Banoffee pie donuts

Cooking and baking had a special place in my heart from a very young age. I always looked through magazines to find special recipes to experiment with. One of the first ever (successful) desserts that I ever made was banoffee pie. My mind was absolutely blown with the fact that you could boil condensed milk for hours and get caramel! As you know by now I love taking classic desserts and give them a modern twist. Spiced banana cake batter piped into donut moulds, condensed milk caramel and dark chocolate glaze. This is the first time ever trying baked donuts and I fell in love with them immediately as they are not only lighter but also much quicker to put together! Also contains one of your 5 a day. I wish I could have all my fruits in a donut shape!

Ingredients for the banoffee pie donuts

• All purpose flour: All purpose flour is ideal as its medium gluten content allows the batter to rise beautifully while preserving its light texture.
• Baking soda: A bit of a science fact for you! Baking soda when combined with dairy (milk in this case) creates carbon dioxide and therefore you get a fluffier and moister cake.
• Overripe bananas: Overripe bananas are really what give this cake its flavour and sweetness. Overripe bananas are going to be blended till a smooth puree forms and then added to our cake. Heaven! The puree should almost resemble the consistency of tomato passata. If it doesn’t simply add some cold water till you achieve the required consistency.
• Condensed milk caramel: I know what you are thinking. Can I not just buy condensed milk and boil it myself? Yes you can! But do you really have 4 hours to overlook a boiling pot of water? I do not! You can now buy condensed milk caramel in most supermarkets, but you can also use dulce de leche if you prefer!
• Salt: I add salt to most of my bakes if not all to balance off the sweetness of the finished product.
• Dark brown sugar: Dark brown sugar will give a molasses flavour to our cake that really compliments the banana flavour.
• Egg: 1 medium egg is enough to give the batter structure and fluffiness.
• Ground Cinnamon: I love cinnamon in anything really but especially in banana cake!
• Ground nutmeg: Nutmeg is another favourite spice of mine.
• Ground cloves: Cloves is not to everyone’s flavour so feel free to omit if it is too strong for you. I personally love its characteristic aroma!
• Baking powder: Baking powder will be the rising agent in our cake batter. Make sure to always mix the baking powder with the flour to ensure you get even rise.
• Whole milk: I always suggest using full fat milk for a richer and fluffier texture. You can use lower fat or non dairy milk but the donuts will not taste as moist and rich.

Ingredients for the dark chocolate glaze

• Dark chocolate: Anything between 50% to 60% cocoa solids dark chocolate is ideal for the recipe. Make sure to use a good quality dark chocolate as it will make all the difference in flavour.
• Unsalted butter: Unsalted butter will ensure that your glaze is creamy and make the ganache pliable.
• Glucose: Glucose will ensure that you ganache stays shiny and glossy so do make sure to get your hands on some as it is a pantry essential if you want to bake like a pro!

For the banoffee donuts (makes 8 donuts)

• 125g all purpose flour
• 6g baking powder
• 2g baking soda
• 3g salt
• 3g ground cinnamon
• 2g ground nutmeg
• 2g ground cloves
• 1 egg
• 70g dark brown sugar
• 225g banana puree (about 2 small bananas)
• 30g unsalted melted butter
• 5g vanilla essence
• 30ml whole milk
• 150g condensed milk caramel (or dulce de leche)

For the dark chocolate glaze

• 100g dark chocolate
• 30g unsalted butter
• 12g glucose
• Condensed milk caramel (for drizzling)
• Banana chips (for decorating)

How to make the banoffee pie donuts

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Spray 8 donut pans (8 cm each) with non stick spray and set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves in a medium bowl.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and dark brown sugar until combined and smooth.
4. Add in the bowl the melted butter, banana puree, vanilla essence and milk until everything is incorporated.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
6. Place the mix into a piping bag and pipe into the donut moulds until ¾ of the way full. If you want to be precise you can place on the scales and measure around 50g-60g of batter per mould.
7. Place the condensed milk caramel into a piping bag and carefully pipe on top of the cake batter, being careful not to touch the sides of the pan (*see Notes). Swirl it around using a toothpick or a small knife.
8. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack. Transfer the donuts to a tray and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes while you are making the ganache (*see Notes).

How to make the dark chocolate ganache

1. Place the dark chocolate, butter and glucose in a medium heatproof bowl. Melt in the microwave and check every 20 seconds, stirring each time until completely melted and smooth.
2. Take the donuts out of the freezer and dip them into the glaze.
3. Drizzle on some more caramel and decorate with banana chips.
4. Donuts are best served on the same day, but they can be covered tightly and stored at room temperature for up to two days.
5. Enjoy 🙂

Notes

• When you pipe the caramel make sure that it doesn’t touch the sides of the pan as it will stick to the metal mould while baking and misshape the donuts.
• You can of course dip the donuts when they are completely cool and skip the freezing step, but by freezing the donuts you will ensure that when you dip them into the ganache, the glaze sets almost immediately and you get a neat finish.

Meringue kisses,
Athina xx