As I’ve mentioned on
here once or twice, I’m a big fan of fillings. Why eat a regular cupcake when
you can have one that’s stuffed with more deliciousness? That (along with the
warm, crispy, dough) is why Flex Donuts by far outranked both Dough and DoughLoco in my donut search.
But when I took a
trip to Doughnut Plant, I knew that Flex Donuts would be meeting their toughest
competition yet. You see, Doughnut Plant is known for their filled donuts, and
there was one in particular on the menu that I was just dying to try.
Located on 23rd
Street between 7th & 8th avenues, Doughnut Plant is
adorably decorated. They make a bunch of different types of donuts, so if
variety is important to you, you’re sure to like this place.
(Doughnut pillows, guaranteed to give you SWEET dreams- ba dum ahhhh)
Here are the different
donut stylings up for offer at the Doughtnut Plant:
1) Yeast donuts- on their website, these are
described as light, airy, fluffy yeast-raised doughnuts, with a slight chew. Flavors
include: Vanilla Bean, Valrhona Chocolate and seasonal flavors like Roasted Chestnut and Cranberry Relish.
2) Cake doughnuts- “Leavened with baking powder,
our cake doughnuts have a texture somewhere near the intersection of a classic
birthday cake and a buttery pound cake.” Flavors include: Tres Leches, Carrot
Cake, Cinnamon Sugar, Wild Blueberry, Blackout Cake, Coffee Cake, seasonal
flavors and more.
Stop right there. Even with just those two options, I’m
having an inner struggle. Both of these sound so tempting…what’s a girl to do?!
On the one hand, I had already tried the Tres Leches cakedonut at my potluck brunch and fallen in love. But light, airy and fluffy sounded most similar to those
heavenly Flex Donut balls I had almost wept over!
But wait. There are more options.
3) Filled doughnuts. Oh yeahhh.
3a) Their “original filled doughnuts” take a yeast donut and
make it a square so that you’re guaranteed to have filling in every bite. That’s
the kind of creativity and dedication I like to see! Square filled donuts
include Peanut Butter and Blackberry Jam (hello, dying), Peanut Butter and
Banana Cream, Vanilla Bean and Blackberry Jam, and Coconut Cream.
3b) Their other filled donuts are cake donuts- the blackout
is a chocolate cake doughnut filled with chocolate pudding, dipped in chocolate
glaze and sprinkled with chocolate cake crumbs. Say hello, chocolate coma.
The
tres leches cake donut is described as, “the sweet taste of the authentic “three
milks” cake, delivered in our round cake doughnut. They should actually just
use the word “crack” to describe it.
And last but not least, the carrot cake doughnut, packed
with carrots, raisins, walnuts and spices and filled with a cream cheese
filling.
4) If four types of donuts weren’t enough for you
(cake, cake filled, yeast and yeast filled)there is yet another type-
Doughseeds.
Sounds cute right? They are. “Mini, round filled doughnuts.”
I was immediately reminiscing about Flex Donuts…
The doughseed flavors rotate and include: Rose, Hazlenut
Chocolate, Matcha Green Tea, Peanut Butter & Blackberry Jam, Pistachio,
Strawberry & Cream, Wild Blueberry & Cream and their most well-known
donut- the Crème Brulee Doughseed.
So- let’s get down to the reviewing. What have I tried from
Doughnut Plant?
-The tres leches filled cake donut. As I mentioned before,
this donut was brought as part of a potluck brunch that I organized with
friends from work. One bite into this donut and my donut obsession was born.
(Serious about donuts...)
I
can’t describe the flavor of “tres leches” to you except to say that it is
amazingly sweet and creamy and heavenly. The cake donut was dense and buttery
and biting through the glaze added a wonderful texture and consistency to the
soft, inner dough.
(There she is <3)
I really don’t know how I resisted another tres leches donut
on my solo trip to Doughnut Plant. But I was on a mission to try their most
popular doughnut.
-The crème brulee doughseed. Like I said, I was hoping these
doughseeds would be similar to the incredible filled doughnut balls from Flex
Donuts. But sadly, the outer dough was not up to par- it was kind of crusty and
pathetic, in fact- although the crème brulee filling was a sweet pudding like
consistency that somewhat made up for the disappointment, though not entirely.
-My friend had requested that I pick one up for her and all
she said to me was “make it choclatey.” Well then, Blackout Filled Cake
Doughnut it is! I took a bite, and basically all I got out of it was WHOAH
CHOCOLATE. Alright, but not much more than cacao craziness.
-I also got a peanut butter and jam filled donut and all you
need to know is that I don’t remember much about it. That’s probably the worst
thing I could say about something. To be a baked good containing peanut butter
and jam and literally leave no impression in my mind is a sad, sad predicament
to be in. Sorry, little doughnut.
(Left: Creme Brulee Doughseed and Right: PB & Jam filled doughnut)
Some closing thoughts:
-I hate switching between doughnut and donut interchangeable but it just happens so DEAL WITH IT, I’M SORRY!
-I loved the tres leches donut here SO MUCH and I’m so sad that the others didn’t live up to my expectations.
-Next time, I need to try a yeast filled donut, I think.
-Don’t come here if you’re looking for a cheap snack- I left here SHOCKED at how much I had spent on 2 donuts and essentially a munchkin sized donut ball. The donuts are around $3.50 each and the doughseeds aren’t any cheaper!
-I hate switching between doughnut and donut interchangeable but it just happens so DEAL WITH IT, I’M SORRY!
-I loved the tres leches donut here SO MUCH and I’m so sad that the others didn’t live up to my expectations.
-Next time, I need to try a yeast filled donut, I think.
-Don’t come here if you’re looking for a cheap snack- I left here SHOCKED at how much I had spent on 2 donuts and essentially a munchkin sized donut ball. The donuts are around $3.50 each and the doughseeds aren’t any cheaper!
A quick note about Doughnut Plant that gives it serious
points from me:
The ingredients they use are all natural, often times organic and made fresh daily. The menu has seasonal specials that are usually reallllly tempting. And all of those fillings? They make them from scratch. Doughnut Plant doughnuts have zero trans-fat, eggs, preservatives, artificial flavors or artificial colors. I don’t know about you, but I like that.
The ingredients they use are all natural, often times organic and made fresh daily. The menu has seasonal specials that are usually reallllly tempting. And all of those fillings? They make them from scratch. Doughnut Plant doughnuts have zero trans-fat, eggs, preservatives, artificial flavors or artificial colors. I don’t know about you, but I like that.
Bottom Line: The tres leches cake donut from Doughnut Plant
made me fall in love with donuts. All kidding aside, it did make me reconsider
donuts as an incredible dessert and sent me on my mission to try all different
NYC donuts. It was really, seriously great.
So Doughnut Plant gets my vote for
the best cakey donut I’ve tried to
date.
Flex Donuts still takes the prize for filled donut, hands
down.
Light, airy, fluffy donut? Hit up Dough.
