dosants

Well I know it's been ages since I've blogged and I don't have any reason for it, other than I've been busy with other interests. I took the time to truly enjoy the summer and I'm so glad I did because now it's busy (I'm sure pretty much everyone can relate to me). Elise Ruby just started preschool and I'm working more, so there's not a lot of extra time. The posts might be a little sporadic until I get into a better groove, so if anyone still reads this thing (thank you!) it'll be easier to subscribe to the blog (on the right-hand side of the site) so that you know exactly when I put up a new post! 

In the spring Kent and I went to Sweet, a dessert-focused restaurant (um, best idea ever!!!) made popular by chef/owner Alina Eisenhauer, who had been on a Food Network cooking competition show.

The restaurant had a fun vibe and good food, but the dessert was amazing (as it should be since that's the theme!). We chose their best seller: dosants. Remember when I made cronuts? Well these are similar since it's fried puff pastry, but instead of cutting it into a classic donut shape, like the cronut, these are rectangular so that they can hold dark chocolate oozing inside.

So yes, they're basically a chocolate croissant, but fried. Then they're tossed in a bit of sugar and the over-the-top-moment is when you can dunk them in Salted Caramel Sauce. I was so excited about eating these that I burnt my tongue. I just didn't have the patience to wait for these to cool, and who can blame me? These are incredibly good. Amazing. Worth pulling out the candy thermometer for.

three more ways to love ya

I know, I know. It's getting really out of control around here with donuts. As I've said before, donuts are my weakness and they're the one thing I have a really hard time saying "no" to. I even created a whole donut category in my recipe section... I can't believe I have that many various donuts on here! I told my sister the next time I make donuts, I'm going to bake them so that there are some non-fried versions.

I visited my sister Tracy (who has an awesome design blog, btw) in Maryland recently and made a double batch of these babies. It was a true "Donut Day" since we made three types of donuts. An updated, (and easier to eat) version of the Samoa donut called the Coco-Caramel Chocolate Donut, a honey-dip glazed and chocolate frosted. I just love this donut dough. It doesn't require the same amount of rising time that the dough from Flour does. And the end is result is a fluffy, airy donut that holds whatever toppings your heart desires.

In the Samoa donut, the caramel and coconut were mixed together and thickly applied to the top of the donut. In these Coco-Caramel Chocolate Donuts, I made the caramel softer (thank you heavy cream) and kept each component separate. First, I spread the soft caramel all over, then generously sprinkled toasted coconut and drizzled chocolate all over. I also didn't dip the bottom-half of the donut in chocolate (like I did with the Samoa donut) but you are more than welcome to do it. Can't hurt!

The chocolate glaze from the Samoa donut is more of a ganache and is delicious! It tastes like rich chocolate and stays a bit soft (unlike store-bought donuts that harden). That's why I also used it on the Boston Cream donut. 

The honey-dip glaze is unbelievably good, but there's a reason it looks a bit grainy here. My sister had run out of confectioners' sugar so we whipped up our own, but didn't blend it long enough. If you use store-bought confectioners' sugar, it should look silky smooth

time to make the donuts!

If I'm being totally honest here, one of the main reasons I like apple picking so much is getting fresh apple cider doughnuts. Oh, I also like the apples and apple cider, but nothing compares to a fresh, hot doughnut. Nothing.  

So I decided to recreate that experience by using the farm-fresh apple cider I bought when I picked the apples. I love the crunchy cinnamon sugar exterior and that soft cake-y interior. 

Apple cider doughnuts really epitomize fall, and if you're worried about your waistline, just tell yourself you'll only make them once a year, and then enjoy 3!