Gluten Free Baked Banana Donuts
Soft, high protein Baked Banana Donuts made with almond flour, coconut sugar, and TruMoo Banana Low Fat Milk, then topped with a silky cooked banana frosting. No deep fryer, no sugar crash, and they're done in an hour from start to finish! Makes 4 large donuts or 8 small donuts.
Equipment
- 1 donut pan silicone (preferred) or metal
- 1 sheet pan
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- 1 saucepan
- 1 hand mixer or whisk
- 1 Silicone Spatula
Ingredients
Banana Donuts
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup avocado oil or other neutral oil
- ¼ cup TruMoo Banana Low Fat Milk , or other milk + ¼ tsp. banana extract (see note)
- 2 ½ cups almond flour
- 1 scoop banana protein powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Banana Frosting
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 20 grams (about 2.5 tbsp) gluten free all purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup TruMoo Banana Low Fat Milk , or other milk + ¼ tsp. banana extract (see note)
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
Instructions
- Preheat and prep the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit and grease a silicone donut pan with pan spray. Place the prepared donut pan on a baking sheet so it’s easier to move in and out of the oven.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, oil, and milk. Beat until smooth and fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the almond flour, baking powder, protein powder and salt to the wet ingredients. Using a silicone spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully incorporated.
- Remove clumps without overmixing. If you have a few clumps, gently whisk just until the batter is smooth, being careful not to overmix the donut batter.
- Fill the donut molds. Pour or pipe the batter into the donut cavities. A piping bag is the easiest way, but a ziplock bag works great too. Note: if you use a metal mold pan, make sure to grease before filling with batter.
- Bake. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Prep the frosting. While the donuts bake, combine sugar, flour, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan and whisk well to combine and remove any lumps from the flour.
- Turn on the heat. Turn stovetop heat to medium and whisk in milk until mixture is smooth.
- Whisk until thickened. Continue whisking constantly until mixture is thickened to a pudding-like consistency. Be patient and do not turn up the heat to avoid burning the sugar. This will take about 3 minutes.
- Cool. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heat proof container. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to avoid a skin forming. Allow to cool to room temp.
- Make frosting. Once the mixture is cooled, use an electric mixer to beat the softened butter on high until fluffy. Lower the speed to medium and gradually spoon in the flour mixture beating until well combined, scraping down the bowl with a spatula if needed. Continue whipping until light and airy.
- Frost the donuts. Frost each donut with the banana frosting and top with fresh banana slices.
Notes
- Make your own banana milk. If you can’t find TruMoo banana milk, you can use your favorite milk of choice + banana extract. You start with ¼ tsp. of banana extract and then add a little more if it is not banana-y enough for you!
- Measure your almond flour the right way. This is the number one reason almond flour bakes (or any kind of bake really) turn out dry is when flour is not measured correctly. Scooping the cup straight into the bag packs it down and you can end up with a lot more flour than the recipe wants. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off, or weigh it if you have a scale.
- Fill in the donut molds completely full. With almond flour, it won’t expand as much as normal baking flour so you can completely fill each donut mold. I use a measuring cup but you can also use a ziplock bag with the corner snipped at the corner for an easy piping and less messy clean up. I am all about easy in the moment so the measuring up was perfect for me.
- Be patient with the frosting on the stove. That cooked flour and milk base needs steady medium heat and constant whisking for about 3 minutes until it is pudding-like thick consistency. Turning the heat up to speed it along is how you scorch the sugar and end up with a frosting that tastes faintly burnt. Low and slow, and keep whisking the whole time. Patience is key here.
- Everything for the frosting should be the same temperature. The cooked base needs to be fully cooled to room temperature and the butter needs to be properly softened, not cold and not melty. If either one is off, the frosting splits (and there is really no way of it coming back together). Press plastic wrap right against the surface of the base while it cools so it doesn't form a skin, and if it does split on you, just keep whipping.
- Cool completely before frosting, and slice the bananas last. Warm donuts will melt buttercream right off the top, so give them the full cool down before you frost. Save the banana slices for right before you serve, since they start browning within the hour.
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