Recipe: Espresso Tahini Banana Bread Doughnuts with Whipped Coffee “Frosting”

Yield: 6 servings

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

Coffee and doughnuts are a time-honoured combination that is hard to beat. These baked doughnuts come together easily so you can enjoy fresh them in about an hour—perfect for a lazy weekend morning. The whipped coffee “frosting” has a hint of caramel and is incredibly fluffy. You may recognize it as the whipped coffee froth in dalgona coffee, the addictive iced coffee beverage that originated in South Korea and that gained worldwide recognition in 2020. Any leftover “frosting” is delicious stirred into a mug of warm or cold milk of choice.

Ingredients

• 1 shot espresso (about 2 tbsp)
• 3 tbsp milk of choice
• ⅔ cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 small bananas)
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1½ tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup oat flour
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
• 3 tbsp instant espresso powder,  or instant coffee powder for a milder flavour
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp hot water
• Chocolate sprinkles or chocolate shavings, for garnish, optional

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a doughnut pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together espresso, milk, banana, tahini, maple syrup and vanilla extract until well combined. Sift in oat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Switch to a rubber spatula and mix batter until thoroughly combined.

Divide batter evenly among wells in prepared doughnut pan. This can easily be done using two spoons, or you can transfer mixture into a piping bag before adding to pan for a more uniform final presentation. Bake, rotating pan halfway through cooking time, until doughnuts are golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into a doughnut comes out clean (about 15 to 18 minutes). Let doughnuts cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes before carefully removing each doughnut from pan. Set on a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature. Doughnuts at this point may be stored in an airtight container for up to one week in the refrigerator.

While doughnuts cool, make whipped coffee “frosting.” Using a hand mixer or a whisk, add instant coffee, brown sugar and hot water to a medium bowl. Beat until mixture turns a pale golden brown colour and reaches stiff peak consistency (about 5 minutes). Once doughnuts are cooled, generously frost with whipped coffee. Garnish if desired and serve right away.

Chef’s Tip

Making your own oat flour is easy and takes seconds. Simply add oats to a blender and pulse until just finely ground.