To celebrate National Doughnut Day, I’m taking you to London! We’re hitting Spitalfields Market for some unique flavors tucked into an historical corner of the city.

When I was two, my dad would take me to the small town doughnut shop and show me off to his pals. They, in turn, would treat me to doughnuts. It was an excellent system!

When I was in elementary school, my older sisters had jobs at the local grocery store and would treat me to the bakery’s chocolate glazes on the regular. It was an excellent system!

When I was approaching my 30s, I took the skillet by the handle and experimented with frying my own doughnut recipes. It was a creative system.

When I went to the UK last week for the Spice Girls reunion tour (more on that!), I stayed for the doughnuts and coffee. 

This is all to say…

Happy National Doughnut Day!

It’s obviously a “holiday” that’s near and dear to my heart. 🙂 

A wee bit of a back story:

In May, three friends and I flew to London, walked all over, sipped some lovely drinks, and ate some lovely bites. Then we drove to Bath, took in the sites and continued on to Cardiff, Wales, where we spiced up our lives! We took a lovely country drive back to London with a pitstop at Stone Henge and then had an evening and a morning for more London explorations. Our last stop was Spitalfields Market. 

I love a good market visit (like these: Lancaster, Milwaukee, Harrisburg) because it’s a chance to see a lot of the local culture and typically, an historical building as well. Thanks to Spitalfields, we stuffed our morning with coffee, a doughnut sampling, some breakfast sandwiches and a quick tour of the local purveyors’ offerings. If I had more room in my suitcase, I probably would have returned with several handmade wool jackets and dresses. 

Why Crosstown Doughnuts Checks off all my boxes:

• That truck is my dream food truck!
• Crosstown Doughnuts make SOURDOUGH doughnuts, so they’re bready but still squishy and light. They’re everything your inner child wants to love with some adult sensibilities for good measure. 
• They use natural ingredients and make all their toppings, fillings, and extra flavor accents from scratch. 

… and their flavors! Check these out:

Happy National Doughnut Day:

The Flavors (Clockwise from top):

Lemon-Thyme & Beetroot Dough (Sourdough/Vegan)
Crosstown’s famous pink beetroot dough gets a vegan makeover, hand-dipped in a tangy lemon-thyme glaze and finished with vanilla crumble and fresh lemon-thyme. 

Lime & Coconut (vegan)
Vegan spirulina dough filled with a coconut custard and topped with a zesty lime glaze and vanilla crumble topping.

Peanut Butter & Black Currant Jam
Crosstown’s indulgent take on the classic American peanut butter and jelly combination. An unfilled square sourdough topped with a thick, indulgent, dark roast peanut butter glaze and their homemade, tangy blackcurrant compote with a sprinkling of toasted peanuts.

Sea Salt Caramel Banana Cream aka “Banoffee Heaven”
A winning combination of sweet, silky, fresh banana custard filling encased in Crosstown’s light and fluffy chocolate sourdough. We then top it all off with a generous swirl of sea salt caramel and a home made chocolate “soil.”

Tongan Vanilla Bean Glaze (vegan) … ie: Classic PERFECTION!
A vegan sourdough topped with Tongan vanilla bean glaze.

Chocolate Truffle
The truffle ring doughnut combines milk and dark chocolate to create the ultimate chocolate doughnut. It is filled with decadent milk chocolate truffle mousse (!!!) and topped with a generous smothering of dark chocolate ganache. To top it all off, they lightly dust the doughnut with bittersweet cocoa powder.

Speaking of “beetroot,” I’ve experimented with that rosy hue and doughnuts before. If you can’t hop on a flight to London, you can check out my recipe for naturally whole grain and gluten-free Roasted Beet & Rose Water Doughnuts. 

The reality of National Doughnut Day looks a little more like this… aka: annihilation … 

Now, alas, back to the ordinary. 

Happy National Doughnut Day!