Banana Donuts

Moist and delicious, my banana donuts are a fantastic “lightened up” sweet treat that tastes just like bananas Foster. Baked rather than fried, these delectable donuts are dipped in a rich buttered rum glaze, and are loaded with lots of sweet bananas, a touch of buttermilk, brown sugar and vanilla!

A Baked Donut To Go Bananas Over

Friends, part of the appeal of donuts are how decadent they are...

I mean, a sweet, fried batter either dipped in sugar or a rich, creamy glaze? Yes, please!

And while I'll opt for classic fried donuts most of time, every now and then I appreciate lightening things up a bit, and enjoying a baked donut (or two!) with my cup of joe.

I also love the convenience of baked donuts, and not having to heat up oil to fry up multiple batches!

Because I'm such a stickler for texture and flavor when it comes to donuts, I wanted to make sure my baked donuts were extra moist and dense, and that my hubs and I would enjoy 'em just as much as traditional donuts.

Enter my banana donuts, filled with sweet, ripe, moist bananas, a touch of brown sugar and vanilla, plus creamy buttermilk.

And if those ingredients aren't tasty enough, I've gone ahead and added a rich, creamy buttered rum glaze as a finishing touch to make these taste like bananas Foster in donut form.

It's the perfect little dessert for banana lovers to go bananas over!

My Recipe For Banana Donuts with Buttered Rum Glaze

Preparing baked donuts is as simple as preparing a simple cake batter or even a banana bread loaf.

There's no need to coddle the batter and allow it to chill and rest, as is typically the case when making cake donuts bound for frying.

I like to use two overly ripe bananas in my batter, along with some tenderizing buttermilk, brown sugar, a splash of vanilla, plus a touch of oil for moisture and fat.

And because these banana donuts are baked, I just add my batter to a large ziplock bag with a corner cut off, pipe it into a donut baking pan, and stick it in the oven.

Donut icing is such a great opportunity to add even more flavor to donuts...

So for these cuties, I like to prepare a buttered rum glaze that has a warm, sweet, mildly rum-flavored aroma to dip the baked banana donuts into as an irresistible finishing touch.

These delectable baked donuts taste just like bananas Foster!

Here's a sneak peek at my banana donuts recipe: (or just jump to the full recipe...)

1. To get started, I whisk together my dry ingredients, and mix together my wet ingredients. I add the wet into the dry, and fold together just until combined.
2. I spoon my batter into a large ziplock bag, cut the corner off from the bottom of the bag, and carefully pipe the donut batter into two donut baking pans (6 wells each).
3. Next, I bake the donuts for roughly 16 minutes, then bake off any remaining donut batter I have left over (usually enough for two more donuts).
4. While the donuts cool completely, I prepare my buttered rum glaze, and set that aside.
5. To finish my banana donuts, I dip each into the glaze, then lift.
6. And, if I want things a little fancier, I drizzle a touch of salted caramel sauce over each donut, to form a stripe design.

Recipe

Banana Donuts

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

These banana donuts taste just like bananas foster, filled with ripe bananas and brown sugar, then dipped in a creamy buttered rum glaze!

Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Yield: 14 donuts

Nutrition Info: 296 calories per donut

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes (includes making the glaze)
Total time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Banana Donuts Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon (heaping) nutmeg
• 2 medium size overly ripe bananas, mashed until smooth
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• Store-bought caramel sauce, to drizzle as decoration (this is optional)

Buttered Rum Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon dark rum
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Begin by gathering and prepping all of your banana donut ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
2. Preheat oven to 350°, and gently mist two donut baking pans with cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg to combine well, and set these dry ingredients aside for a moment.
4. In a medium-size bowl, add the mashed bananas, the brown and granulated sugars, vanilla extract, eggs, buttermilk, and vegetable oil, and using a whisk, whisk these wet ingredients together until smooth and well-blended.
5. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and using a spoon or spatula, gently mix/fold the ingredients together just until everything is combined, taking care to not over-mix (over-mixing may create rubbery donuts).
6. Pour the batter into a piping bag or a large ziplock bag that you can cut the bottom corner off of, and carefully pipe the batter into the donut molds filling them almost to the top, but just a little shy. (You can also just carefully spoon the batter into the molds, as well.)
7. Bake for about 16 minutes, or until the donuts spring back when gently pressed. Then, cool for about 5 minutes in the pans, and then carefully turn the donuts out of the pans.
8. Repeat with any remaining batter (you will have enough for about 2 more donuts worth, making about 14 donuts, total).
9. While the donuts cool, gather and prep all of your buttered rum glaze ingredient according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
10. To prepare, add the rum and the water to a small saucepan, and set over medium heat. Once the liquid just barely begins to simmer, remove from heat.
11. Add in the butter, and whisk it in until dissolved and blended in.
12. Next, add in the powdered sugar, and whisk it in until well blended and smooth. Pour in the vanilla, and blend in.
13. To glaze the cooled donuts, dip each donut (it's paler side) into the glaze and set onto a wire rack to set. If adding the decorative caramel, drizzle that over each banana donut once the glaze is set, and enjoy.

Tips & Tidbits for my Banana Donuts recipe:

• Opt for overly ripe bananas: To create the most amount of sweet banana flavor in these banana donuts (or any banana baked good, for that matter), choose super ripe, brown and spotty bananas. The uglier the better! These will mash up really easily, and contain a good amount of natural sugar and added moisture.
• Buttermilk for tenderizing richness: A touch of buttermilk here creates a tenderizing effect on the batter, and also adds a hint of tang. It's a terrific rich and creamy (yet light) addition.
• Use a donut baking pan: If you don't own a donut baking pan, you can find them in most home goods markets these days, or online. They're a great little investment (though not an expensive one) if you enjoy making baked donuts over fried.
• Drizzle over a touch of caramel for pizzaz: While these banana donuts are terrific simply dipped into the sweet buttered rum glaze as a finishing touch, I like to make them look a little extra cute and fancy by drizzling over a touch of prepared caramel sauce (I love salted caramel sauce)—not totally necessary, just yummy and fun!

Craving more delectable sweet treats? Check out these Maple Donuts, these Banana Nut Muffins, these Vanilla Chai Tea Latter Doughnuts, or this Chocolate Banana Bread, or these “Velvet Elvis” Banana Cupcakes!

Cook's Note: This recipe was originally published in 2015, and has been updated with even more love!