If you are in the baking world you know that the first Friday of June is National Doughnut Day.

Note: Both ‘Donut’ and ‘Doughnut’ are accepted spellings. Many references (well OK, Wikipedia) cite that ‘donut’ is often used in the USA.  ‘Doughnut’ is the more accepted spelling around the world. For this post, I will stick to the ‘Doughnut’ spelling because it makes me feel smarter for some reason.

Trendy Doughnut

Like beer and yogurt (yoghurt?), doughnuts have gone through a renaissance.  Just as the large breweries and yogurt firms had to adopt a newer, trendier, approach to compete with artisan upstarts (or just buy them outright), we have seen old doughnut standards make attempts at cool.  Dunkin’ Donuts and Winchell’s first had to deal with Krispy Kreme when it was hip.  Now all three must contend with smaller, independent bakeries and doughnut shops as they explore the boundaries of the deep-fried dough and test the very definition of “doughnut”.

Check out this boundary-breaking offering from District Donuts, Sliders, and Brew in New Orleans?  Here is a photo from their website. Can you guess what this is?

This Monte Cristo is listed on their menu as a “Croquenut” and is made with Applewood smoked ham, Havarti cheese, Dijon, in a griddled donut topped with raspberry preserves and powdered sugar. Doesn’t it look Amazing? The link on their name (above) takes you straight to their menu.  You’ll end up there anyway. I might as well save you a few steps.

How about Welcome Chicken and Donuts in Phoenix, Arizona (once again, why waste time?) There you can get your favorite chicken and donut combination for lunch or just grab a South by Southwest Donut Sandwich that includes Fried Egg, Cheese, Jalapeno Relish, and Thai Sauce with your choice of bacon or sausage.  Oh yeah, of course, it comes wrapped in a cake donut!  Sounds amazing!

Doughnuts Around the World

This is not a phenomenon found only in the USA.  Check out Floresta Nature Doughnuts’ offerings in Tokyo. You can get doughnuts meticulously designed to look like cute animals. Take a look at this photo of a doughnut made in the shape of a mother and baby seal (photo found on their website).   If you would like to be smothered in cute then check out their menu.

Maybe you don’t care about doughnut trends. Do you want to see the largest doughnut mosaic in the world? That record was set in Ukraine.  Check out the Guinness World Record here.

Perhaps we should be lobbying to have an International Doughnut/Donut Day instead?