In the world of menu item mashups, I think the cronut may have been the first one to catch my attention. Dominique Ansel is credited with wedding the croissant with the doughnut in 2013 at his New York bakery. That may have been when the mashup term was coined in the culinary domain. Incidentally, another baker wanted to make and promote his version, but found cronut was trademarked. So, he named his doughssant. And then there was the Zonut… same thing, but created by Australia pastry chef Adriano Zumbo. And so on.
But the doughnut has a lot more to give, and mashups continue. Earlier this month (September), Krispy Kreme launched a first-of-its-kind mashup between churros and doughnuts, calling them ChurrDoughs. The LTO special treats come in three flavors: Cinnamon Sugar, Cookies & Kreme and Dulce de Leche.
It’s the fall, so other chain operators are attempting to take doughnuts where they don’t traditionally go. Shake Shack just launched an Apple Cider Donut Shake: An apple cider doughnut frozen custard spun and topped with whipped cream and crunchy cinnamon doughnut pieces.
Voodoo Doughnut is taking a play from the beverage industry with an over-the-top indulgent doughnut designed to draw major attention on social media. Remember when shakes combined ice cream, cake, cookies, whipped cream, candy and more? Voodoo Doughnut’s fall special is the Mix-A-Lot Doughnut smothered in chocolate frosting and covered with pretzels and M&Ms with a peanut butter drizzle.
But there’s another “who could have imagined” mashup that crossed doughnuts with beauty products. On March 31, 2022, Dunkin announced its collaboration with E.L.F. Cosmetics for a doughnut- and coffee-inspired “wake up and makeup” makeup collection. I won’t list all six products, but one was The Dunkin’ Dozen: 12 shades of eyeshadow inspired by such flavors as strawberry frosted with sprinkles, chocolate frosted with sprinkles and Boston kreme. Another was Donut Forget Putty Primer, a “glazed-up” primer with a smooth texture and a doughnut scent. And how about the Glazed for Days Lip Gloss Set featuring a sheer, glossy duo of iconic colors that also smell like doughnuts. TikTok star Mikayla Nogueira was the promotion ambassador who hosted a live shopping event on her channel in April to walk fans through the makeup collection.
So, here we’ve seen that doughnuts have staying power, otherwise, there wouldn’t be national brands dedicated nearly exclusively to the treat. Now, while global cuisine is such a foodservice industry talking point, the next doughnut stars could likely originate from other cultural cuisines.
I live on Kauai where the population of 72,000 is made up of a few predominant ethnic groups, one of which is Portuguese. Thus, tourists will find delight in what has become a Hawaiian doughnut version taken from the Portuguese playbook—malasadas. It’s my favorite dessert on the menu at Tidepools at Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa.
Malasadas are reminiscent of doughnut holes, but more doughy/pastryesque. A plate of seven (rolled in a cinnamon/sugar mixture) comes with three dipping sauces: chocolate, mango-passionfruit coulis and koloa spiced rum pineapple caramel sauce. We order ice cream to go with it, so we cut open the round pastries, top them with ice cream and drizzle the sauces over the top.
Malasadas are a delicious part of Hawaiian cuisine—something tourists can experience that is typically not featured on the mainland. But it could be. It’s out there for the discovering!
Tell me what you think!
Jody
