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Carrots and coconut are a magical and nutritious combination in this fiber-rich baked donut recipe.
I’m not much of a carrot cake fan. I find it a bit too sweet and there’s just something I don’t like about carrot and pineapple together. I’m more of a butter/chocolate frosting gal.
But coconut + carrot? Bring it.
Last year, I finally bought a donut pan. I immediately made Gretchen @kumquat ‘s Totally Coconut Donuts and then went on a bit of a baked donut spree.
But since then, the donut pan has been dormant for a while so I figured it was time to dust it off. And with spring finally in the air, I figured I’d do a take on carrots and coconut after seeing a few carrot quick bread recipes and a bunch of Easter coconut desserts.
So, these are my “Not Carrot Cake” Carrot Coconut Donuts.
I like baking with coconut flour as it produces a tender, fluffy result, is mild in flavor and is super rich in fiber (coconut flour has double the amount of fiber compared to whole wheat pastry flour!) It’s also a great option for those who need to follow a gluten-free diet. (Note: this recipe is NOT gluten-free as I did a mix of coconut and wheat flour.)
Between the flours, carrots and shredded coconut, each of these donuts provides over 6 grams of fiber.
Not too shabby for a donut.
Description
Carrots and coconut are a magical and nutritious combination in this fiber-rich baked donut recipe.
For the batter:
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 ¼ cups coconut flour
- ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk
- 2 eggs
For the frosting:
- ¾ cup plain Greek low-fat or nonfat yogurt
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If coconut oil is in a solid state, place on baking tray and put in oven for a few minutes. Remove tray and add carrots and unsweetened coconut. Mix together and spread evenly on tray. Roast for about 8-10 minutes or until the coconut starts to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside 1 cup of carrot/coconut mixture for frosting.
- Lower oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, mix together remaining roasted carrot/coconut mixture, coconut flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together coconut milk and eggs. Add to dry ingredients and beat until ingredients are just incorporated (batter will be thick and sticky.)
- Grease a 6-count donut pan with cooking spray. Fill each cavity with batter. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until batter starts to turn golden brown. Remove from pan and cool on a rack. Repeat with remaining batter.
- While donuts are cooling, in a small bowl, beat together yogurt, powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Once donuts are completely cool, one by one, dip top of donut into frosting to fully coat top. Dip into remaining carrot/coconut mixture. Store in air tight container in refrigerator for up to 2 days.
