Dairy free possible, Dessert, Easy, Great for kids, Once a Foodie recipes, Refined sugar free

Healthier baked carrot cake donuts [refined sugar and dairy free]

November 19, 2020 / 54 Comments

Healthier baked donuts – a delicious snack

If you follow me on Instagram, you might already know I am a big fan of my Wilton mini donut pan. I’ve had it for about 12 months now and the kids and I have made a few different kinds of donuts in it. I only have one other donut recipe on the blog so far – these gorgeous zucchini pancake donuts – but there are others which I need to write up.

The beauty of baked donuts is that they are healthier (not fried) and cakier (if that’s a word – the texture is just lovely). As a bonus, anything tastes better in a donut shape and the mini size helps ensure that you can control your portions better (if that’s usually a problem for you). Either way, you won’t be sorry.

Healthier baked carrot cake donuts on a red plate.

What makes these baked carrot cake donuts healthier?

These healthier baked carrot cake donuts are refined sugar free and contain healthier ingredients such as oats, carrots, linseed and almond meal and Greek (or plant based) yoghurt. If you switch up the spelt flour, you can make then gluten free.

These do have some flour in them but it’s wholemeal spelt flour (rather than bleached plain white flour). If you want to make this dairy free, use plant-based yoghurt, such as coconut yoghurt or almond yoghurt, instead of Greek yoghurt.

And yes, the texture is just delightful – as you can probably see from some of these photos – soft and squishy, scented with coconut, carrot, cinnamon and dotted with bits of crunchy walnuts.

And that soft texture is beautifully contrasted with the crunchy chocolate topping. But do not fear, this doesn’t make the donuts unhealthy or overly sweet. Firstly, I have used sugar free chocolate bits (dark and white – I like the Noshu brand) and, secondly, there isn’t much there – just enough to give you that nice textural contrast and a hint of sweetness. Plus, don’t they look amazing, drizzled in that yummy chocolate goodness?

Healthier baked carrot cake donuts on a cooling rack.

Healthier baked carrot cake donuts in a baking tin.

Baked donuts for every occasion – thank you Leanne!

I imagine these baked donuts would be perfect for any informal occasion, like a lazy afternoon tea, a nice picnic, a gathering with friends or family, or even just to have with your cup of tea in the morning. But they would be fabulous even for a fancier occasion such as a high tea or a birthday party.

The inspiration for these donuts came from a wonderful recipe for Carrot cake donuts (gluten free) from one of my friends, Leanne, which she’s featured on her gorgeous blog Crumb Top Baking.

If you are not familiar with Leanne’s blog, you absolutely need to check it out – this is not the first recipe I have made from her blog and they have all turned out absolutely wonderful (plus she has more baked donut recipes if carrot cake isn’t your thing!). I love Leanne’s writing style and her step by step photos and I find myself returning to her blog over and over again.

I have changed a few ingredients and some of the method in this recipe, in particular substituting linseed (flaxseed) meal for the protein powder which Leanne uses, to make it more child-friendly, if you – like me – have young children and are not sure about including protein powders in their meals just yet.

I am also not using oat flour like Leanne is (which means my recipe is not gluten free) and instead I have used a mix of almond meal, wholemeal spelt flour and rolled oats, which makes these quite nutritious. I have subbed in yoghurt for the apple sauce (I didn’t have any), I pop the walnuts straight into the batter, I use whole eggs (and not just egg whites) and my toppings are a little different – but otherwise the amounts are very heavily based on Leanne’s – you don’t change a good thing when you see it, right!? Thank you Leanne for your ongoing inspiration!

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5 from 11 votes