Most doughnuts are frosted, but the frost from our first big winter storm severely derailed the first seasonal doughnut-off of the year. Since chocolate has only been an element of two past roundups, we selected the chocolatiest option there is: devil's food cake with chocolate frosting and, if offered, topped with chocolate sprinkles.
But no way was I going to haul myself to Sisters for the usual gold or silver medalist, Sisters Bakery. Nor was I going to schlep up to Redmond for the new Morning Story or down to La Pine for the classic Wickiup Junction (I braved the 10-mile, round-trip drive, no need to tack on an additional 100 miles). I couldn't go to Delish Donuts as its voicemail informed me it was closed due to weather. Sweetheart Donuts is possibly closed altogether as recent attempts to simply get a doughnut from its drive-through have been as unfruitful as a non-jelly doughnut. The only other known purveyor of doughnuts is Too Sweet Cakes, but a chocolate-glazed cronut is not a devil's food doughnut!
Given the dearth of available options, that leaves more room in this story to cry out for a new doughnut shop. Or, conversely, it leaves more room to opine about the number of Keto-adherents and other health nuts keeping the rest of us from more fresh doughnuts. Speaking of which, since two doughnuts does not a roundup make, I popped into the Safeway on Third Street because it slings fresh (to fresh-ish) doughnuts from its bakery.
Finally, even if I've buried the lede, there's scant difference between a standard chocolate cake and a devil's food cake, but the latter is supposed to be richer but also fluffier thanks to baking soda which creates larger air bubbles. We'll get to whether or not these bakers pulled that off, but it does make one wonder, why aren't there angel's food cake doughnuts? Maybe whoever is going to open a new doughnut shop in town can rectify that oversight.
The Dough Nut (755 NE Greenwood Ave., 541-241-8788)
If we're being honest, this doughnut shop hasn't always fared well (including this eighth such roundup, it has earned two gold medals but landed in the cellar thrice), but among a severely hobbled group of contestants, this puffy number was the unanimous winner, and the first unanimous winner ever among a rotating panel of judges. It scored well for its texture (a satisfying crispy, crunchy outer layer and light, fluffy inside) and for not being too sweet. Some judges picked up on the flavor of too much baking soda, which its almost spherical appearance belies. And while I personally want my doughnuts to be sweet, everyone agreed that the frosting and sprinkles gave this that boost of sweetness the doughnut itself may or may not have been missing. $1.25
Richard's Donuts & Pastries (61419 S Hwy 97, 541-385-3310)
Many Bendites consider Richard's the paragon of the Bend doughnut scene, and it has in fact come in first or second place in six prior roundups, but maybe there's a reason no one in the long line of folks who braved the elements (who I overheard ordering doughnuts by the dozens) requested devil's food ones (that come in a variety of sprinkle colors, but again, if you're going chocoholic like we did, why not go chocolate on chocolate on chocolate?!). "Dry." "Basic." And several votes of being "chalky" made Richard's earn its first-ever last-place finish even in a field that should've highly favored it. $1.50
Safeway (642 NE 3rd St,)
The lone devil's food option comes with a vanilla glaze and, egads, or sprinkles (or as my New York-born father still calls them, "jimmies.") Whereas The Dough Nut's texture was excellent, everyone couldn't help but notice that this morsel was too dang dense and chewy, leading one judge to comment that it was "gummy" like highly glutenous pizza dough. And while some decried this one being too sweet and not chocolatey enough (here's where chocolate icing could've saved it), if it wasn't being compared to others, the scores implied it barely suffices as a quick, convenient and cheap doughnut fix. $1.29
