There are endless things for a young, single girl to do in a big city like Los Angeles.  There’s shopping on Melrose.  There are afternoons at the beach in mid October.  There are concerts, countless happy hours to attend, and an array of ridiculously pretentious clubs to try to get into. 

Yea…. those are all things that most normal twenty something girls might find the time to do.  I’d like to consider myself a special breed.  When I had a free morning a few days back I decided to go doughnut hunting.  Yes, I made up a new sport.  It involved just a few things:  doughnut shops, milk or coffee, and an empty and willing stomach.  

Wanna play?  The beauty of this game is that you can do it in any city on any given morning.  

This year’s doughnut hunt was inspired by the crazyinsane (new word) doughnuts I made a few months back.  They were painfully good and inspired me to… well… bring doughnuts back into my life any way I could.  

I picked five Los Angeles doughnut eateries (I only made it to three before my pants button busted) and put my doughnut tasting skills to the test.  Here’s what happened (before my pants burst).  

Say hello to the Doughnut Hut in Burbank.  They’ve got a clever retro sign and colorful, tiny little shop.  The outdoor seating is charming and incidentally, bee infested.  Seeing as this was my first stop, I opted for not one, but two fine doughnuts:  one standard sprinkle and another orange colored find.  

It turns out orange colored, passion fruit- esque doughnuts are not exactly the way to go.  The troubled look on my face was only intensified when I realized that this particular doughnut tasted like an old churro, if a churro were a shoe.  Not ok.  The sprinkle doughnut, however, was perfectly cakey, and divine with milky coffee.

I stopped at the Donut Prince simply because there was the cutest old couple sitting in the window.  Old people know doughnuts.  They’ve been around long enough to know.  They’ve eaten more doughnuts that I have.  It’s simple mathematics.  

It turns out that old people do have doughnut wisdom.  I, on the other hand, should not have ordered two more doughnuts.  Despite the shoe like taste of the passion fruit doughnut at the previous shop, I did manage to devour it.  

Not sure if I can make it through these two doughnuts.  Like a true champion-  I do.  Doughnut count:  4.  

No doughnut adventure would be complete without a trip to Krispy Kreme.   But, Krispy Kreme Drive- Thru!?  Oh the sheer gluttony.  Even after 4 doughnuts, two cups of coffee and a mini carton of milk, I managed to get out of my car to eat more doughnuts. Success!

Walking into Krispy Kreme is like walking into doughnut Disneyland.  It’s just magic.  Somehow, no matter how many doughnuts I try, Krispy Kreme is always my favorite.  They’re perfectly over sweet and literally melt in your mouth.  I think I went through at least two in the blink of an eye.  Ahhh…. sweet sweet doughnut adventure.  

I literally have to hold my heart after a bite of Krisy Kreme doughnuts.  Is there such a thing as soul mate doughnuts?  Doughnut count:  7 ok…. probably more like 9.  

I should make it known that shortly after this picture was taken, I fell into a deeply satisfying doughnut coma.  Thank you Carsen for being my able photographer and eager doughnut tasting partner.  

My doughnut adventure inspired a new doughnut flavor.  It’s today’s most popular cupcake flavor transformed into doughnut form.  I’ll share soon.

So…!  When’s your doughnut hunt?

Some things I make for the love of others. I’ve been known to gaze lovingly at ingredients. Wrap cookies in little bows, and present a friend with box of still warm chocolate chip cookies at just the right moment.

Other things I make because I’m a selfish hungry girl. These doughnuts. Oh my God! These doughnuts I made because I’m a selfish girl who loves loves loves doughnuts.

Three facts about this, my first doughnut making experience:

These puppies took me about 3 hours and 15 minutes from start to finish. I started craving them after my morning run, and sunk my teeth into my first warm doughnut bite around 2pm. Worth every minute! Seriously.

I burned my mouth, yes, four times eating donut balls that were just too fresh from the fryer. Worth it. I’d do it all over again.

If I didn’t get the what was left after the “Joy vs. Doughnut Throwdown 2008″ out of my house, I might well have eaten every singe one. Not a joke. Fact.

If you’ve never made doughnuts before, here is my advice to you: Oh my God! Take the afternoon off. Turn off your phone. Make these donuts. Eat five to eight, and then promptly walk over to your neighbors house and beg them to take the rest off your hands. If your neighbors aren’t home you might even want to call the cops, they’ll be able to stop you from eating the remainder. You’ll need handcuffs.

Are you FoodProof!?

Remember how you felt when you first discovered Tastespotting? It was like foodie heaven, right?

Well, FoodProof gave me that same foodie love feeling. So what’s the deal? FoodProof is a group of happy, food loving people that come together with photos, videos, recipes and blogs. There’s no pretension, no snobbery, no excess of culinary degrees and puff pastry. Give the guys and gals at FoodProof a visit. Join the fray and make some new friends. I’m totally a fan. I think you will be too.

Oh My God! Chocolate Glazed Doughnuts!

Gourmet, December 2006

Print this recipe!

makes 1 dozen doughnuts

1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons warm water (105–115°F)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for sprinkling and rolling out dough
1 cup whole milk at room temperature
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
About 10 cups vegetable oil for deep frying

Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Mix together flour, milk, butter, yolks, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and yeast mixture in mixer at low speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat 3 minutes more.

Scrape dough down side of bowl (all around) into center, then sprinkle lightly with flour (to keep a crust from forming). Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Alternatively, let dough rise in bowl in refrigerator 8 to 12 hours.)

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round (1/2 inch thick). Cut out as many rounds as possible with 3-inch cutter, then cut a hole in center of each round with 1-inch cutter and transfer doughnuts to a lightly floured large baking sheet. Cover doughnuts with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes (45 minutes if dough was cold when cutting out doughnuts). Do not reroll scraps.

Heat 2 1/2 inches oil in a deep 4-quart heavy pot until it registers 350°F on thermometer. Fry doughnuts, 2 at a time, turning occasionally with a wire or mesh skimmer or a slotted spoon, until puffed and golden brown, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. (Return oil to 350°F between batches.)

I also fried the doughnut holes for about 1 minute and them tossed them in powdered sugar and cinnamon sugar straight out of the hot grease.

Chocolate Glaze

recipe from Alton Brown

This is enough glaze for a double batch of doughnuts!

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk, warmed
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Turn off heat, add the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the doughnuts immediately. Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving.

Want more options for doughnut glazes?  Chocolate doesn’t float your boat?  See if any of these toppings fit your fancy!