NATIONAL DOUGHNUT DAY!!!!!

Well, the 'Busy Bee' is busy (again), so I guess this one is up to me. 

National Doughnut Day, celebrated in the United States on the first Friday in June, is a fundraising event for the needy.                                                                     Created by THE SALVATION ARMY

in 1938, to also honor 200 of their volunteer members who went to France during World War I (then called The Great War). It was not possible to serve fresh baked goods from the huts established near the front lines, so two volunteers, Ensign Margaret Sheldon and  Adjutant Helen Purviance had the idea to make and serve doughnuts.

(They fried the doughnuts in upside down soldiers helmets! )  Instantly popular with the soldiers, Ensign Sheldon wrote in her diary - " Today I made twenty-two pies, three hundred doughnuts, and seven hundred cups of coffee." 

 The European soldiers had nicknamed the American soldiers "doughboys" because they were soft and inexperienced. Servicemen dubbed the women "Doughnut Dollies" and "Doughnut Lassies".

Probably because they were soft and sweet!

Even today, The Salvation Army still serves coffee and doughnuts at the sights of disasters, to emergency workers and civilian survivors. The Salvation Army is active in virtually every corner of the world.

During The Great Depression  that began with the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Hot soup, doughnuts, and hot coffee were served free to the unemployed. 









I love doughnuts, although I have been called a "doughnut snob" (by one who shall not be named) ,because my favorite doughnuts are the ones that are closer to pastries than traditional doughnuts. So here is a list of my favorite doughnuts (and /or pastries). 

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR
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A long oval pastry of choux pastry, also used in cream puffs, ( but a long raised doughnut can be used and actually that is how I prefer it) filled with custard and glazed with chocolate.

BOSTON CREAM
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The official state doughnut of Massachusetts. A round, raised doughnut filled with custard and glazed with chocolate.

BEIGNET
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One of the ten best foods to try in New Orleans. Square puffs of fried heaven covered in powdered sugar and served with cafe au lait or hot chocolate. Made famous by the Cafe du Monde in the French Market in New Orleans  (other places serve them now and you can buy the mix online or eat them at Disney resorts.) I see they are calling them Tiana's Beignets now, which is fitting. I thought The Princess and the Frog (wouldn't The Frog Princess make more sense?) was adorable. I will still pass on those Mickey Mouse-shaped ones,thank you, but the ones at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Cafe are very good. 

APPLE FRITTER
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The batter is filled with chunks of sweet apple, fried until crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle and then glazed. Yum.

ICED COCONUT
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A white cake doughnut with vanilla icing and covered with  shredded coconut.


BEAR CLAW
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The number of digits seems to vary by shop, and I have only had one with actual claws (almonds) so I think they might have called this a Bear Paw instead. Cinnamon inside and glazed and dusted with crumbs or ground nuts. 

CHURROS
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A Latin American /South American of fried choux pastry can be found in many different shapes (I picked this heart-shaped one because I thought it was so sweet), sometimes rolled in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar or served with a chocolate dipping sauce. I had my first Churro at the Renaissance Faire in California when I was visiting as a child. I do not remember what they looked like, only their intoxicating hot cinnamon-y aroma as it beckoned to us from across the fairgrounds. They were hot and rolled in powdered sugar and I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. 

I also had my first Italian ice there. Orange, served in it's own skin, carved like a little bowl and drizzled with raw honey. Little did I know that I would grow up to work for a man who (while helping me unpack my kitchen boxes when they arrived and saw my ice cream maker) would ask me if I knew how to make Italian ices. No, I admitted. But I soon learned. For him.💘

The more traditional doughnuts are - 

THE PLAIN CAKE DOUGHNUT
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THE GLAZED DOUGHNUT
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JELLY OR JAM-FILLED
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POWDERED
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Sometimes filled with jam, custard, or lemon.

THE OLD-FASHIONED
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Made with a sour cream-infused dough.

THE CHOCOLATE
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 I adore chocolate !, but chocolate doughnuts always seem to be missing something in the umm....chocolate department.

THE CINNAMON ROLL
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Cinnamon infused dough rolled, fried, and glazed. 



Now where was this one on STAR WARS DAY?

Apparently, AUSTRALIA is very fond of doughnuts AND Nutella Spread and have combined them into the Nutella Doughnut,

and the Nutella Doughnut Milkshake.

I do not quite understand this one.

They are also apparently fond of Sushi and doughnuts and this is the result.

(If TheChamCham sees this he will start packing for Australia).

I found the following picture while doing my research for this post. I think it is absolute proof that Australians REALLY love their pastries!

 I am still speechless and TheChamCham wanted to call the bakery to see if the little fellow was alright (after he stopped laughing). We hope that the possum was fine and that he had the money to pay for his feast or was at least willing to work off what he owed.

A "friend" brought me three Badusha/Balushahi from a trip to INDIA (who knew?) and they were very tasty ( especially for being over fourteen hours old!)

Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, dipped in a sugar syrup and garnished with chopped pistachios. The ingredients include ghee (clarified butter) and yoghurt. Someday, I would like to try a freshly made one. (Hint.Hint.)

On The Simpsons episode entitled "Treehouse of Horror XI " (The "Night of the Dolphin" segment) Homer ( who is of course famous for his doughnut obsession)

goes through the Krusty Burger drive-through and orders among other things, a Doughnut Burger with Cheese. 
We laugh, thinking who else but Homer Simpson would think that something so ridiculous could exist except in his gastronomical imagination? 

IT DOES!!! 😱

From The Straw in San Francisco, California, I give you..........The Ringmaster!

And not to be outdone, The Food Network's Paula Deen presents her Donut, Bacon, and Fried Egg Burger. (A sandwich only Homer Simpson could love).

Heaven Help Us!


So to end my salute to National Doughnut Day, I made a batch of doughnuts last night to celebrate.

With all modesty, I think they were the best doughnuts I have ever made (although, to tell the truth I have not made a lot of doughnuts) and was looking forward to breakfast.

But....this is what I found when I got up this morning.

Between TheChamCham, the kids, (and I suspect the dogs had a morsel or two), they did not stand a chance.

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but in my little world, the sincerest form of flattery is always an empty plate. 

                                                           Happy Doughnut Day to all,
                         

                                                                                                                   Tess 🌷

P.S. I am making more as soon as I post this. But I doubt they will last the day.🐾