The newest addition to the line up of sweet fried dough at Doughnut Plant on the Lower East Side is none other than a crème brûlée-inspired creation. The doughnut was first brought to note in mid-November in the New York Times' Diner's Journal. A friend and I eagerly went in last week only to be sadly informed that the doughnuts weren't ready at that early morning hour. Undeterred, we returned the following week, and reaped our rewards with a trio of crème brûlée doughnuts.

For those of you familiar with Doughnut Plant's doughnuts, the crème brûlée versions are about half the size of their yeast doughnuts, though just as heavy due to the vanilla custard filling. The entire top surface is caramelized a crisp golden brown and crunches into their signature soft, yeasty dough. We were slightly disappointed by the custard filling, which felt a touch gritty on the tongue. Upon closer inspection, we found that the custard had curdled, thus explaining the lack of completely smooth custard. Hopefully, this was a fluke. With that note, the crème brûlée is worth trying once, though my two favorites remain unchanged—you can do no wrong with the tres leches and chocolate blackout cake doughnuts.

Doughnut Plant

379 Grand Street, New York, NY 10002 (at Clinton Street; map)
212-505-3700
doughnutplant.com‎

Related: A Guide to the Best Doughnuts in New York