Banana Bread Doughnuts — a plant-based American recipe by BOSH!
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Banana Bread Doughnuts

We absolutely love these Banana Bread Doughnuts. They're basically everything you love about a proper banana bread; the soft, moist crumb, the warmth of cinnamon, those little bursts of sultana. But in doughnut form, which honestly just makes them more fun. We keep coming back to this one whenever we've got bananas going a bit too ripe on the counter, and it never fails to impress. The coconut sugar gives this lovely caramel depth that pairs so well with the banana, and the whole thing comes together in about 35 minutes. Trust us, once you've made these you'll be deliberately leaving bananas to go brown.

Cook: 35 min
Serves 6

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Doughnut tray
  • Food processor
  • Cooling rack
  • Mixing bowl
  • Microplane or fine grater

Ingredients

  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 small ripe bananas
  • 125g plain flour
  • 55g coconut oil
  • 40g coconut sugar
  • 30g caster sugar
  • 75ml unsweetened plant-based milk
  • 30g sultanas
  • 1 ½ tbsp warm water
  • ¼ tsp vanilla extract
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 30g pecans
  • 15g dark chocolate

Method

1

Peel the bananas and put them in the food processor

  • Add the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, ground cinnamon, coconut oil, coconut sugar, caster sugar, milk, apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract and blitz to a smooth cream
  • Take off the lid and remove the blade
  • Pour in the sultanas and mix them into the batter with a spoon
2

Bake the doughnuts

  • Carefully spoon the mixture into the doughnut tray, making sure the holes are filled to the top
  • Put the tray in the hot oven and bake for 25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean
  • Remove and transfer the doughnuts to a cooling rack
  • Leave to cool to room temperature
3

While the doughnuts are baking, make the toppings

  • Sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl
  • Add the warm water, ground cinnamon and vanilla extract and stir everything together to make a thick, smooth icing
4

Decorate the doughnuts

  • Finely chop the pecans
  • Grate the dark chocolate
  • Artfully drizzle the icing all over the doughnuts and quickly sprinkle over the pecans and chocolate
  • Serve immediately

Tips & Variations

  • Ripen your bananas faster: If your bananas aren't quite ripe enough, pop them unpeeled in the oven at 150°C for about 15 minutes until the skins go black. Works a treat and the flesh gets beautifully sweet and soft.
  • Swap the sultanas: Not a sultana fan? We totally get it. Chocolate chips work brilliantly in here instead, and honestly might be even better. Ian says dark chocolate chips are the move.
  • Don't overfill the tray: Spoon the batter in carefully and leave a little space; these puff up nicely in the oven and you want a clean hole in the middle. Overfilling is the most common mistake, and we've both done it more than once.

Why This Works

The trick here is using properly ripe bananas. The riper they are, the sweeter and more intensely flavoured the batter gets, so don't be tempted to use fresh ones. The apple cider vinegar reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to give the doughnuts a brilliant rise and a light, airy texture without any eggs involved. That's the bit that always gets people.