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Hello friends! I hope you’re enjoying this beautiful day (or night) wherever you are in the world. I’m currently having a quick cup of joe before a little birthday yoga, and then – a day at the beach! The beach has always been my happy place, so I’m pretty excited to spend the whole day there celebrating in the sun, eating lots of good pizza, and just maybe slurping down a few margaritas. My perfect day 🙂
Of course, I couldn’t head off to sea without sharing these epic donut sundaes with you! They’re so-so-SO easy to make, but totally look (and taste) like they’ve been assembled by a team of professionals. Total dessert trickery!
The base of this dessert is a sweet and sugary snickerdoodle donut. It’s made with brown butter (always and forever) and baked up right in your oven! No frying here!!! That means less mess and less calories. Amen!
While the donuts bake away (they will make your house smell like heaven), you can make your 10 minute – no candy thermometer needed – salted caramel sauce. I opted to add a shot of bourbon in this because, well, it’s my birthday, but also because, why not?! Bourbon in caramel is dreamy, and if you keep a bottle around the house, toss a little in and see what I mean. If you don’t have bourbon, you can still make this caramel! Just add an extra teaspoon of vanilla 😉
Once both donuts and caramel are good to go, all you need is a few scoops of vanilla (I totally used store-bought), some sweet banana slices, and a handful of walnuts. Layer the ice cream on top of the donut, the caramel on top of the ice cream, and the bananas and walnuts EVERYWHERE. Now it’s time to dig in!!! Enjoy xoxo
Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Donuts à la mode with Bourbon Salted Caramel, Walnuts, and Bananas
Ingredients
For the donuts:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose baking flour
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted until browned
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
For rolling donuts:
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For Caramel:
- 1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
For Assembly:
- 1 pint vanilla bean ice cream
- 3 large bananas, sliced
- 1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
- Lightly grease a doughnut pan; set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk together the sour cream and egg, gently fold them into the dry mixture. Pour brown butter into the mixture and fold together until just combined.
- Spoon mixture into prepared doughnut pan, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the doughnuts spring back when lightly pressed. Allow doughnuts to cool a few minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire wrack to cool for a few more minutes. Once cool to the touch, dip each donut in the melted butter, then roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Return them to the wire until needed.
For the caramel:
- Combine the butter, heavy cream, sugar, and salt in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Place pan over medium-high high, and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Be sure to break up any chunks of sugar with the whisk! Once the mixture has reached a boil, stir well once more, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add bourbon, if using, and vanilla - carefully, as the mixture will bubble up as you do this - whisk together, and boil for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour mixture into a heatproof glass container.
For Assembly:
- Place a donut on a small serving plate or bowl. Top with a few scoops of ice cream, some banana slices, walnuts, and caramel. Serve at once!
I am dying to try this recipe, but I first need to purchase a doughnut pan. I headed over to Amazon and looked at pans by Wilton and Norpro. Both received mixed reviews, so I am unsure which to purchase. Can anyone recommend a good doughnut pan? Thanks!
Hey Kimberley! I love my wilton donut pan 🙂
Okay, then, since I’ve got a professional recommendation, I am going for it! Thanks so much, and thanks for this delicous-looking recipe! 🙂
You’re SO welcome 🙂 Just a little tip for baked donuts – be sure to REALLY grease the pan before adding the batter. I use the PAM for baking with flour and it works great. xoxo
OHMYGAWD. These are over the top amazing! Like….there’s nothing that’s not perfection here. Brown butter? cinn/sugar? donuts? ice cream? bananas? nuts? BOURBON SALTED CARAMEL??!
shut up
I don’t know if I’m more jealous about your trip to the sea or that you had these beautiful donuts in front of you. Gorgeous!
Good lord, when I saw these on Instagram, I almost died! I just can’t even imagine how delicious these must taste! Happy birthday my love! Hope it was a lovely day!!
Happy Birthday! I’m pretty sure than anywhere with this dessert would be my happy place! This is an epic combination!
Happy happy birthday!! I hope you have an awesome day at the beach 🙂
And oh goodness gracious do these sound amazing – and I agree – bourbon in caramel is sooooo good!
My my!! This is too good to be true. Happy birthday!!! Have a great day at the beach 🙂
This looks like pure evil….in a good way. I’m drooling. At work. On my computer. It’s embarrassing.
Those look AWESOME. Can’t go wrong with brown butter and doughnuts. 🙂