Sweet of the Week: Gingerbread Doughnut at Glazed & Infused

There aren't many foods in this world I like more than doughnuts, but gingerbread is one of them. I would happily devour an entire gingerbread house Hansel & Gretel-style if I could, regardless of whether or not I were to be heaved into an oven at the end of my binge. Death by fire is entirely worth it. So yeah, this time of year is my happy time, not so much for the sense of family and gift-giving and merriment, but moreso for all the gingerbread. I welcome all the gingerbread-flavored foods and drinks that populate menus, especially when they lend themselves to my other guilty pleasure, doughnuts. I am pleased to report that the gingerbread cake doughnut at Glazed & Infused is the real deal. This is what holiday comfort food is all about, shaped into a ring of dough and deep-fried into happy oblivion.

(Gingerbread doughnut at Glazed & Infused)

I applaud Glazed & Infused for taking the gingerbread concept seriously, adapting a spicy formula into their cake doughnut recipe and emerging with a doughnut rife with heady, potent spices. This thing is not for the faint of heart. It's spicy to the point of almost making your eyes water in the most deliciously masochistic of ways. There's some legit heat to this doughnut, rather than just a bland hodgepodge of ginger and cinnamon and whatever. It's incorporated throughout the cake, perfectly fried to ensure a moist, fluffy interior surrounded by a crisp, crackly exterior. It's all capped off with a delicate, sugary glaze to help offset the intensity of the spice. And it's sublime, perfect for dunking into a cup of Bowtruss coffee.