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"Old-fashioned" doughnuts

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S

Soybean

Member
I grew up in New Jersey. Until I talked to a friend who grew up in Seattle I was unaware that parts (most?) of the United States have a different definition of "old-fashioned" doughnuts than I do.

What I think of as old-fashioned is a plain cake doughnut, likely because Dunkin' Donuts and Wawa (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania-based chains, respectively) call them this. There are varieties of old-fashioned doughnuts that have powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar.
J9GVhJ8.jpg
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But apparently a good chunk of people know old-fashioned doughnuts as sour cream doughnuts.
In7apXv.jpg
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I'm guessing the plain cake definition is a Northeast thing. I accept Serious Eats as an authority on food, and they call sour cream doughnuts "old-fashioned", so I guess that's that. But man, what a thing to find out at the age of 34.

So I kinda want to make map. What are "old-fashioned" doughnuts to you?

P.S.: I spell out doughnuts all the time because I lost a 5th grade spelling bee with "donuts". Never again. Never.
 
gar3

gar3

Member
South Central Pennsylvanian here and old-fashioned is a plain cake doughnut to me. My wife is 100% Japanese and the only doughnut she'll eat is a plain cake one which she too referred to as "old-fashioned" when I first met her. She would buy old-fashioned doughnuts from Mr. Doughnut in Japan most of the time.
 
H

Hilbert

Deep into his 30th decade
It's funny, just the other day I asked my wife to get me an old fashioned donut, and I had in mind the sour cream kind, and she got me a round cake donut.
 
J

Jedi2016

Member
We have both of them here in Texas, but I've never thought about what they're called. Out of the two in the OP, I prefer the "cake" style doughnut myself. Blueberry glazed. Awesome.
 
C

ChawlieTheFair

pip pip cheerio you slags!
I once bought a value variety pack of donuts from walgreens. They weren't very good, but I ate them anyway. That's about all my experience with fancy donuts.
 
P

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
SRUCiam.jpg


Plain donuts dabes

ChawlieTheFair said:
I once bought a value variety pack of donuts from walgreens. They weren't very good, but I ate them anyway. That's about all my experience with fancy donuts.
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You're only experience with FANCY donuts was a value pack from walgreens??
 
M

masud

Banned
Im from new york. The top one is what id call an old fashioned donut. Ive never even heard of the other one.
 
F

Frank the Great

Banned
Regiruler said:
Somewhat off-topic but apple-flavored cake donuts with sugar on top are literally the greatest donuts of all time.
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Are you referring to apple cider donuts? Because apple cider donuts are the shit. Especially when you get them freshly fried on an orchard. Definitely the best donut I've ever had.
 
S

Soybean

Member
I love all doughnuts myself (though probably prefer the sour cream over a plain cake). My favorite is just a yeast-raised doughnut with simple sugar glaze. It's a good baseline for comparing doughnuteries.
 
M

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
In California, an old fashioned donut is the sour cream one, yes. I cannot even begin to express my disappointment if I were to ask for an old fashioned and someone brought me one of those throat-clogging cake monstrosities. Cake donuts are the worst.
 
R

Regiruler

Member
Frank the Great said:
Are you referring to apple cider donuts? Because apple cider donuts are the shit. Especially when you get them freshly fried on an orchard. Definitely the best donut I've ever had.
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Yeah, I meant the Apple Cider donuts. So amazing.

I always thought that was just what my orchard called them to have a catchier name than just apple donut, never knew they were a full thing.
 
C

Cheerilee

Member
Sour cream doughnuts are known in Vancouver as "old fashioned doughnuts".

Miniature cake doughnuts with cinnamon sugar are known almost exclusively in Vancouver by the brand "Those Little Doughnuts" and are available at our local summer fair.
 
A

Ace Harding

Member
Never heard of the sour cream type, but I also don't recall ever hearing of an "old fashioned" donut. If I heard someone say that I would assume they were referring to a plain donut. I'm from Philadelphia.
 
J

- J - D -

Member
I always thought it was just plain donut that was considered old fashion. The best ye olde plain donut I've ever had was from Pike's Peak in Colorado. Only problem is you have to go up a mountain to get 'em.
 
C

Christine

Member
It's really not that hard to understand. There are two main donut doughs, yeast and cake.

Yeast dough is used to make 'raised' donuts, much airier and lighter.

"Cake" donut dough is leavened with baking soda and is much denser and more cake-like.

Cake donuts are made in two primary shapes, "ring" and "old-fashioned ring".

The old-fashioned ring exposes more surface area and makes a crispier, drier donut. This helps a lot with a super moist dough like sour cream. Other doughs like crumb cake just wouldn't work as an old-fashioned, they'd break apart. That's why you see some flavors that are only available as old-fashioned and some that are only in the smooth ring. But no particular flavor is necessarily implied by 'old-fashioned'; they can be chocolate.
 
A

andymcc

Banned
any Ohioan should know the pure joy that is Buckeye Donuts (Jolly Pirate in KY/WV) old-fashioned (aka Sour Creme donut). It is the donut in my mind.
 
J

JBourne

maybe tomorrow it rains
This place is legendary in Charlottesville.

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Donuts made with potato flour. Fucking amazing. Place opens up at 6:00 and closes when they run out. I don't think I've ever seen them open until 2:00, when their actual closing time is. There's usually a line before they open up.

a6aDCpv.jpg
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All of C'ville GAF will know what I'm talking about.
 
D

Daniel B·

Banned
I've never heard of "old fashioned" doughnuts (perhaps because I jumped ship from the UK), but I now have a sudden urge for a McD cinnamon cake donut :).
 
Z

zombi

Member
Christine said:
Old Fashioned is the shape. You can get it in buttermilk, sour cream, chocolate, glazed, and yes, plain cake (My Favorite).



There's a rich history of donut innovation I guess.

Found it!

Of course there's an Internet Donut Database.

Of course there is.



It's the best coffee dipping donut.
Click to expand...

Whoa. This is weird, that's my photo and site, haha. So crazy you cited it. We're redesigning now so bare with the design.

Onto donuts. My favorite is listed on there, chocolate glazed buttermilk. We say "cake" and "buttermilk" pretty interchangeably here in California so maybe it's not specific to the northeast.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Gentleman Jack said:
These are the best, but these days I take them unglazed as my palate can't handle so much sugar/sq. inch any more.
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I actually prefer them unglazed as well, but that was the best pic I could find of one. I've also seen them with cinnamon and sugar, which is pretty great.
 
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