Donuts 101
Yeast?
Cake?
Delicious.
To understand donuts (and, more particularly, Shire donuts), it’s important to understand the difference between the two primary types: yeast-raised and cake donuts.
Yeast-Raised Donuts
Most of us grew up on yeast-raised donuts. Whether it’s filled donuts like Boston cream or jelly, ring donuts or twists, yeast-raised donuts are light and airy and sometimes have a chewy texture. By themselves, these donuts have a mild, yeast-like flavor. Air is the enemy with these treats, so they’re best enjoyed the same day as they’re made since they tend to dry out quickly.
Cake Donuts
Leave it to American ingenuity to come up with a more efficient donut. Originally created in the U.S. in the early nineteenth century, cake donuts can be made quickly (no need to wait for the yeast to make the dough rise) and stay fresh for days (or longer if frozen). These donuts are typically smaller and more dense, with various complex flavors – vanilla, spice, chocolate, and blueberry to name just a few – and are perfect for dunking with coffee.
What We Do
Shire Donuts is primarily a cake donut shop. The simple, efficient process of creating cake donuts allows us to make these tasty treats right in front of you as the batter drops from a hopper into the fryer and travels down the conveyor, delivering fresh, warm donuts to the cooling tray. From there, our donut artists apply the finishing touches – icings, toppings, and drizzles. The result is quite possibly the freshest donut you’ll ever have.
Best of Both Worlds
Although cake donuts have grown in popularity over the years, to the point where the national preference is almost evenly split between the two types of donuts, there are still those who prefer yeast-raised donuts. For this reason, Shire Donuts offers a small variety and limited quantity of filled and ring donuts each week. They sell out quickly, so get here early!!!
Did you know?
Most of the cake donuts sold in the U.S. have a vanilla base, but our New England palette actually prefers a less-sweet, more complex spice base. For this reason, Shire Donuts uses less vanilla and more spices in its cake batter mix.