Some doughnuts really require a LOT of dough. The credit-card killing, hip-pocket hurting kind of dough.
The idea of a doughnut that costs upwards of $400 a bite is both wince-inducing and strangely fascinating. As in, how the heck do you turn something that's mostly flour, sugar and yeast into a price-tag like that??
Most of us will never see, let along contemplate eating, such a mind-blower, but in honor of the arrival of Most Expensivest - the show that tackles high-price-tag indulgence - hitting SBS Viceland (9.45 pm Thursdays) and SBS On Demand this week - or watch the first episode below, we're casting a raised eyebrow in the direction of these over-the-top loops.
1. The world's most expensive doughnut? (well, kinda)
Technically, this is a cronut, but it's still a killer contender for the title. Dum Dum Donutterie in London created this one. The £1500 pricetag for the special edition Luxury Zebra Cro came courtesy of luxe ingredients including gold leaf, includes saffron-infused butter croissant dough, Cristal Rosé Champagne caviar, Tahitian vanilla beans and high-end Amedei Porcelana Italian chocolate. If you're wondering, that's about $2650 in Aussie dollars. And yeah, we couldn't resist the math. After some debate about how many bites it takes to eat a doughnut (responses varied from a greedy three "but it depends what else I've had already" to a moderate eight "given the extras piled on top"), we settled on six and figured out that every mouthful would have been $440.
2. Going for gold
In the first episode of Most Expensivest, host 2 Chainz catches up with Bjorn DelaCruz, chef of the Manila Social Club in Miami, Florida, to wrap his laughing gear around a gold-leaf laden pastry that also comes with a four-figure price tag. While DelaCruz's everyday gold doughnut (complete purple ube yam mousse and pieces of Champagne jelly) is around $US100, for 2 Chainz he serves up the $US1000 ($A1300) Eleanor Sophia variation - it's bigger, it uses more expensive Champagne plus cognac, and a really big pile of gold leaf. The verdict? "Sugar on top of sugar on top of sugar." Just don't eat the gold leaf by itself:
3. Here, too
Australia hasn't missed out on going for gold. There was plenty of excitement in Melbourne when Goldeluck’s Bakeshop threw a 24-karat gold topped dossant - a doughnut-croissant hybrid - on the menu earlier this year.
4. Is that really a doughnut?
A few years back, doughnut chain Krispy Kreme and department store Selfridges unveiled this eye-catcher, decorated with white chocolate flowers and butterflies, and sitting on top of a cocktail. It came with a £1000 price tag.
And for the rest of us....
Want to up the stakes on your doughnut without a four-figure price-tag? We suggest making this doughnut ice-cream sandwich. Still totally indulgent, and just right for summer too.
Watch Most Expensivest - tackling everything from high-end eats to pampered pets - SBS Viceland 9.45 pm Thursdays then on SBS On Demand.
Cop coffee ice-cream sandwich Source: Roland Persson
Here's the first episode to give you a taste (including that doughnut...)
