BAKED BANANA BREAD DONUTS
Donut shapes rule, but also great as a muffin or cake! It’s my signature bake that is a super-easy, plant-based banana bread recipe which after 2 years of religiously repeating, I have finally decided to revisit and offer you an improved recipe. It contains less sugar, more spices such as ginger and nutmeg, plus they are now successfully gluten-free made from oats and walnut flour (I’m a bit obsessed).
Prep time 45-60 min
Makes 12 donuts
ALL YOU NEED
Wet ingredients (bowl #1):
3 big or 4 small bananas, overripe are best
50ml coconut oil, melted
100g coconut sugar
Dry ingredients (bowl #2):
180g spelt flour
60g oat flakes, fine
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp sea salt
150g Dark chocolate, for melting
HOW TO MAKE
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Larger Bowl #1: First, mash the bananas. Add the melted coconut oil, and coconut sugar and stir quickly using a spatula.
Bowl #2: Combine all dry ingredients until well mixed.
Combine bowl#2 (dry) into bowl #1 (liquid) and stir gently using a spatula or a wooden spoon. It’s extremely important to mix by hand and not with a mixer or food processor, as hand-mixing will create a truly fluffy bake.
Grease the donut or muffin-shaped tray with coconut oil. No need to grease if you use paper cups onto a cupcake tray.
Bake for 35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Set aside to cool completely. Leave the donuts in the tray for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling wire rack.
Melt the chocolate on a double boiler. Start preparing the decoration.
Once they are completely cooled, you can proceed further and dip the top half of each donut into the melted chocolate. Imediatelly decorate with nuts, fruits, or flowers by your choice…
SPRINKLE SOME MAGIC
nuts, whole or chopped
a pinch of flaky salt
fresh berries and edible flowers
Toppings are fun! Feel free to play around with or skip that part!
I couldn’t resist making these beauties:
– melted dark chocolate, blueberries, pecan, jasmine blossoms
– melted dark chocolate, raspberries, pistachio and rose petals
– melted dark choc chip, hazelnuts, and sea salt flakes
DELICIOUS NOTES
For a gluten-free version you can use 130g oat flour (look for the gluten-free label if it’s of any importance for you) and 50g walnut flour or any ground nuts (naturally gluten-free) and increase the baking powder to 1 tbsp, instead of 1 tsp. Everything else remains the same.
Remember that the best time to bake banana bread donuts is midnight. They taste great when they come out of the oven, but taste even better in the morning. Bonus: aromatherapy and sweet dreams!