake! Healthy donuts topped with a delicious vegan cream cheese frosting, they’re allergy-free, sugar-free, easily whipped up in one bowl, and baked in 12 minutes! This kid-friendly breakfast or dessert recipe is perfect for any springtime treat or Easter celebration!

You can’t have too much carrot cake! Nor can you have too many doughnuts! Combine the two and you’ll have a new favorite dessert (okay, and breakfast!) on your hands! You know we’re all about carrot cake for breakfast and carrot cake for dessert here on Strength and Sunshine. Since doughnuts can go either way, carrot cake doughnuts seemed like just the Springtime recipe you’d need! Baked in a quick 12 minutes, gluten-free, vegan, allergy-free, and sugar-free! Topped with an easy, creamy, sweet dairy-free cream cheese frosting…what more could you want?

How to make gluten-free vegan carrot cake doughnuts

These doughnuts are modeled off my gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes! A slightly scaled down version of the recipe, prime for baking in a single donut pan! All you need are your classic carrot cake ingredients: gluten-free all purpose flour, baking powder, vegan egg replacement, carrot puree, shredded carrot, sugar-free sweetener, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, a touch of crushed pineapple, some raisins, and a small amount of non-dairy milk! No pecans or walnuts in these nut-free carrot cake doughnuts either! I bet you have all those ingredients on hand which may or may not be a bad thing (#doughnutaddiction). Hey! No sugar, no oil, no allergens? These are doughnuts you can get behind!

Easy vegan cream cheese frosting

Unlike the vegan cream cheese frosting used in these carrot cake cupcakes, this frosting or “icing” is you prefer, is much easier and doesn’t require the same creaming of the vegan butter and cream cheese in a mixer! You whip out a bowl and fork (what I used!) This frosting is easily spreadable, so you can just spread it on the top of the doughnuts with a knife. It doesn’t harden so much, allowing you to top those deliciously baked rings with ALL the sprinkles and shredded coconut!

Are baked doughnuts really that good?

I may be biased, but baked doughnuts are #1! Do you really have the time or kitchen space, with little kids running under food to be able to deep fry doughnuts? I didn’t think so! Not only are baked doughnuts healthier and oil-free, but they last longer, are quicker, easier, and really don’t require any prior planning! They are one of the best last-minute baked goods you could make!

Doughnuts for breakfast, dessert, or an Easter brunch

The best thing about doughnuts is that cross the mealtime territories! Many people have a big brunch on Easter Sunday and that’s an optimal time to serve up these doughnuts! Since brunch AND Easter always seems to be very egg dominant when it comes to recipes and dishes being served up, having some egg-free options for those with egg allergies and those who are vegan is a must! Although, everyone will be reaching for one of these carrot cake doughnuts! If you’re lucky enough to have any leftover, a nighttime doughnut for dessert sounds perfect…doesn’t it? These mini carrot cake bundt cakes wouldn’t be a bad idea either!

Other Easter brunch recipes:

Served warm or cold

For baked doughnuts, I’m much more of a warm, straight from the oven kind of girl. Of course, to frost these doughnuts you’ll need to let them cool so the frosting doesn’t melt right off! Although, a dreamy, melty, creamy vegan cream cheese frosting on a warm carrot cake doughnut sounds pretty good! Like a cinnamon bun! Serve these whichever way you’d like, but store them long term in a container in the fridge! Again, when using cream cheese frosting, it needs to be chilled for storage, NOT room temperature like other cake frostings!

Can you freeze doughnuts?

You can bake, cool, and freeze these doughnuts as you would any baked good, but hold off on the frosting! When you’re ready to serve and eat the doughnuts, allow them to thaw in the fridge, then come to room temperature, and then add the cream cheese frosting. You’ll have a much yummier doughnut this way!