Tag Archives: doughnuts

Summer at Sidecar Doughnuts

It’s been quite some time since I wrote about Sidecar Doughnuts.  For those who aren’t familiar, Sidecar Doughnuts is a delightful doughnut shop in Costa Mesa that bakes fresh doughnuts daily made with all-natural ingredients and no preservatives.  The Englishman and I pop in there every so often for a weekend treat, and when I heard about all the exciting things happening this summer at Sidecar Doughnuts, I knew I had to pop in and check it out.

Summer at Sidecar Doughnuts Summer nightsThis summer, Sidecar Doughnuts is introducing what they call “Sidecar Nights,” where the shop will be open on Fridays and Saturdays until 9pm!  Perfect for any time you have a doughnut craving after dinner.  And since the doughnuts are made fresh hourly, you won’t have to choose from the morning’s leftovers.  Psst – if you come in the morning keep your receipt for $2 off your doughnut later in the day!

Summer at Sidecar Doughnuts Forty WinksThe other exciting thing happening this summer at Sidecar Doughnuts is the introduction of their signature coffee, Forty Winks.  Admittedly the Englishman and I do not really drink coffee at all, but there’s something special about this blend.  Sidecar partnered with famed Stumptown Coffee to create their Forty Winks blend and it is good.  If you are a coffee enthusiast, I definitely recommend checking it out.

Summer at Sidecar Doughnuts Summer FlavorsOf course each month Sidecar Doughnuts introduces delicious new flavors and this month is no exception.  Some of the August flavors include a Malasada doughnut with strawberry jam, a Mid-Summer Garden Cake made with zucchini, a Buttermilk Old Fashioned, and Fig and Goat Cheese.  I’d like to think that the Buttermilk Old Fashioned was made in honor of my birthday month because it is that good.

Summer at Sidecar DoughnutsLazy weekend mornings with coffee and a doughnut.  Life doesn’t get much better than that.

Now who wants to go get a doughnut with me?

Voodoo Doughnut

When you tell people you have been to Portland, the first question most of them ask is “Did you go to Voodoo Doughnut?” and the second question is “how was it?”  If you aren’t familiar, Voodoo Doughnut is a Portland icon.  The doughnut shop has been featured on shows such as Man vs. Food, and millions of tourists trek there each year to get their doughnuts in the trademark pink box.

Voodoo DoughnutsOf course, getting the doughnuts proved to be more complicated than I initially anticipated.  The first time we went to the original location the line was wrapped around the block at 8pm. (Voodoo Doughnut is also open 24/7 with the exception of Christmas, New Year’s and Thanksgiving).

Voodoo Doughnuts LineAfter standing in line for about 15 minutes and realizing the line wasn’t moving at all, we decided to abandon ship and try to get the doughnuts the following day, and decided to try going in the afternoon in the hopes that the heat would steer the crowds away.

The next day we made our way over to Voodoo Doughnut again, eager to get our own pink box of delicious doughnuts.  You can only imagine my disappointment when I saw that the line was twice as long as the day before!  And given the fact that it was 90 degrees out, neither of us wanted to stand in line in the blazing sun.  So once again we walked away empty-handed and I drowned my sorrows in a few glasses of prosecco.

After some googling and yelping in the hotel room later, it was decided that we would go to Voodoo Doughnut Too, located in East Portland.  The second location had the exact same selection as the original but was not as crowded.

The next morning (two days after our first attempt), we hopped in our rental car and drove the 10 minutes over to East Portland and found ourselves in front of Voodoo Doughnut Too with a line of about five people. It was almost like taking a road trip in England. Victory was ours!  We made our way inside the doughnut shop and instantly became mesmerized by the rotating display of doughnuts.

Voodoo Doughnut SelectionVoodoo Doughnut is best known for their eclectic menu and flavor options such as the Voodoo Doll doughnut, the Bacon Maple Bar, the Portland Cream and Captain my Captain doughnut which is topped with Captain Crunch cereal.

Voodoo Doughnut MenuWe kept it on the simple side and stuck with the Voodoo Doll, a Butterfinger doughnut, a chocolate doughnut, cinnamon sugar doughnut, chocolate doughnut with crushed nuts and the Portland cream.

Voodoo Doughnut Pink BoxVictory was ours!  I finally had a pink box full of doughnuts that had alluded me for the past three days.  But now it was time for the real test.  Would the Voodoo Doughnut live up to the hype?

Voodoo Doughnut SelectionAfter tasting the doughnuts, I have to say I am very glad I did not wait in line for an hour for these.  They just tasted like your regular doughnut and not sprinkled with any special voodoo magic.  I have to say that I much prefer Sidecar Doughnuts in Costa Mesa to the ones at Voodoo Doughnut.

However, I am glad that I tried Voodoo Doughnut.  They may have been a bit underwhelming, but they were ridiculously cheap (a lot of flavors are less than a dollar) and the doughnut shop is just one of those things you have to do when you visit Portland.  Just don’t go to the original location and wait an hour for them.  And if you ever make it to Orange County, be sure to check out Sidecar Doughnuts, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

We bought some doughnuts to bring back home as all our friends and relatives were excited to try them as well. We had so many boxes with doughnuts that I thought we should have rented one of those passenger vans to your fleet. We just could not come back home without doughnuts, you know.

Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee

I have been eagerly awaiting the opening of Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee since I first tried their doughnuts back in January.  After weeks and months of following their delivery truck updates on Facebook and Twitter, Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee is finally open for business in Costa Mesa!

I had an opportunity to attend a special preview event at Sidecar which just further emphasized my love for their doughnuts.  Upon arriving, I was presented with a plate with a wide variety of different cake and yeast doughnuts.

sidecar doughnuts and coffeeSidecar bakes their doughnuts in-house every morning (in fact, they fry a new batch every hour) and all the doughnuts are made with natural ingredients and free of additives and preservatives.  You can tell just by looking at them how fresh they are.

SideCar Doughnuts and Coffee

On this  visit, I got to sample the following flavors:

Birthday Cake–  covered in rainbow sprinkles and pink icing and reminded me of the sprinkle doughnuts I would get as a kid

Coconut – this was glazed with coconut milk icing.  I love all things coconut and loved this.

Huckleberry – I first tried this doughnut back in January, and still love it.

Maple Bacon – If you are a bacon lover or a maple lover or love sweet and salty you’ll love this.

Raspberry – Nice raspberry glaze on this one.  It’s the perfect spring doughnut.

Cinnamon Crumb – I loved the crunchy crumb topping on this one – very unique and tasty.

Malsada with Haupia – This doughnut had a nice cream filling.  I don’t always like cream filling in doughnuts but this was top-notch.

Callebaut Chocolate – Pretty much perfection.  Can’t go wrong with chocolate.

If you have a gluten allergy, fear not! I had the opportunity to speak with Chef Brooke Des Prez as well, and she shared that Sidecar would also be offering a gluten-free doughnut every Friday starting April 19th.  The plan is to have one gluten-free flavor in the shop every week (the flavor may change) and if the gluten-free doughnut is popular they will continue to add more flavors as well.  The gluten-free flour blend contains brown rice, garbanzo and potato flour.  There’s also talk of a vegan doughnut in the works as well.

Chef Des Prez also shared that Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee would also have seasonal flavors, with the Guava doughnut being the first one for spring.  And if you like savory doughnuts, Sidecar has a Rosemary doughnut that is sure to be up your alley.

In addition to the amazing doughnuts, Sidecar also offers coffee from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, a Portland-based company that prides itself on sourcing the best coffee in the world and maintaining strong relationships with their farmers.

Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee

Now I am by no means a coffee connoisseur, but this coffee was some of the best I’ve had in a long time.  My latte was rich, creamy, and didn’t have the bitter aftertaste that some coffee can have.  I can see why this coffee and doughnut pairing is a match made in heaven.  Thanks Sidecar Doughnuts and Coffee for bringing your delicious goods to 17th Street.

Sidecar doughnuts and coffee malsadas

Now who’s ready for a doughnut?

 

 

Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

For quite some time, I’ve wanted a doughnut pan.  I think this had to do with the fact that I hadn’t had a doughnut in ages (cake doughnuts with frosting and sprinkles are the best btw) and I needed to satisfy my doughnut craving by making doughnuts.  But for whatever reason, I never bought a doughnut pan, just talked incessantly about it.

During a recent trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond I finally bought one and immediately started brainstorming ideas for my first batch of doughnuts.  Since it is October and my pumpkin obsession is in full force, I decided that my first batch of doughnuts would be pumpkin ones.

These doughnuts are whole-wheat, made with healthy ingredients and are quite a delight!  I didn’t use a glaze on this batch but I think I will next time.  Instead, I rolled them in cinnamon and sugar once they were done baking which gave them a nice touch of sweetness.

My doughnut pan only had room for 6 doughnuts, so I made mini-doughnut holes with the remaining batter.  The doughnut holes are a great mid-afternoon pick me up with a cup of tea (pumpkin of course).

Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts (inspired from this recipe)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups spelt flour (whole wheat or pastry flour would work too)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup sunflower oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

1. Assemble your ingredients and preheat your oven to 350F.

2. Mix together flour, baking power, salt and spices in a mixing bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together your wet ingredients: egg, almond milk, sunflower oil, maple syrup, vanilla and pumpkin.

4.  Fold your dry ingredients into the wet ones and continue mixing until everything is well blended.

5.  Grease your doughnut pan (or mini-muffin pan for doughnut holes) and pour the batter into the molds.  Be careful not to add too much batter like I did the first time!

6.  Place doughnut pan/mini-muffin pan into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.

7. Pull doughnuts out of the oven and set on a rack or plate to cool.  Once cooled, roll the doughnuts in cinnamon and sugar.

Eat your doughnuts and enjoy!  These doughnuts taste the best on the day they are made, but I thought they also made a fabulous topping over some frozen Greek yogurt the next day as well.