Place of origin Canada, United States Main ingredients Doughnut, Coconut | Serving temperature Hot or cold | |
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Food energy
(per serving) 340 (chocolate coconut doughnut) kcal Other information 3 g protein, 42 g carbohydrate, 18 g total fat (9 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 400 g sodium (chocolate coconut doughnut) Places of origin Canada, United States of America Similar Doughnut, Coconut, Boston cream doughnut, Cider doughnut, Sour cream doughnut | ||
The coconut doughnut (or coconut donut) is a variety of doughnut in the United States and Canada that is usually covered or topped with shredded or flaked coconut topping. It is often toasted or broiled, and there are variations made with chocolate and, in a 1959 recipe, orange juice in the dough and icing.
Contents
Coconut doughnuts are not usually filled, but there is an unrelated coconut doughnut that uses a coconut cream filling (like a boston cream doughnut or jelly doughnuts), which Conan O'Brien reportedly had a "life-altering experience with" during a three-day visit to Toronto in 2004: "it blew my mind," O'Brien was quoted in the Toronto Star.
History
A 1946 recipe in the Chicago Tribune suggested coconut or chopped nuts as a doughnut topping. A 1964 discussion of doughnut popularity and innovation (such as drive thru stores, the doughnut hole, and a handle to aid coffee dipping), advertising director Carl Zucher of the Mr. Donut company said a customer at a Florida drive-in feeds them to his horse, and especially the toasted coconut variety was the horse's favorite.
Recognition
Andy Ward calls Dunkin' Donuts' toasted coconut variety "the greatest doughnut of them all" in an Esquire article. He describes it as being unusual and not well respected by food conneissurs who have never tried it and associate it with being cheap and artery clogging, but credits the "marriage of textures" for making them "so perfect, they make me feel bad for Krispy Kreme.
A coconut doughnut from the Sugar Shack doughnut shop at a Shell station on U.S. 27 in Somerset, Kentucky, was determined to be one of the best doughnuts in the United States in 1999. The owners, Patrick and Audrey Godin, fell in love 27 years earlier while working at a Dunkin' Donuts in Nashua, New Hampshire, where 16-year-old Patrick became an apprentice baker. Doughnut connoisseurs have also praised the Toasted Coconut Donut at Dunkin' Donuts.
A coconut doughnut that is a "girly shade of pink" is a featured product of "cult" doughnut shop Top Pot Doughnuts in Seattle, Washington. It was one of the varieities included in a 2005 distribution agreement with Starbucks stores in Western Washington.
Controversy
A mouse munching on a coconut doughnut in the window of a franchised Dunkin' Donuts outlet (Riese Organization's) in Midtown Manhattan became infamous in 1998 and was included on the front page of The New York Post. It was noted in a lawsuit where Dunkin' Donuts tried to oust the franchisee.