The Gourmet Doughnut Craze

Are gourmet doughnuts the new cupcake?

Deep-fried, delicious, round wheels of sugary joy - most commonly known as doughnuts - are an ever-changing dessert staple that continues to win over our hearts.

The once humble snack has gone gourmet with upmarket versions of the much loved traditional jam or plain old vanilla custard doughnuts now being filled with all kinds of sophisticated ingredients.

So who’s behind the origin, name and iconic shape of the doughnut? Whilst it’s a heavily debated topic, it’s said that the Dutch were making olykoeks or ‘oil cakes’ in the mid 19th Century but it was American Hanson Gregory in 1847 who punched a hole in the centre of a dough ball to eliminate the unwanted, uncooked centre, to then stuff it with fillings.   

This mouth watering dessert is not exclusive to one country or culture with several variations of the doughnut seen across the globe including:

• Greek Loukoumades – deep-fried dough balls coated in honey
• Italian Bomboloni – filled with vanilla custard and dusted with powdered sugar
• French Beignet – known for their square shape, they’re fried and sprinkled with various icings
• Mexican Churros – deep-fried sticks of dough sprinkled with sugar and dipped in warm chocolate sauce

Now, doughnuts are becoming so much more with a whole new dimension and combination of ingredients being used. It’s all about being creative and using flavour combinations that seem obscure but provide an explosion of flavour to your tastebuds.

Use your KitchenAid Stand Mixer to get onboard the doughnut movement and create your own flavour combinations. For inspiration, here are some top doughnut combinations:

• Salted Caramel with Pretzel
• Maple Flavoured Icing Topped with Bacon
• Peanut Butter Icing Dipped in Oreo Crumbs
• Caramel Dipped Topped with Toasted Coconut, Nuts and Drizzled Chocolate
• Nutella-Filled Doughnut Coated in Sugar

For more mouthwatering examples, view our Pinterest board of amazing doughnut creations.