Some of my favourite North American treats.
As some of you know I've been on a healthy eating quest for the last year or more so spending the last 6 weeks in North America probably wasn't the best thing for that! What it was good for though was lots (and lots!) of sensational baked treats which I couldn't resist but indulge in.
This is a run down of some of my favourites and recommendations for any friends who might be planning a visit to America or Canada soon.
1. Donuts.
Theres just nothing like their donuts! Think of the best, most delicious donut you've tried in New Zealand and you're not even close to most of the ones they just sell in their local coffee shops or supermarkets.
One of my ultimate favourites was this coconut cream custard filled one from Firecakes in Chicago. The best part was that the donut was coated in toasted coconut flakes and for this coconut lover it was sensational!
We also had some really great lemon poppy seed ones. Probably not conventional donut flavour but still great! I liked how the different flavours of donut seem to have very different doughs. These ones below were more of a dense cake consistency than the fluffy spongy textured ones we seem to find in our stores. Either way there really wasn't a bad donut I tried in the last 6 weeks. Some of my favourites included the Boston cream, cherry filled, bacon maple, custard cream, toasted coconut and just plain frosted. Simple but so good! We also tried many different kinds in Canada thanks to Tim Horton's incredible selection.
2. Banana splits
It seems like such a simple concept but getting it right is hard and American's have really nailed it! I think the 3 different flavours of ice cream is key here.
3. Pie
I actually only tried pie once in the states (I know what's wrong with me!) but that was because their dinner portions are so huge that you physically can't eat dessert no matter how much you want to. This pie was so great that it automatically comes in at number 3 in my mind.
It was at Manhattan Diner in New York, it was Cherry and it was incredible!
4. Cupcakes
We went to the cupcake ATM at Sprinkles Cupcakes which was pretty exciting. Unfortunately for us the machine didn't seem to be working so we had to go into the store to purchase our treats. They didn't have that many flavours but I love how beautifully presented they all were! These were their black and white cupcakes.
We also tried mini cupcakes from a store called Baked By Melissa in New York City. They were so cute and very addictive!
Mine was peanut butter and jelly and it was divine!
5. Boston Cream Pie.
Sometimes you can imagine what something is going to be like in your mind but then get it so very wrong. This was one of those times for me. I had always assumed that a Boston Cream Pie was in fact a pie. Nope! It's a cake and I also discovered that it is incredibly delicous. I'd really love to try and make one of mine own at some point.
Here is a rather ugly picture of my piece which I purchased from a cake shop called Mikes pastry shop in Boston's North End. It was (as my husband would say) legit! It's pretty much the best sponge cake you've ever had filled with fresh vanilla custard and topped with rich chocolate icing.
Here's a much prettier picture of one from the Betty Crocker website. It honestly doesn't look that hard to make so I'm looking forward to taking up the challenge when we get settled into a new place.
Slightly disappointing for me were the cinnamon rolls we had from Cinnabon. My husband enjoyed them but they just seemed really soggy and kind of uncooked to me. Anyway, I guess you can't win them all!
Thanks for the wonderful treats North America :)
This is a run down of some of my favourites and recommendations for any friends who might be planning a visit to America or Canada soon.
1. Donuts.
Theres just nothing like their donuts! Think of the best, most delicious donut you've tried in New Zealand and you're not even close to most of the ones they just sell in their local coffee shops or supermarkets.
One of my ultimate favourites was this coconut cream custard filled one from Firecakes in Chicago. The best part was that the donut was coated in toasted coconut flakes and for this coconut lover it was sensational!
We also had some really great lemon poppy seed ones. Probably not conventional donut flavour but still great! I liked how the different flavours of donut seem to have very different doughs. These ones below were more of a dense cake consistency than the fluffy spongy textured ones we seem to find in our stores. Either way there really wasn't a bad donut I tried in the last 6 weeks. Some of my favourites included the Boston cream, cherry filled, bacon maple, custard cream, toasted coconut and just plain frosted. Simple but so good! We also tried many different kinds in Canada thanks to Tim Horton's incredible selection.
It seems like such a simple concept but getting it right is hard and American's have really nailed it! I think the 3 different flavours of ice cream is key here.
3. Pie
I actually only tried pie once in the states (I know what's wrong with me!) but that was because their dinner portions are so huge that you physically can't eat dessert no matter how much you want to. This pie was so great that it automatically comes in at number 3 in my mind.
It was at Manhattan Diner in New York, it was Cherry and it was incredible!
4. Cupcakes
We went to the cupcake ATM at Sprinkles Cupcakes which was pretty exciting. Unfortunately for us the machine didn't seem to be working so we had to go into the store to purchase our treats. They didn't have that many flavours but I love how beautifully presented they all were! These were their black and white cupcakes.
We also tried mini cupcakes from a store called Baked By Melissa in New York City. They were so cute and very addictive!
Mine was peanut butter and jelly and it was divine!
Sometimes you can imagine what something is going to be like in your mind but then get it so very wrong. This was one of those times for me. I had always assumed that a Boston Cream Pie was in fact a pie. Nope! It's a cake and I also discovered that it is incredibly delicous. I'd really love to try and make one of mine own at some point.
Here is a rather ugly picture of my piece which I purchased from a cake shop called Mikes pastry shop in Boston's North End. It was (as my husband would say) legit! It's pretty much the best sponge cake you've ever had filled with fresh vanilla custard and topped with rich chocolate icing.
Here's a much prettier picture of one from the Betty Crocker website. It honestly doesn't look that hard to make so I'm looking forward to taking up the challenge when we get settled into a new place.
Slightly disappointing for me were the cinnamon rolls we had from Cinnabon. My husband enjoyed them but they just seemed really soggy and kind of uncooked to me. Anyway, I guess you can't win them all!
Thanks for the wonderful treats North America :)
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