Fall flavors are on display in this easy baked breakfast treat. Pumpkin Cake Donuts laced with shredded carrot and apple along with dried cranberries, coconut, and pecans before being smothered in a scrumptious cream cheese glaze. Sort of like a Morning Glory Muffin but better!
Course Breakfast, brunch, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Servings 24Muffins
Ingredients
Donuts
2 ¼Call purpose flour
1 ½tspbaking powder
1tspbaking soda
1tspkosher salt
2tsppumpkin pie spice
1 ½Cwhite sugar
1 15ozcan pumpkin puree
2eggs
1 ½Cvegetable oil
2tspvanilla extract
1Cgrated carrot
2honeycrisp applesgrated or about 1 ½ C
1Cchopped pecans
1Csweetened coconut
1 ½Cdried cranberries
Glaze
8ozcream cheeseroom temperature
½Cpowdered sugar
¼tsppumpkin pie spice
¼tspkosher salt
1tspvanilla extract
¼Cmilkplus more if needed
Instructions
To make the donuts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a donut pan with baking spray. If you don't have a donut pan, I've included a link to purchase one above.
Combine the dry ingredients through the sugar in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl. Mix the ingredients with a paddle attachment on medium-low until well combined.
Turn off the mixture and add the pumpkin, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Turn the mixer back onto medium speed for about one minute or until all of the wet ingredients are mixed into the dry. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
Peel the apple and carrots. Using a box grater, grate the apple and carrots. Add grated carrot, grated apple, pecans, coconut, and cranberries to the batter. Mix on low until just combined. Scrape down the bowl one last time and give the batter one final mix by hand to make sure the add-ins are evenly dispersed.
Put the donut batter into a piping back fitted with a one-inch tip or into a gallon-size plastic store bag. Cut the corner off the plastic bag for a 1-inch opening.
Pipe enough batter into each donut place to reach the top. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until firm to the touch and just starting to brown around the edges.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove carefully from the donut pan and place on a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing.
To make the glaze
Using a hand mixer, whip the cream cheese on high speed for 30 seconds. Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and vanilla. Turn the mixer back on and whip on high speed for one minute. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add milk, 1 Tb at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowel. Mix on high speed for another 30 seconds or until no lumps remain.
The glaze can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for up to a week before using it. Just set out at room temperature for about an hour before glazing your donuts.
To glaze the donuts
Pick up each donut with one finger in the middle hole and one on the edge. Dip the top of the donut in the cream cheese glaze until about half of the donut is submerged. Give the donuts a couple of small turns back and forth to make sure the glaze gets in all crevices and then lift the donut from the glaze. Allow the excess to fall off naturally before turning over and placing the donut back on the cooling rack.
Eat immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.