Showing posts with label Doughnuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doughnuts. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Restaurant Review: Cartems Donuterie, In Vancouver...

















So, once I heard that there was a donut shop in Vancouver selling vegan Earl Grey donuts I knew I had to check it out. In fact when we were in Vancouver last September visiting family that was the very first place we went the morning of our arrival.


Apple Pie



























The shop is in what I think is a somewhat weird location, and it seems kind of 'off the beaten path' but the inside makes up for it's lackluster exterior. The shop is warm and inviting, with sleek wooden floors, big tables, and delicious aromas. The staff were all super friendly and super nice. We ordered quite a few donuts and asked several questions and they were very patient with us.

Classic Chocolate Glaze and Earl Grey
 
 



Maple Walnut and Earl Grey




































The Donuterie is not specifically vegan. They sell omnivore donuts and gluten-free donuts as well, but what I like about them is unlike other non-vegan places they have more then just one or two options. They have an entire case devoted to vegan donuts and the flavors are both classic and creative. I mean, and Earl Grey donut! How awesome is that? They also make pretty good coffee. Though the place is a little expensive, it is totally worth it, especially if this is a 'treat yourself' experience rather then an every day one.

If you're in or around Vancouver you have to check them out! They have two locations, I went to the one on W. Pender.

Apple Fritter


















Cartems Donuterie

534 W Pender St, Vancouver

2190 Main St , Vancouver

Monday, October 5, 2015

Restaurant Review: Blue Star Donuts, Portland, Oregon....
















Blue Star Donuts is a great little place we found by accident. I was in our hotel room reading reviews of Voodoo Donuts because we were planning to go there. So many people gave it bad reviews for service, attitude, and cost, which was discouraging. However many of them recommended Blue Star Donuts as an alternative option for vegan donuts in Portland. Of course I wanted to try both places, and I am so glad we did.
















Blue Star is a Gem. The donuts are soft on the inside, crisp on the outside. They're creative, delicious, sweet but not too sweet, and just perfect in every way. The two times we went they only had 3 vegan flavors, but that was enough for us. They had a classic powdered sugar donut, one with blueberry glaze, and another that was Olive Oil Orange. All three were fantastic but I think the blueberry one was my fave. Personally I did enjoy Blue Star more then Voodoo, and the service was better and friendlier.

My one recommendation is that if you go, and you should, you go early in the morning because by afternoon you'll definitely need to wait in line.

















Blue Star Donut Locations

 
1237 SW Washington St
(503) 265-8410
Open until 7:00 PM
Portland, Oregon
 
921 NW 23rd Ave
(503) 265-8659
Open until 8:00 PM
 
3753 N Mississippi Ave
(971) 254-4575
Open until 8:00 PM
 
3549 SE Hawthorne Blvd
(503) 477-9635
Open until 8:00 PM

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

For The Love of Doughnuts...

Baked Doughnuts with Old Fashion Glaze
















Okay, so doughnut pans are the coolest thing ever guys! Seriously! You know, I never really gave all that much thought to doughnuts before, I mean, sure I liked them well enough, and I ate them. - If you grew up in Canada within a stone’s throw of a Tim Hortons, then doughnuts were definitely a part of your cultural experience. - but I was never Homer Simpson crazy for them. They were never my sweet treat of choice.

When I went vegan I stopped eating doughnuts - obviously, since they aren’t vegan, and vegan doughnuts are somewhat hard to come by at least in the Midwest. Although I hear through the vegan grapevine that the West Coast has a couple of awesome vegan doughnut shops. Lucky! Anyway, I gave up these little treats and really never felt all that bad about it. I wouldn’t say I ever missed them. However over the past year the vegan blogging world has been posting more and more of these amazing vegan doughnuts, some store-bought and some home-made, and more and more vegan cook books are coming equipped with a doughnut recipe or two in the dessert chapter.
















Every time I would see one of these pictures or recipes I’d feel a fleeting sense of nostalgia, and then a sudden desire to make some doughnuts. For quite some time now I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a couple of doughnut pans, but it wasn’t until last weekend that my wonderful, thoughtful husband brought home three doughnut pans for me. I’d been talking about doughnuts endlessly for a week, and since there are no vegan doughnuts for sale around here, he did the next best thing and bought me the pans to make my own.

I started with a batch of Baked Chocolate Doughnuts with Chocolate glaze from Chloe Coscarelli’s book “Chloe’s Vegan Desserts” - Although I neglected to take a picture of the finished product, sorry. - and my world was changed forever! Baked vegan doughnuts! What a novelty, and so delicious! The recipe made about 18, and even though I gave 8 away, the rest didn’t last long. They were just too good to be true.

Baked Maple Sriracha Doughnuts 
















So now I’m in something of a doughnut baking frenzy, it's so much easier then I initially thought it would be and now I wish I hadn't waited so long to get some doughnut pans! I seriously want to make every doughnut recipe I can get my hands on now, and so today I decided to try another batch of doughnuts from Chloe, these ones were the Baked Doughnuts from “Chloe’s Kitchen” and are topped with Old Fashioned Glaze. Personally I thought there was a little too much nutmeg in the doughnut itself, and I thought the glaze tasted too much like powdered sugar, but my husband liked them, and that’s all that really matters.
















Then I decided to do something crazy. I decided to bake a batch of maple Sriracha doughnuts. I know exactly what you’re thinking, you’re thinking ew! But I’m telling you, as skeptical as I was at the start I am a total convert to using Sriracha in sweet confections. These were probably some of the best doughnuts I’ve ever had. The balance between spicy and sweet was perfect. The doughnut batter itself is rather plane, all the goodness comes in the glaze. Powdered sugar, maple syrup, almond milk, and Sriracha - doughnut heaven! This recipe comes from a little book called “The Veggie Lover’s Sriracha Cookbook” by Randy Clemens, a totally cute book that I can’t wait to get more use out of.

So the moral of the story is, get your hands on some doughnut pans, because they’re loads of fun, and you're gonna love it!