First it was Cinnamon Bun Sundaes - sundaes made with cinnamon and sugar coated little buns. Then it was Spudnut Hole Sundaes.
Kitchen tools, gourmet foods, baking mixes, and hard-to-find baking ingredients mentioned in this article are available at The Prepared Pantry.
by Dennis Weaver
Spudnuts always seem a little indulgent but they sure are good - much better than donuts. We used a SPUDNUT MIX and cooked both the donuts and the donut holes—with extra donut holes for our sundaes.
We read of a restaurant that soaked donuts holes in maple syrup. Why not glaze donuts in syrup? Would it work?
We're awash with buttermilk syrup these days and we've been tinkering with variations, adding flavors to the syrup. So far, maple and coconut are our favorites - and they are very, very good. So we decided to try all three - regular buttermilk, coconut, and maple - as a glaze.
We dipped donuts and holes in buttermilk syrup warmed in the microwave. That was a mistake; the syrup was too thin and we didn't get enough coating. After that, we used only room temperature syrup. Even then, we double dipped to get more coating.
It worked. The donuts were very good.
We were afraid that the donuts would be too sticky to eat with our hands. They were sticky, but not much more so than those glazed with a powdered sugar icing. The donuts seemed to absorb some of the moisture and, of course, they dried a bit.
We could see why the restaurant soaked theirs in the syrup - it made the syrup dominant. But a lighter coating of syrup was just right for us—not too sweet while the soaked ones were too sweet. With a thin coating, it was difficult to pick up the tones of butterscotch and caramel that makes buttermilk syrup so delightful. But the donuts were delicious. We glazed some of the donuts in the other syrups and liked the buttermilk maple syrup better and the buttermilk coconut syrup the best.
But on to our sundaes . . . . Here's how to make them:
1. Load glazed Spudnut holes in bowls.
2. Scoop ice cream on top of the Spudnut holes.
3. Drizzle warm buttermilk syrup over the ice cream and onto the Spudnut holes.
4. Sprinkle salt crystals over the syrup. The crunch of salt and the bursts of flavor are a nice contrasting touch. Use Himalayan Pink Salt Crystals or something similar.
5. Place a dollop of whipped cream on top. If you like, use Caramel Whipped Cream.
These make great sundaes. Of course you can try different ice creams and syrups or make banana splits. The glazed donut holes absolutely make these desserts.
Dennis Weaver is the founder of The Prepared Pantry, a full line kitchen store in Rigby, Idaho. The Prepared Pantry sells kitchen tools, gourmet foods, and baking ingredients including hundreds of hard-to-find ingredients.