Years ago, a foodie friend who’d lived in New York raved about the doughnuts, so when I visited not long after, I vowed to eat them all. I hit up LES for Doughnut Plant’s epic blackout, tres leches and carrot cake doughnuts, and trekked to Bed-Stuy, when Dough was still just there, for its soft, giant yeasted varieties in hibiscus, lemon meringue and more.
I’d only scratched the surface before I had to leave, and so began the plans, the doughnut seed if you will, for this adventure. Since then, doughnuts have risen to global stardom, but the fried rings of my dreams are still New York’s, be they old-fashioned at Peter Pan, new-wave at The Doughnut Project or Korean at Grace Street. You can fill weeks just sampling the selection.
Yeasted doughnuts are the best variety to make at home and these guys are just as you’d find in Gotham: big, billowy and best eaten within a few hours. They’re also glazed in tempting flavours, like the three I’ve included: vanilla bean and halva, dulce de leche and almonds, and fresh cherry. Each makes enough to glaze a dozen doughnuts but if you want to enjoy all three, reduce the quantities accordingly.