Treat yourself with these delicious banana donuts that are brimming with cozy fall flavors. They have a cake-like, fluffy inside that’s flavored with pecans, nutmeg, ginger and clove. A brown sugar pecan praline icing takes them over the top.
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Why make banana donuts instead of banana cake?
I have two good reasons:
- Because of their shape, donuts allow for a high icing to cake ratio, much higher than what you would get in a slice of cake. So if you like a good amount of icing then that’s a good reason to make donuts! (For more delicious donut recipes, check out these chocolate Bourbon donuts and these cardamom cinnamon donuts.)
- Donuts look pretty and are easy to bring to and eat at a picnic or get together because no utensils and slicing, etc. is required. That makes them perfect for a fall picnic outdoors.
Ingredients needed:
For the donuts:
Ingredient notes:
- If you only have ripe but not overripe bananas when you want to make the donuts, you can quickly ripen a banana in the oven. See the frequently asked questions section below for instructions.
- You can use light or dark brown sugar for this recipe.
For the icing:
How to make the donuts:
See full ingredients & instructions in the recipe card below!
Step 1. Heat the oven, prepare the donut pan, then whisk the dry ingredients together.
Step 2. Mash up the banana with a fork.
Step 3. Add brown sugar and egg to a bowl.
Step 4. Whisk together until well combined.
Step 5. Whisk in melted butter.
Step 6. Stir in the dry ingredients, the mashed banana and nuts.
Step 7. Fill the batter into a piping bag, pipe into the donut pan wells and bake.
How to make the icing:
See full ingredients & instructions in the recipe card below!
Step 1. Boil brown sugar, butter and cream, then let cool.
Step 2. Whisk in powdered sugar, then pour over the donuts and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Recipe notes & tips:
- If you don’t have a piping bag you can use two spoons to fill the batter into the donut pan. (But it’s easier to use a piping bag, so if you have one, I recommend to use that.)
Frequently asked questions:
The donuts are best fresh but you can keep them in an airtight container for up to one day.
They will not be as good as fresh but yes, you can transfer the glazed donuts into a freezer bag and freeze. (You can stack them, separating the layers with aluminum foil.) To thaw, let the donuts sit on the kitchen counter for about ½ hour.
In that case, you can ripen a banana in the oven. Set it on a baking sheet and bake it at 350 degrees F. until its skin turns dark brown (about 15 minutes).
More delicious fall baking recipes:
See more delicious baking ideas →
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Full Printable Recipe
Baked Spiced Banana Donuts with Pecan Praline Icing
Equipment
- donut pan
- measuring cups and spoons
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- fork
- knife and cutting board
- wooden spoon
- piping bag (optional)
- toothpick
- small saucepan
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- ¾ cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground clove
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 very ripe banana*
- 3 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped pecans
For the icing:
- 3 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 5-6 tablespoons powdered sugar (start with 5 and add more as needed)
- 2 tablespoons pecans, finely chopped
Instructions
For the donuts:
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease all six wells of a donut pan (this recipe will make 5 to 6 donuts). Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, clove, ginger and salt together. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mash up the banana with a fork. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar and the egg together until well combined.
- Whisk the melted butter into the sugar/egg mix.
- Stir in the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until just combined.
- Stir in the mashed banana.
- Stir in the pecans.
- Fill the batter into a large piping bag and pipe into the donut wells.** (You will be able to fill 5 to 6 wells, depending on your piping technique).
- Bake the donuts until they start to brown on the surface and an inserted toothpick comes out clean (about 12 minutes).
- Let the donuts cool completely, then unmold.
For the icing:
- Add brown sugar, butter and cream to a small saucepan pan.
- Turn on the heat and bring the mix to a full boil, whisking continuously.
- Boil for 1 minute, then turn the heat off and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Whisk in the powdered sugar until no clumps remain. If the icing is too think, whisk in more cream, if it's too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar.
- Pour the icing on the donuts, then sprinkle the pecans over it and let the icing dry.
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