Apple Cider Doughnuts

Apple Cider Doughnut and Coffee

There are a couple of things that come to mind when I think of Fall: leaves, pumpkins, turkeys, crisp air, and apples. I love apples, don't you? Malia went apple picking recently, and boy was i jealous. I love walking through orchards and hauling a big bag of fruit home with you. Apples are great on their own, versatile in sweet and savory dishes, and darn do they make some nice cider.

And of course apple cider makes me think of apple cider doughnuts. Apple cider doughnuts may be more of an east coast thing, as I haven't seen these in California. So when Malia came to visit, we decided to make something epic - and apple cider doughnuts are pretty epic if you ask me.

I thought it would be cute to make doughnuts shaped liked pumpkins

(but you couldn't really tell).

Cute shapes don't work well for frying.

Test batch of doughnut holes.

Smitten Kitchen has a great recipe for apple cider doughnuts (see link for recipe) with excellent tips from how to heat the oil, to rolling out the dough. Her pictures are absolutely lovely. Now let me make it clear that these are cake doughnuts, no yeast involved. I usually prefer yeast doughnuts to cake, but you haven't lived until you've had a cake doughnut straight out of the oil!

The oil is probably the most critical step. You want to make sure that the oil heats up to the correct temperature and stays there. Too hot and you'll burn your doughnuts, but too cold and they won't cook all the way through. You need a thermometer. Unfortunately, Malia and I picked up a meat thermometer (only goes up to 250 degrees). So we ran a test batch and ended up with the right temperature (but I don't recommend this kind of improvisation).

Frying up the big ones.

We served these doughnuts on Sunday morning for some friends who came over to watch the Redskins play. These were a hit! We dusted them in sugar and cinnamon mixture. Delicious! These are more dense than a yeast doughnut, but still rather delicate, with a perfectly crisp exterior. I wish the apple cider would have been more of a dominant flavor, but that is my only minor complaint. The dough was really easy to put together. Just make sure to give yourself adequate time to prepare these if you're serving them for brunch. Now go make them.

Enjoying the finished product.

Caught me doughnut handed.

Don't forget to fry the doughnut holes. Because they're smaller you can eat more.

National Donut Day - This Friday, June 4th!

Free Doughnuts this Friday!

Friday, June 4th is National Doughnut Day! What better way to celebrate Friday than with a warm glazed doughnut. And did I mention Krispy Kreme is giving them away for FREE?!

If you're on the East Coast Dunkin' Donuts will give you a free doughnut, but only if you buy a drink.

The cool folks at Psycho Donuts in Campbell, CA are celebrating with the unveiling of their tacOnut - a doughnut folded like a taco and filled with fresh strawberries.

TacOnut - yum!

Dynamo Donuts - San Francisco, CA

From top left: Sticky bun, maple apple bacon, vanilla bean, cornmeal cherry rosemary

However you spell it, donuts or doughnuts, fried dough is delicious. In the past couple years I have become more appreciative (and more discriminating) of these fried treats. The Doughnut Plant in New York elevated my expectations for what doughnuts can be - serving up divine flavors like coconut custard and dulce de leche. In Hawaii, Leonard's introduced us to the portuguese version of fried dough, malasadas, with exotic fillings like passionfruit and guava.

I have been searching for a comparable doughnut out in California. Stan's doughnuts doesn't offer any fancy, gourmet flavors, but they make one of the best glazed doughnuts I've ever had -warm from the fryer. Still I had heard great things about Dynamo Donuts in San Francisco and wanted to give them a try before declaring the winner.

Dynamo Donuts was created by Sara Spearin, a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, who wanted to bring her love of a well crafted donut to SF. These doughnuts are made with premium, organic, local, and sustainable ingredients whenever possible. And at $3 a pop they better be. The prices didn't seem to stop the yuppies and hipsters from forming a line at 9:30am on a Saturday morning. As I took my place in line (what does that make me?) I could smell the sweet dough hitting the oil. The menu is updated daily with offerings like lemon thyme and chocolate star anise. AJ and I ordered up a maple glaze bacon apple, cornmeal cherry rosemary, vanilla bean, and a sticky bun.

I took a bite of each doughnut before I declared the cornmeal cherry rosemary the winner. The cornmeal gave this yeasty donut some amazing texture, while the hints of orange zest and tart cherries paired well with the floral rosemary and honey glaze. Hello flavor! My only complaint (besides the hole in my wallet) was the temperature. These donuts were cool and would have been amazing warm. AJ declared the maple glazed bacon apple his favorite. I loved the maple glaze paired with the salty bacon, but I could've used more apple pieces.

The vanilla bean was rather tasty too - with flecks of vanilla bean swimming in the glaze and lovely lemon zest in the dough. The sticky bun was just that a sticky bun. I was hoping for some kind of fusiony doughnut - a doughnut that tastes like a sticky bun. Regardless of my expectations it was delicious with wide swirls of cinnamon and a caramel glaze. It didn't stand up to Flour bakery's version, but it was still tasty.

My final impression of Dynamo Donuts is that they have some amazing flavor combos and some great coffee that will top most donut shops in the Bay Area. But for $3 I'm not sure I would head here too often, when I can get a hot glazed donut for $0.80 at Stan's.

Stan's Donuts - Santa Clara, CA

I have been craving sweet, fried dough for the past couple weeks and had yet to find a proper outlet to satisfy this particular hunger. There is a Krispy Kreme somewhat close by, but after reading the Gastronomer's blog post on the Doughnut Plant, I yearned for a doughnut shop with a little more local flavor.

Freshly fried doughnuts.

I went to trusty old Yelp.com for some reviews of local doughnut shops. Stan's Donuts popped up with an average 4.5 stars (out of 5) from over 200 reviewers. The reviewers touted Stan's glazed donuts as some of the best they have ever tasted. I decided to check out what all the hype was about. A 15 minute drive down El Camino and we pulled up to a small shopping center. Stan's Donuts is a hole-in-the-wall joint, serving up fresh batches of yeast and cake doughnuts throughout the day. When we arrived, a small line had formed out the door. Stan's keeps the line moving, so you don't have to wait long for some fresh donuts.

Cake donut with vanilla frosting and peanuts.

AJ and I knew we were going to sample the yeast doughnuts, but we also wanted to try some of their cake varieties - we went with chocolate/sprinkles, peanut, and chocolate/coconut. The chocolate/coconut cake doughnut was nice and crisp on the outside, with a nice moist cake on the inside. The chocolate/coconut combination was just lovely.

Glaze yeast doughnut with Red Rock coffee

The real story is the glazed yeast doughnuts. They come out of the fryer warm and fluffy. Watch out Krispy Kreme, Stan's doughnuts will give you a run for your money! And don't forget, doughnuts are best eaten with a hot cup of coffee.

Leonard's Bakery, Kapahulu St, Honolulu

Leonard's Bakery

Hawaii is a wonderful mixing pot of different cultures: japanese, polynesian, filipino, chinese, portuguese, german, and the list goes on. Hawaii is one of two states in which non-hispanic whites do not make up the majority.

This unique mixture of cultures provides a variety of cuisines to try. I wanted to get some local flavor, step off the beaten path, while i was in Hawaii. My mom, recommended heading down to Kapahulu St, about 1.5 miles from Waikiki beach. There are some places like the Rainbow Drive-In that serves up a great lunch plate. While we didn't make it to the Rainbow Drive-In, I knew I wanted to check out Leonard's Bakery.

Got malasadas?

In 1882, two Portuguese immigrants came from San Miguel Island to Maui under a contract to work the sugar cane fields. 33 years later, their grandson Leonard was born. Leonard and his family moved to Honolulu, where he worked at Snowflake Bakery until he founded Leonard's Bakery in 1952. Not long after opening, Leonard's mother suggested making malasadas for Shrove Tuesday, a portuguese tradition. While they were afraid these treats might not appeal to the masses, they were an instant hit.

Malasadas are simply the portuguese take on donuts. Large pieces of dough fried in hot oil and rolled in sugar. Traditionally there were no fillings, but many places fill their malasadas with custard fillings. At Leonard's you can get malasadas filled with chocolate, coconut, and regular custards. In addition to the standard fillings, they offer a monthly flavor.

Where's my malasada?

6 Malasadas: sugar, cinnamon, and 4 filled custards (coconut, chocolate, regular, and lilikoi)

We got to the bakery early on Sunday morning. A line was beginning to form at 9am. Always a good sign. Looking at the menu, I knew I wanted to try a traditional sugar coated malasada, but choosing a filled flavor proved more difficult. We ended up trying one of each: sugar, cinnamon, coconut, chocolate, regular, and lilikoi. Lilikoi is the hawaiian name for passionfruit.

AJ and I took our donuts to a nearby coffee shop and got to work. AJ is a chocolate fiend, so that one was clearly his favorite. I was a huge fan of the coconut and lilikoi fillings. The coconut was sweet and fragrant. The lilikoi filling was slighly tangy and sweet. All of the fillings were still warm, which was wonderful.

Chocolate monster!

Chomp!

While we didn't intend to eat every donut we purchased, we managed to polish off almost every one. These donuts were some of the best I have ever eaten. Warm from the oven, and filled to order, the people at Leonard's know what they're doing.

Bottom Line: If you find yourself in Oahu, you must make the trip to Leonard's for some great local eats.

Psycho Donut - Donut Day!

Psycho Donut - Where the 'nurses' take care of 'psycho donuts'!

After reading about Krispy Kreme giving out free donuts, AJ and I were inspired to celebrate all things donut on this lovely Friday! We hit up Krispy Kreme and ordered a chocolate kreme filled and a strawberry glazed. AJ thought he had asked for the custard filling, but was served their kreme or frosting filled donut. Verdict: It was still delicious. Krispy Kreme is also offering some new glazed donuts this summer season: strawberry and blueberry glazed. As a young child I always got the strawberry glazed from Dunkin' Donuts. The Krispy Kreme version kicks its butt. There is real fruit in this glaze and you can see and taste the difference.

These donuts were delicious and prompted AJ to search his Iphone for the next Krispy Kreme location, in hopes of another free donut. His search brought up the local donut shop, "Psycho Donuts". Surely with a name like that, this place would turn out some unique creations. We drove 25 minutes to our next donut stop.

Psycho Donut - chocolate glazed yeast donut with marshmallow, pretzels, and chili powder.

Psycho Donuts is dedicated to creating unique flavor and texture combinations. Most of their donuts rely on the same base - a yeast donut - which is glazed with different flavored coatings, filled with different custards and jellies, and topped with crunchy goodies. Not only are their donuts creative, but the decor is as well. They create the ambiance of a psych ward for their mentally unstable donuts. Even the cashiers are dressed like nurses!

Coco puff Donut!

I wasn't able to download the pics I took of our donuts. AJ ordered a yeast donut topped with a vanilla glaze and oreo cookies. The crunchy oreos were wonderful, especially with a big gulp of milk. I went with the banana creme, a custard filled chocolate glazed donut topped with crunchy banana chips. I was kind of hoping the creme would be banana flavored as well, but it was still tasty. The banana chips were a unique and flavorful addition to this boston creme donut. These donuts were filling, and with one already in my belly, I wasn't able to finish more than half.

Safe to say AJ and I will be returning to Psycho Donut for its unusual combinations. I think I might have to get the namesake with its chili powder and pretzel topping!

Happy Donut Eating!

Krispy Kreme

2146 Leghorn St

Mountain View, CA

Psycho Donut

2006 Winchester Blvd

Campbell, CA

Heidleberg Pastry Shoppe

A good bakery is often hard to find in the suburbs. The other day AJ and I were able to visit Heidleberg Pastry Shoppe off of Lee Highway. In search of something other than the usual bagel, we were hoping Heidelberg would fulfill our breakfast needs.

A delightful leavened doughnut with maple frosting and delightful halloween sprinkles (I adore the bats)!

The shoppe is a little overwhelming, offering donuts, breads, turnovers, muffins, cinnamon buns, and more. AJ settled on a pumpkin muffin and a maple yeast doughnut. I chose a chocolate croissant.


As we paid for our goods, AJ spotted a table of McCain and Obama sugar cookies. AJ had to buy two for my mom and my dad, who have been going door-to-door for the Democratic Party. A reporter stopped to ask if we bought these cookies because "we hated Obama and wanted to eat him". It was a weird, but interesting experience.




Heidelberg has been tracking sales of their cookies (Obama has sold 75% of the cookies to McCain's 25%). This is either an indication of the strength of the Democratic party in Virginia or of liberals love of sweets. Remember to get out and vote tomorrow!

Clockwise from the left: chocolate croissant, pumpkin muffin, and maple frosted doughnut.

After sampling the three treats, AJ and I decided that the maple doughnut was the winner. The dough was light and slightly sweet. The doughnut was an excellent reminder of autumn, with an authentic maple frosting that wasn't overly sweet (AJ would argue there is no such thing as being too sweet). Definitely an excellent way to get in your sugar fix in the morning.





The chocolate croissant was flaky, but a little too crisp on the edges (AJ said it was too messy to be worth the purchase). The chocolate was creamy and not too sweet. I would have rated this a little higher had the dough been softer and lighter. The pumpkin muffin was a little dense and could have been moister. The spices were nice, but there could have been a little more sugar added to the batter (Although, I may have felt this way due to the sucrose overload).


I have had the pleasure of tasting Heidelberg's breads and pretzels. I think these items fare better than their pastries.





Overall 1.5 out of 3 JAMs.

Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe
2150 N. Culpepper St
Arlington, VA 22207

Birthday Food Tour in NYC

Jenny just turned 23 on September 12th. Happy Belated Birthday! Malia and I try and head up to New York in September to celebrate this momentous occasion. Now Jenny pretty much has it all, so it's not always easy finding a birthday present for this girl. Malia and I were watching the Food Network (our favorite tv channel) one evening after work and it dawned upon us - why not celebrate Jenny with a walking food tour of NYC! Obviously, there are a million places to eat in New York, so we decided to focus on places where we could grab bites of little things, allowing us to try some different items and minimize time spent waiting at tables to eat.

We Bolt bused it to New York from D.C. on Sept 19th and arrived around 7:30pm. Jenny surprised us wih reservations at Les Halles, a place we'd been dying to try after reading Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential". The restaurant is known for its Steak Frites, but Malia and I were a little apprehensive about ordering fries, since that was one of the places on our food tour the next day. But hey you only live once, so we went for it. Jenny got the steak frites as well. For dessert I got the bananas flambe. I wish I had taken pictures, because the presentation is amazing (for 12.50, it better be). We all agreed my dessert trumped the chocolate mousse and creme caramel. We headed back to Jenny's apartment to rest up for tomorrow.

Jenny knew that she was going to be taken for a food tour, but had no idea where she would be going and what she would be eating. We headed out at 11am to our first destination....

THE DUGHNUT PLANT

The shop is rather small and thus the line for doughnuts began to peak out the door. Let me tell you it was well worth the wait.

These doughnuts were the best doughnuts I have ever tried. Unfortunately in our passionate throes of eating, we forgot to take pictures! We tried five different doughnuts, three yeast and two cake: raspberry glazed, coconut cream/coconut glazed, plum jelly/peanut butter glazed, blackout (chocolate/chocolate glazed), and tres leches. The unique thing about the filled doughnuts is that they are piped throughout the square shaped dough so that you get a taste of filling surrounded by the dough in every bite!

JAM Note: Coconut Cream/Coconut Glazed was the favorite (although the bday girl liked the raspberry glazed the best.)

http://www.thedoughnutplant.com/

CHOCOLATE BAR

Our second location was an ode to all things chocolate: brownies, cookies, candy bars, truffles, and hot chocolate. Feeling the shift from summer to fall, we all decided we wanted to sip on something warm. Travis and I chose the spicy hot chocolate. It was a nice blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and just the right dose of chilis to pack a little punch. The spices mellowed the sweetness of the dark chocolate. Malia and Jenny went for the mint hot chocolate, which always reminds me of the holidays.

Before heading on to the next food stop, we purchased a couple chocolate bars for the road: a dark chocolate with strawberry filling and a dark chocolate with key lime pie filling. The key lime filling was packed with bright lime flavor, which was a nicely juxtaposed against the dark, semi-sweet chocolate.

www.chocolatebarnyc.com

POMMES FRITES

After eating steak frites at Les Halles the night before, you would think we would have had our fill of french fries. But then again who in their right mind passes up french fries? These fries are made to order: double fried and served with your choice of sauces. The European Mayo and Especial Sauce (ketchup, mayo, and onions) come free. A variety of sauces such as curry, mango, and parmesan peppercorn will cost an extra $1. We got two regulars, which were more than enough for four people to share. They were hot and crisp on the outside. Delicious. Of the sauces, the parmesan peppercorn was nice and creamy, but the pepper was a little overpowering. JAM Note: the especial sauce was the favorite - the raw onions add a nice kick.

http://www.pommesfrites.ws/

RICKSHAW DUMPLING

Jenny had been to Rickshaw Dumpling before, but Travis told us that Jenny would definitely want to share these dumplings with us. We got 6 of three different kinds: peking duck, pork, and shrimp. The first two were pan-fried and the last was steamed. I prefer the pan-fried, adding a little crispness and chewiness to the dumpling. These are surprisingly light, and had we been eating only dumplings, I think we could have packed away quite a few more of these.

JAM Note: The traditional pork dumplings were the unanimous favorite.

http://www.rickshawdumplings.com/

In case you hadn't figured it out, healthy eating was not one of the criteria in scheduling this food tour. I was a little worried that a greasy grilled cheese might send my stomach over the edge after dumplings, but these sandwiches were not overly oily. The secret is the panini press they use to give the bread a nice crunch on the outside and to melt the cheese on the inside. Jenny and I shared a classic cheddar cheese with tomato on sourdough. That combination is definitely my favorite. The sourdough was amazing, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, with a slightly tangy flavor. Malia got the same, but subbed monteray jack. Travis took the nontraditional route with a chicken melt with roasted veggies on olive bread. He seemed to enjoy his choice.

Say Cheese!

This Wisconsin boy sure loves his cheese.

BOUCHON BAKERY

The final stop took us to Columbus Circle. You have the option of sitting down at their cafe to munch on sandwiches and some of their more intricate desserts. We opted to take our treats to go and enjoy them in Central Park. Everything they offer looked so good, it was hard to decide what to eat. The bakery offers everything from macarons, croissants, tarts, baguettes, and gourmet takes on "the nutter butter" and "the thin mint".

Jenny loves her macarons and chose a cherry with chocolate filling and a chocolate with chocolate filling. Malia and I opted for almond croissants, hers filled with raspberry preserves and mine with chocolate. They were divine. Unfortunately they forgot to put in Travis' coconut macaron. But we shared our goodies with him, so he didn't go hungry (as if any of us was actually hungry at this point).

After a long day of walking and eating.

www.bouchonbakery.com/