This Carrot Cake Doughnut muffin is a gourmet glazed doughnut muffin with jam Mascarpone filling, orange mocha glaze and candied carrots. Fancier than your typical muffin or doughnut, but easy to make and tastes like carrot cake. This donut muffin recipe is perfect for Easter, Mother's day or your next brunch or breakfast potluck!
Preheat the oven to 350F (175C) and prepare an 18 greased muffin pan (or line 18 of the cups with paper liners) * I used the black & white damask cupcake liners as shown in post - I bought them at the grocery store.
In a large bowl, whisk the milk, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until blended.
1 ½ cups 1% milk, 1 ½ cups sugar, ⅔ cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla
Add in shredded carrots.
1 ½  cups shredded carrots
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon.
Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients mixture, stirring just until blended (a few lumps are okay).
Filling:
Spoon batter into 18 muffin cups - fill only â…” full.
Stir the jam, mascarpone and cinnamon together in a small bowl and drop a teaspoonful into each of the muffins.
½ cup marmalade or apricot or peach jam, 1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese, ½  teaspoon cinnamon
Scoop the remaining muffin batter over top so that there is enough batter to cover the filling completely.
Bake the muffins for about 30 minutes, until a tester inserted in the side of the muffin comes out clean.
Cool muffins for 20 minutes in tins.
Move to a wire rack.
Orange Mocha Glaze:
For the topping, whisk the ingredients together and spoon onto muffins, adding to the tops of the muffins, dividing evenly between all the muffin doughnuts.
1 ¼  cup confectioners’ sugar, ⅓ cup walnuts, 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice, 1 tablespoon brewed vanilla coffee
Add candied carrots to top of the muffins, dividing evenly between all of them. Serve.Â
Notes
Expert Tips:
Don't Overmix the Batter – When combining the wet and dry ingredients, mix just until combined. Overmixing can make the muffins dense instead of light and fluffy. A few lumps in the batter are okay!
Use Freshly GratedCarrots – Pre-shredded store-bought carrots can be too dry and tough. Grating fresh carrots ensures the muffins stay moist and flavorful.
Room Temperature Ingredients – Let your eggs and milk come to room temperature before mixing. This helps the ingredients blend more smoothly and creates a better texture.
Fill Muffin Cups Correctly – Fill each cup only ⅔ full with batter before adding the filling. This prevents overflow while allowing room for the muffins to rise properly.
Check for Doneness Properly – Because of the filling, inserting a toothpick into the side of the muffin (not the center) is a better way to check doneness. The tops should be golden brown, and the muffins should feel firm when lightly pressed.
Cool Before Glazing – Let the muffins cool for at least 20 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack. If they’re too warm, the glaze will slide off instead of setting nicely.
Glaze After Freezing – If making ahead and freezing, wait to glaze the muffins until after they are thawed. This keeps the glaze from becoming sticky or dull in appearance.
For an Extra Flavor Boost – Toast the chopped walnuts before adding them to the glaze. This enhances their nutty flavor and adds a slight crunch.
Candied Carrot Tip – If making candied carrots, make sure they are completely dry before placing them on the muffins. This helps them stay crisp instead of becoming soggy.