My old-fashioned banana bread donuts are the perfect fall baking project! As a cake donut, they're easier to make from scratch than brioche donuts. The dough comes together with just a bowl and whisk, so no electric mixer required! They’re incredibly soft and fluffy on the inside with a deep banana flavor and a crisp exterior from being fried to golden perfection. Dip each warm donut in the sweet cinnamon glaze and enjoy immediately!
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Why you'll love these old-fashioned banana bread donuts
- Banana Bread in Donut Form: This recipe basically is banana bread in donut form but honestly so much better. The moist, tender crumb paired with the fried, crunchy exterior and sweet spiced glaze is everything you want in a fall donut.
- Make-Ahead Dough: This dough is very soft so it must chill in the fridge for at least an hour, but I prefer chilling it overnight so you can have fresh donuts first thing in the morning!
- Great Beginner-Friendly Fried Donut: Unlike brioche donuts, old-fashioned donuts don't require a precise proofing time. So if you're confident with making cake batter, you can absolutely accomplish old-fashioned donuts from scratch!
For more banana recipes, try my Bourbon Banana Bread, Banana Nutella Cake, Nutella Swirled Banana Blondies, and Brown Butter Banana Bread.
Ingredient Notes
- Cake Flour: These old-fashioned donuts are made with cake flour to achieve the softest crumb possible, despite being worked a moderate amount from rolling out, cutting, and rolling out again. Alternatively, you can make a DIY version by using all-purpose flour, taking out 2 tablespoons and adding in 2 tablespoons cornstarch for each cup of flour.
- Banana: The star of the show! Make sure your bananas are very overripe for the best flavor.
- Sour Cream: Full-fat sour cream adds moisture and a lovely dense texture to these donuts. If you do not have sour cream on hand, you can use whole milk Greek yogurt.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this banana bread donut recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
Make the donut batter & chill
In a large bowl, combine the softened butter and sugars. Whisk in the egg and vanilla, then the mashed banana and sour cream. Lastly, add the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to mix until fully combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least one hour or overnight.
Roll out the dough
Roll the dough out between two pieces of well-floured parchment paper to ½” (1.25 cm) in thickness. Brush away any excess flour. Use well-floured 3” (7.5 cm) and 1” (2.5 cm) round cutters to cut out as many donuts as possible and place each on a parchment square. Re-roll the excess dough and cut out more donuts as needed.
Prep the donuts & heat the oil
Place the cutout donuts on an individual parchment square for easy transfer to the hot oil. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot and bring it to 350 degrees F.
Fry the donuts
Use the parchment squares to gently lower 2-3 donuts into the hot oil. Fry the donuts for 3 minutes, then flip and fry for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until deeply golden. Transfer the donuts to the wire rack. Wait a couple of minutes for the oil to come back up to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C), then continue frying the donuts. Do not fry donuts at a temperature less than 340 degrees F or the donuts will absorb the oil.
Make the glaze & dip the donuts
In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and cinnamon. Once the donuts have cooled just enough to handle, dip them in the cinnamon glaze. For a thicker glaze coating, wait until the donuts have completely cooled, then dip in the glaze.
Expert Baking Tips
- Chill the dough for at least one hour. This is a very soft dough, so be sure to chill it long enough to firm up to the right consistency.
- Wait for the oil to temp to rise again before frying more donuts. When frying, be sure to wait a couple minutes in between each set of donuts for the oil temperature to come back up to 350 degrees F.
Recipe FAQs
This dough is meant to be very soft! Do not be afraid to add a lot flour to your work surface and the top of the dough - the flour can always be brushed away before frying. I also recommend rolling the dough out between two very well-floured pieces of parchment paper.
To ensure that your donuts do not turn out too oily, aim to start each batch at 350°F; let the oil return to temperature between batches, and avoid letting it drop below 340°F. If the oil is not hot enough, the dough will absorb the oil and make your donuts too oily. Keep an eye on the temperature of your oil before and after you fry the donuts!
Frying oil cannot be poured down the sink drain. The best way to dispose of oil is to let it cool completely in the pot, then pour back into its container and throw it away in the trash.
Homemade fried donuts are best enjoyed the first day, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other donut recipes to try
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📖 Recipe
Old-Fashioned Banana Bread Donuts
Ingredients
For the banana bread donuts:
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) cake flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 56 g (4 tablespoon) unsalted butter, softened
- 106 g (½ cup) dark brown sugar
- 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 170 g (¾ cup) mashed overripe banana, about 1 ½ medium bananas
- 28 g (2 tablespoon) sour cream, room temp
For frying:
- 1 ½ - 2 quarts (48-64 oz) vegetable oil
For the cinnamon glaze:
- 170 g (1 ½ cups) powdered sugar
- 113 g (½ cup) heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
For the banana bread donuts:
- In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Use a rubber spatula to mix until fully combined.
- Add the egg and vanilla, and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Whisk in the mashed banana and sour cream.
- Lastly, add the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to mix until fully combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least one hour or overnight.
To fry the donuts:
- Just before rolling out the dough, fill a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot with enough vegetable oil to cover 2” (5 cm). Heat the oil over low-medium heat and bring to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Place a wire rack over a paper towel lined baking sheet. On a separate baking sheet, cut out 10 4” (10 cm) parchment squares for the donuts.
- Meanwhile, make the cinnamon glaze. In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and cinnamon. Gently whisk until fully combined. Over-whisking may lead to a thicker glaze as the heavy cream would turn into whipped cream.
- Roll the dough out between two pieces of well-floured parchment paper to ½” (1.25 cm) in thickness. Brush away any excess flour.
- Use well-floured 3” (7.5 cm) and 1” (2.5 cm) round cutters to cut out as many donuts as possible and place each on a parchment square. Re-roll the excess dough and cut out more donuts as needed.
- Use the parchment squares to gently lower 2-3 donuts into the hot oil. Fry the donuts for 3 minutes on the first side, then flip over and fry for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until deeply golden.
- Transfer the donuts to the wire rack. Wait a couple of minutes for the oil to come back up to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C), then continue frying the donuts. Do not fry donuts at a temperature less than 340 degrees F or the donuts will absorb the oil.
- Once the donuts have cooled just enough to handle, dip them in the cinnamon glaze. For a thicker glaze coating, wait until the donuts have completely cooled, then dip in the glaze.
Notes
- Chill the dough for at least one hour. This is a very soft dough, so be sure to chill it long enough to firm up to the right consistency.
- Wait for the oil to temp to rise again before frying more donuts. When frying, be sure to wait a couple minutes in between each set of donuts for the oil temperature to come back up to 350 degrees F.
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