This past weekend we spent Friday night out at the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island- a “staycation” if you will. It was absolutely wonderful. I felt like I had been on vacation for a week and we weren’t even there 24 hours. We arrived on Friday afternoon. It had been raining the whole day in Charleston, but just 45 minutes away, it had not rained at all. We sat by the pool for a cocktail and then met some friends on the beach. After that, we had drinks in the lobby bar with some other friends we ran into who were doing the same thing. We then walked up to The Ocean Room, sat at the bar and had a fabulous dinner. Corby got the steak and I had the pesto gnocchi- delicious! We were then “talked” into getting dessert. It was going to be a very tough decision but fortunately they had a dessert trio which included the two things I wanted to try- the carrot cake doughnuts and the chocolate and malt. I can’t remember what the third was but I am sure I enjoyed it. However, I do remember the carrot cake doughnuts very well. Amazing. They were served with cream cheese ice cream and a caramel sauce. And of course since it was a carrot cake doughnut, that means it was healthy because of the carrot- right? Either way, they were really special. The next morning we went for a long walk on the beach and then sat at the pool for many hours until it was time to go home and pick up the dog. It really was a phenomenal night/day/vacation. Now, Walker is finally home after two and a half months of being away and school starts tomorrow- how has the summer gone by so quickly? I dug around this morning to find a recipe for the carrot cake doughnuts that might make the first morning of school a little more bearable.
Carrot Cake Doughnuts
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 stick butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 whole egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup plain yogurt
2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained, reserve 4 tablespoons juice for the frosting
2/3 cup finely shredded carrots
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease the doughnut pan; set aside.
In a medium sized mixing bowl sift together the flour, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter, light brown sugar, and salt. Add egg, vanilla, and yogurt; beat until smooth. Add flour mixutre. Stir in pineapple and carrots.
Spoon the mixture into a ziploc bag and pipe batter into prepared pan, filling only 1/2 way up the doughnut cavities.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Cool doughnuts in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack.
