Banana Cream Donuts
No breakfast dessert is more sacred to us than a donut. However, donuts themselves are incredibly diverse. There are the dense cake variety, the yeasted ones in the shape of a ring that dissolve as you chew, and then there are filled donuts with a variety of fruit or cream fillings. In true Southern fashion, we made this donut to honor the beloved banana cream flavor we adore in our layered pudding. The filling is easy to make since it relies on a package of instant banana pudding mix to lend the banana flavor and thickened structure to the creamy filling. The donut itself is a rich brioche dough that expands dramatically in the fryer, creating an airy, buttery, and yeasty interior. The air pockets inside the donut easily allow for a hefty piping of banana cream while maintaining the donut's shape and flavor. The dough takes time to make, but when it comes to frying, the donut is in the oil for less than a minute and a half before it's finished. Once slightly cooled and filled with banana cream, a light dusting of powdered sugar makes the donuts pop visually and also adds a different kind of sweetness to the buttery fried dough. Go ahead and stick a vanilla wafer in the donut if you want—we won't disapprove.