Banana-Split Donut Bites Are Better Than Ice Cream
Banana splits are the quintessential American treat -- that messy boat of ice cream, bananas, chocolate, sprinkles, and whipped cream with the cherry on top just screams glorious, glorious self-indulgence. But who has the time/stamina/lack of self-respect to tackle one of those cartoonishly large desserts anymore? Enter banana-split donut bites -- they're everything you want without the excess.
Banana-Split Bombs Recipe
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 24
INGREDIENTS:
For the glaze:
For the filling:
For the donuts:
For topping:
Special equipment:
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Rainbow sprinkles
For the filling:
- ¼ cup strawberry jelly
- ¼ cup pineapple jelly
- ¼ cup banana cream pudding
For the donuts:
- 1 quart vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ stick unsalted butter, melted
For topping:
- Whipped cream
- Maraschino cherries
- Chopped nuts
Special equipment:
- Small round pastry-piping tip
DIRECTIONS:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Slowly stir in milk and vanilla until the mixture is smooth. Cover the glaze with plastic wrap; set aside.
- Put strawberry jelly in one Ziploc bag, pineapple jelly in another, and banana cream in another; set aside.
Heat oil to 350ºF in a deep fryer or heavy-bottomed pot attached with an oil thermometer. - In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and the egg. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then stir in the melted butter, mixing until combined.
- Drop 1-tablespoon scoops of dough into the hot oil, without overcrowding. Fry, flipping occasionally, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer dough to a wire rack on a baking sheet to drain and cool. Tip: dunk the tablespoon quickly in the hot oil before scooping the dough and it’ll slide right out.
- Snip a tiny corner off the strawberry jelly bag and fit it with a small round pastry tip. Pipe jelly into 8 dough balls. Remove tip, rinse it off, and do the same with the pineapple jelly. Repeat with the banana cream.
- Dip the dough balls, one at a time, into the chocolate glaze and put back on the wire rack. Top with rainbow sprinkles.
Serve immediately, topped with whipped cream, nuts, and cherries.
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Perry Santanachote is Thrillist's former Recipes editor. Follow her @perrysant.