Friday, November 16, 2012

Fresh Donuts

No this is not a post about my home cooking adventures.  The donut shop is called Fresh Donuts.  In my opinion, three of their donuts are wickedly good.  The best in their category that I've had to date.

So uh...I actually planned on higher stacks of donuts for the photo-shoot, but I ate too many on the drive back home...

From the top: Devil's Food, Honey Oat, Blueberry.  

What sets Fresh Donuts apart from other shops is that their donuts feel light and clean on the palate because they are less sweet and oily than most.  It also tastes like they change the frying oil frequently.  (Fry enough donuts at home and you'll know what I mean.) Crumb structure is also pretty good, although I've had some inconsistencies with the traditional buttermilk in the past.

The Devil's Food has a strong cocoa presence and doesn't feel bogged down by oil and sugar when its in your mouth.  It is very common to see this type of donut suck up mindblowing amounts of oil as it cooks.  Another common mistake is to overload it with sugar like all creations from Krispy Kreme.  BTW, KK makes bad donuts.  Sorry if you're a fan, but it's true.

Honey Oat is something I don't see very often in donut shops.  Maybe they sell out when I get there or something.  I don't know.  Fresh Donuts achieves a perfect balance of sweetness and nuttiness that keeps me coming back every week for more.

Blueberry is also particularly noteworthy.  They don't skimp when it comes to ingredients.  Each donut contains a generous handful of berries so your mouth and nose will be filled with blueberry aroma with every bite.  Freakin' amazing.

I have a larger version of the following photo as my wallpaper.  Always brightens my spirits when I look at it.


I've also had the chance to try all their yeast-raised donuts (ie. OG glazed, sugar coated, bear claw, apple fritter, etc).  These are merely average.  There has not been a single donut shop whose yeast-raised dough can compete with mine.  I even find popular ones like Cafe Dulce's to be lackluster, if not slightly below average--especially given their high prices.

Restaurants, however, are a different story.  Mariah Swan (former pastry chef at Grace and currently at BLD) always impresses me.



Fresh Donuts  (next to Trader Joe's)
409 Avenida De Los Arboles
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
805.492-0566

1 comment:

caninecologne said...

I got excited when I saw the photos, then when I scrolled down, saw that this place was in Thousand Oaks!

Why can't it be in San Diego? (pulls hair)

The description of that blueberry donut is mouthwatering.