Time to Make the Donuts

Just got an email announcing that February 8 is the start of this year’s Create Dunkin’s Next Donut Contest , and I felt that old bitterness rise up. I thought my 2009 donut designs were so stellar that I’d be a guaranteed finalist. But no! The Powder Puff and Bing-a-Ling went unrecognized.

Entries were supposedly judged on 3 factors: description, name and actual artistry/yumminess of the donut itself. How elegant is the Powder Puff, a simple white-on-white confection filled with French vanilla crème, topped with white icing and white chocolate shavings, named in honor of Miss Puffelina?

For the quasi-health conscious, I served up the Bing-a-Ling (shown above), a blueberry cake donut with acai blueberry filling, peanut butter frosting and both cinnamon and chocolate shavings. From my description: “This donut was inspired by my cat Bing, whom I adopted from the ASPCA. He’s Siamese, so I selected blueberry cake and filling in honor of his baby blues….He just turned 13—could this be his lucky year?”

Apparently not. Perhaps the shape was off-putting, though the folks at Dunkin’ say the “stick” donut is perfect for on-the-go eating. Or perhaps not even Dunkin’ Donuts coffee (which I love, btw) is strong enough to wash that pb frosting off the roof of one’s mouth?

Anyway, last year’s finalists were a dizzying, drippy dozen “bellyaches waiting to happen,” as my good friend and colleague Kathy described them. Here’s the winner, in case you don’t believe me.

But just you wait for this year, DD! This time I’ve got Derrick for inspiration. Doncha think your clientele would gobble up the Pretty in Pink Eye, a blue-frosted donut rimmed in strawberry jelly? (Just kidding! But, *big sigh*, my poor baby’s conjunctivitis has cleared up, thank gawd and Dr. Dugan at the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital.)

Actually, this year I may look not to big cats but big bats for inspiration. I’ll submit a whole “team” of donut designs—a collector’s edition dozen based on New York Yankees players past and present. How ‘bout :
* the Jeet (coffee and cream flavored?)
* the Mo (with extra sprinkles, as in, “I want some ‘mo!”)
* the Jelly Martin (blueberry jelly filling, of course)
* Bern, Baby, Bern (it’s got cinnamon red-hot candies on top)
* the A-Rod (this one is a “stick” donut. Duh!)
* the Yogi (this one’s a twisted cruller-type pretzel-shaped donut)
and the best of all…
* the Thurman Munchkin!