Sorry to my partner, but carbs in all its forms are actually the great loves of my life. Taking top spot alongside my puppy, there are very few things that bring me as much pure joy as a fresh, doughy baked good, a huge bowl of pasta or hot bread straight from the oven. But if I had to pick my forever love, my one and only, it is without question the cinnamon donut.
My love affair with cinnamon donuts started when I was a kid. As the youngest of three, I always went with my mum to the shops on a Saturday morning to do the groceries and as a treat to keep me quiet, we’d stop off for coffee (her) and donuts (me) beforehand. It was no coincidence there was a Donut King right outside the supermarket — it was fate.
It was the ideal scenario. Ordering a frozen coke and two hot cinnamon donuts, watching them be cooked fresh in the hot oil, then biting into one without waiting for it to cool and immediately burning the roof of my mouth. Stealing a scoop of mum’s cappuccino foam before diving back into the second cinnamon sugar-coated pillow was the stuff of dreams. It was a ritual I cherished and try to recreate as an adult whenever I get the chance.
Cinnis are the original donut. Along with their more grown-up Spanish and Portuguese sister, churros, the cinnamon donut is perfection. It doesn’t need any improvement, and yet, many people have tried.
Donuts have had a huge resurgence in the past few years, and while some may go for an over-the-top, iced mash-up that fits the theme of the latest movie release, it’s just not for me. If I had a dollar for every time a dozen Star Wars doughnuts were delivered to the office, I’d be a very rich person (or at least, the proud owner of a tenner). And every time I said no to another alien-coloured donut, I’d think of a humble cinni and how she had been unceremoniously cast aside for a flashier, newer model.
See, dear friends, nothing beats a hot cinnamon donut and it sure looks like a lot of you forgot that somewhere along the line. Donut King told us that a new baby hot donut is brought into the world every 6.6 seconds, so this love letter goes out to all the legends who are keeping the dream alive.
Simply put, the donut overlords went too far when they fiddled with the cinnamon donut. I know the bright colours are hypnotising, but I’m here to remind you that it’s never too late to go back to your roots. For me, it’s cinnamon or nothing and in a pinch, a simple iced donut will also do. And I want that life for you, too.
So, am I saying the donut inventors should have patted themselves on the back and promptly packed up shop the moment they created the cinnamon donut? Yes. Am I saying that part of the appeal of a cinnamon donut is puffing through the pain of burning the roof of your mouth? Also yes.
