Go-nuts for doughnuts

Throwback to the seven years spent in an all-girls boarding school in the countryside. A weekend trip to the nearest town with an actual supermarket was a sacred privilege only to those of Year 9 and above, while you have to be at least in Year 12 to be allowed to step on the train on the opposite platform to London.

Strict rules applied: we had to fill in a so-called “exeat form” days prior to departure, then get it signed on time by the Housemistress. We checked out, left school on Saturday noon, came back no later than 17:00 on the dot to check back in and our bags search for alcohol or cigarettes. Trips on Sundays were considered as “special cases” requiring a legitimate reason for the need to do so. By Year 13, this procedure felt rather like inmates applying for furlough.

Another precious memory of those innocent days is an unbelievable infatuation with Krispy Kremes. Back then, they were a rare commodity, highly sought after especially by the younger years, and only available during the occasional charity fundraising. Long queues formed outside the English classroom with crowd control. 20 dozen Original Glaze sold out faster than the blink of an eye.

I too, lived in the craze, jotting down its planned trade date as soon as it was made known to the public after prayers on Monday mornings. Even made up the most ridiculous excuses to nip out from class five minutes early to beat the queue.

And now, in 2016, after two odd years in civilisation will I still be that obsessed with them as my 13-year-old self? Of course not.

One look at that poor girl fundraising for charity holding that familiar green-dotted-on-white box approaching me from 30 metres away would have me turning immediately on my heels and dashing off in the exact opposite direction. An unexpected approach would be dealt with with a good ten second hesitation, with my mind entirely blanked out and extreme tension building up inside similar to answering the winning question in Who Wants to be a Millionaire: a)accept the doughnut, b) decline the doughnut, c) pretend you are deaf and blind, d) run.

Most of the time I’d kindly decline the sugared ring while offering to donate the exact price. Plonk as the coin hits the bottom of the plastic bucket.The reason behind the disappearance of love for Krispy Kremes? Because there are far, far better doughnuts in this world.

1. The Classic

The joy of biting into a doughnut completely and symmetrically filled to the top with perfectly smooth vanilla custard cream. The days of disappointment from stingy fillings are forever gone with St John’s Bakery and Bread Ahead Bakery. Both are excellent local bakeries producing all sorts of top-notch baked goods everyday including a wide variety of pastries and sourdough. Doughnuts are their popular specialty with some basic flavours in common: vanilla custard, honeycomb, raspberry jam, chocolate.

Bread Ahead explores slightly further with flavours depending on the season, such as blackberry custard ripple, salted caramel with honeycomb and my favourite – earl grey with soaked prune (all £2.50). The doughnut itself is like a brioche and is dusted with white sugar. St John’s Bakery is available from their bakeries in Druid Street Market, Maltby Street Market, Spitalfields and the Food Hall at Selfridges. Bread Ahead opens their store at Borough Market and Old Spitalfields Market on select days.

2. The Sourdough

Probably should have called this category “Gourmet” – Crosstown Doughnuts boasts of their hand made, hybrid sourdough base claiming to reduce the sweetness and to not absorb as much fat when deep fried. Their layers of icing on top definitely helped a great deal too. In reality, they have a slightly firmer and chewier texture compared to the conventional doughnut. Their range of unique and unimaginable flavours is the selling point: granola and strawberry jam, PB&J, sea salt caramel banana (£3 - £3.50).Find them in their flagship store in Soho, their little black van at Old Spitalfields Market, WholeFoods, Selfridges and various independent cafes across London.

3. The Cronut

All hail Dominique Ansel – the creator of the Cronut™. The chef and owner of Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York – the patisserie whose creations took the world by storm. Expect to join the queue at 6am, two hours before the shop opens. Lucky for us, three bakeries have come up with something along the same lines as the real deal. Dum Dum Donutterie in Box Park Shoreditch and Brick Lane presents their iconic Cro in Zebra (chocolate), strawberry & cream and Cronutella. Distinct layers of pastry filled with buttercream, toppings and dunked in sugar (£3). The range is also available at Harrods (£4.50).

Meanwhile Rinkoff Bakery, the 105-year-old family run business in Whitechapel, has their popular Crodough with a lot less buttercream and sugar compared to the former in a wider variety of flavours. Think Oreo Cheesecake, PB&J and S’mores, and a special Crème Egg Crodough during Easter (all £2.50). If Whitechapel is too far a journey, find them at Selfridges and Timberyard.

Last but not least – Cocomaya in Marble Arch presents their elegant take in their CocoDough available in salted caramel, Red Velvet, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla (all £3.25).

4. The Duffin

If a doughnut and a muffin had a child, what would it be called? A Duffin.No joke. This doughnut-muffin hybrid was invented by Beas of Bloomsbury in 2013 and created a huge fuss back then, including controversy with Starbucks over who actually created this Frankenstein in the first place.

Enough of law suits. Beas still have their Duffin game going strong selling in their cafes at Bloomsbury, St Paul’s and Farringdon. It is essentially a dense buttermilk cake the size of your palm, flavoured with nutmeg, dipped in butter, rolled in sugar then piped with jam or Nutella (£2.50).

5. The Cruffin

On the subject of portmanteau pastries, allow me to introduce you to the Cruffin. Originating from Mr Holms Bakehouse in San Francisco, the croissant pastry is baked in a muffin mould instead of its usual lunar shape, then filled with custard to the brim, dusted with sugar and there you have it – the Cruffin. Cocomaya in Marble Arch does a breath-taking version in chocolate, strawberry, caramel cheesecake and blueberry. The custard cream is smooth and light yet rich in flavour. The delicate layers of pastry maintained a perfect balance of crispiness and moisture – imagine the freshly heated up pastries at the Library Café in the morning. Their café has a limited supply of them everyday, but Selfridges always has a not-so-secret stash in the Food Hall.