Old-fashioned doughnuts go gourmet

We’re seeing circles these days, and not just those colorful Olympic rings and medals of gold, silver and bronze.

No, these sweet and savory spheres are indulgent, decadent and definitely over the top. Doughnuts are the new cupcake, as proved by the long lines of salivating customers snaking out the door of new gourmet doughnut shops at dawn.

But these aren’t your average glazed doughnuts to tear apart and dunk into Sunday School coffee. They’re practically three-course meals, piled high with extravagant extras like candied meat, children’s cereal and cheesecake bites, and filled to the brim with scratch-made custards, premium fruits and nuts, or creamy mousse.

Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Ore., generally gets credit for kicking off a new culinary craze when, several years ago, it started decking out doughnuts with bacon, Froot Loops and marshmallows. Shops around the country jumped on board, bedazzling the doughy spheres with all manner of sweet and savory toppings. Hypnotic Donuts in east Dallas introduced DFW carbivores to doughnuts covered in seemingly incongruous condiments like vanilla frosting and hot peppers (called the “Hell Fire”).

Now Tarrant County doughnut fans get their chance at a sugar rush, with the recent openings of buzzy new places like FunkyTown Donuts on Fort Worth’s south side and Crunch Donut Factory in Arlington.

And, like Pokemon Go and the Bernie Sanders campaign, doughnuts “expressing themselves” in creative ways is a trend being fed — literally — by millennials. (In other words, “it’s a thing.”)

“Millennials like anything out of the norm that has creativity involved in the preparation,” says Jim Huntley, who co-owns Crunch with childhood friend Mike Weyneth. “They really enjoy craft. They like craft coffee, craft beer. That’s a big part of why we’re seeing this explosion, not just in the doughnut industry but in the food industry all around.”

Another thing the younger generation likes? No limits. Crunch is open 24 hours near the University of Texas at Arlington. It offers not only a menu of wild specialty doughnuts but a build-your-own doughnut bar with nine frostings and more than 30 doughnut toppings and drizzles. Items include childhood-favorite cereals and candy bars along with fruit, nuts and colorful sprinkles.

Crunch’s specialty doughnuts further target millennials with clever celebrity names.

“The ‘Katy Cherry’ is really popular,” says Huntley, who opened the shop last spring. “It has cheesecake and a cherry filling. Our ‘Kevin Bacon Maple’ is also popular. It’s made with maple frosting and bacon bits.”

At FunkyTown Donuts, owner Brandon Moors says his love for doughnuts developed because of his father’s career as a police officer. As a child, he’d visit shops with his dad, and later, he says, he took notice of the popularity of bakeries like Voodoo and their off-the-wall varieties. Moors realized Fort Worth lacked any of these specialty doughnut shops.

FunkyTown opened its first storefront Memorial Day weekend on Eighth Avenue in Fort Worth.

“The turnout has been amazing,” Moors says. “Sunday is the busiest day with the longest line. We open at 8 a.m. Sunday and the line starts around 7:30 a.m. It has wrapped around the building. It’s something I never really expected.”

Popular FunkyTown Donut flavors include maple bacon, “Razzle Dazzle,” made with a raspberry-glazed doughnut drizzled with dark chocolate and topped with fresh raspberries, and Moors’ favorite, Key lime pie, which comes coated with graham crackers and topped with fresh whipped cream.

Across town, the Dough Boy Donuts food truck is turning out warm doughnuts fried to order in eccentric varieties like maple topped with Sriracha-infused candied bacon, “Fairy Dust” glazed with lemon zest and ground Skittles, and “Last Call” topped with Nutella, peanut butter, maple syrup, Oreo cookies, shaved coconut, pecans and chocolate chips.

“Our doughnuts are made in the truck,” says owner Melvin Roberson. “We roll them out, cut them and fry them. We want to make sure everyone gets a warm doughnut.”

Roberson, a former steakhouse kitchen manager, says he, too, was inspired by the popularity of gourmet doughnuts in other parts of the country.

“I thought, ‘Why can’t I do something like that?’ ” he says.

So, he did. He quit his job in January to run his doughnut truck full time. Dough Boy now appears regularly at Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. and Clearfork Farmers Market, where the truck is often met with lines until it sells out. Roberson also stays busy with private events.

Even celebrity chef Tim Love jumped on the doughnut bandwagon, recently opening Back Dough, a late-night gourmet doughnut shop located inside Queenie’s, his Denton steakhouse. Served from a neon-lit back door entrance, the ever-changing lineup includes flavors like strawberry cheesecake and cookies and cream.

But Love doesn’t completely depart far from the meat-centric repertoire that made him famous. His savory doughnuts are topped with plump servings of pulled pork, Buffalo chicken and even smoked brisket.

“Doughnuts are the ultimate comfort food,” Love says. “As with lots of food trends, folks are trying to figure out how to make comfort foods in more appealing and exciting ways. A doughnut is an easy, versatile medium that can be turned into whatever you want, like grits or polenta. It can be as complicated or as simple as you want it to be.”

Huntley’s advice for building the perfect doughnut?

“Have fun,” he says. “Don’t think that it has to have chocolate icing and nuts. Have Froot Loops and gummy worms and maybe throw in some Reese’s peanut butter cups. I see stuff daily I’ve never thought of.”

Perhaps the most shocking thing about the doughnuts-gone-wild craze, some shop owners say, is how many customers don’t actually want them.

“What really surprises me is our No. 1 seller is our plain glazed doughnut,” FunkyTown’s Moors says.

Echoes Roberson, “Some people will come to the truck and want a plain glaze.

“Some are just old-fashioned like that.”

Freelance writer Celestina Blok (@celestinafw) might have developed a doughnut addiction with this story assignment.

Brazil Nut Cake Donut

Makes 12-15 doughnuts

For the doughnut batter:

• 3 cups flour

• 1 cup sugar

•  1/8 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/4 cup chopped Brazil nuts

• 2 beaten eggs

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 6 tablespoons whipping cream

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

For the glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• 1/2 cup warm Brazilian brewed coffee

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1. Mix doughnut batter ingredients until well incorporated and cover until ready to use.

2. Combine glaze ingredients until well incorporated.

3. Place batter in a doughnut dropper and fry in oil at 375 degrees. After 30-45 seconds, flip and cook for another 30-45 seconds. Remove doughnut from fryer and allow to cool slightly.

4. Dip the doughnut in the glaze and place on a drying rack to set.

 

— FunkyTown Donuts

Back Dough Donuts

Makes 10-15 doughnuts

• 6 tablespoons lukewarm water

• 2 ounces quick-rise yeast

• 2 cups flour

• 2 ounces granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 6 cups milk

• 2 ounces buttermilk

• 2 ounces butter, melted

• 1 egg

1. Put water in a cup and sprinkle with yeast. Set aside until yeast reacts, about 5 minutes.

2. Place flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Make a well with the dry ingredients, then pour in milk, buttermilk, melted butter, yeast mixture and egg. Run in a stand mixer with a dough hook until ingredients are incorporated.

3. By hand, knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes. Cover and set aside until doubled in size.

4. Place dough on floured surface and knead lightly. Roll with rolling pin to about  1/2-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 3-4 inch cutter. Let rest for 5 minutes.

5. Fry dough in 350-degree fryer until golden brown on both sides, approximately three minutes per side. Set on a drying rack for two minutes. Fill and top with desired ingredients.

Lemon Curd

• 5 egg yolks

• 1 cup sugar

• Juice and zest from 4 lemons

• 8 ounces butter

1. Add an inch or so water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer.

2. Combine egg yolks and sugar in a medium-size bowl and whisk until smooth. Add juice and zest and mix.

3. Reduce water heat to low and place bowl with egg mixture on top of saucepan. Whisk until thickened, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. When mixture coats the back of a spoon, remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.

4. Pour mixture into a container to cool and cover curd with a layer of plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least three hours until set.

Blueberry Glaze

• 8 ounces blueberries

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 2 cups whole milk

1. In a small sauté pan, add blueberries, water and brown sugar. Cook until blueberries are soft. Blend blueberry mixture in a small container.

2. Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Add milk until desired consistence is reached. Add blueberry mixture to glaze. Keep cool until ready to glaze doughnuts.

Candied Lemons

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup water

• 2 ounces lemon juice

• 2 lemons, cut into 1/4-inch rounds

1. Add sugar, water and lemon juice to a large skillet and cook until sugar is dissolved. Add lemon slices and simmer until rinds are translucent and soft.

2. Place slices on a drying rack. Cool for at least one hour. Store for two to three days.

— Chef Tim Love

This story was originally published August 3, 2016 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Old-fashioned doughnuts go gourmet."