You can’t help but get a little excited as you approach the butter yellow building on 200 N. Court Ave., with the thought of sweet, delicious doughnuts on your mind.
Your stomach starts to rumble as you climb up the green stairs, you’ve waited all week for this moment and it’s finally here.
As you walk inside, you’re welcomed by the warm smiles of the baristas and the thumping music playing overhead. You anxiously scan the glass case at the front of the shop, hoping you’re not too late to snag one of their coveted brioche doughnuts.
Then you see it: the perfect, oval-shaped confection, covered in a white glaze and topped with bright rainbow sprinkles. You eagerly order a few to take home and enjoy, making your Friday a little sweeter.
The soft, fluffy doughnuts are like biting into a cloud, sending your tastebuds on a flavorful journey. Before you know it, you’re lining up at 9 a.m. every Friday and Saturday just to curb your cravings.
Just a few months ago, Dandelion Café and Bakery introduced their new brioche doughnuts to their menu, quickly capturing customers’ hearts with their unique flavors and cake-like texture.
We can all thank Sophie Chapman for these addicting new additions.
It seems like Chapman was born to be baker. Her mother was a baker, working at former iconic bakeries like Bentley's and The B-Line, so she learned how to whisk up some mean pastries at a young age.
After working as a cake decorator at Beyond Bread and spending some time as a teacher, Chapman found herself in the kitchen again, accepting a job to be a baker at Dandelion Café and Bakery.
In late February, Chapman became the new head baker at Dandelion, where she continued making their lemon poppy seed scones, brioche cinnamon rolls, lemon cream tarts and muffins.
Soon, the wheels in her head started turning: what new pastry could she introduce to the menu that would allow her to be more creative?
“I feel like donuts are a pretty easy thing to do something different with every week, and they're very consistent,” Chapman said. “They're super fun to decorate too.”
So, she got to work! Unlike the usual donuts you may see at famous chains, Chapman decided to use brioche dough to make hers. By using brioche dough, the doughnut’s texture is lighter, and oh-so decadent.
“We were frying them for a while, but I just switched to baking them, and I think it makes them a lot fluffier,” Chapman said.
She also bakes her doughnuts instead of frying them, that way they aren’t too heavy, or leave a greasy layer of oil on your hands.
To make these delicious delicacies, it takes Chapman multiple days. She first makes a big batch of brioche dough at the beginning of the week, keeping it in the fridge overnight to rise.
The next day, she rolls out the dough, carefully cutting it into small circles. Once they are the perfect, circular, doughnut shape, they are put on a pan and into a proofer to rise some more. This is the secret to achieving that desired, airy texture. Then, it’s off into the oven and final decorations.
This intense process is why Chapman’s doughnuts are so good and why they are only offered on Fridays and Saturdays.
Chapman’s first batch of Jamaica-glazed brioche doughnuts made their debut back in April. To her surprise, lots of hungry customers funneled into the bakery, leaving with a pink doughnut in hand and a smile on their face.
Matcha white chocolate (left), berry jam filled (top) and lemon glazed with sprinkles (right) are a few of the flavors Sophie Chapman have made.
It didn’t take long for Chapman's doughnuts to become a fan favorite. Every week, the Café announces the new weekly flavor on Instagram, which Chapman comes up with at the beginning of every week, with feedback from kitchen staff.
Past flavors have featured doughnuts with a matcha white chocolate coating and topped with slices of fresh strawberries, a lemon glaze with rainbow sprinkles and a berry jam filled donut that’s dusted in sugar. The best part: they aren’t overly sweet so you won’t have to chug a gallon of water after you’ve scarfed your doughnut down.
Their lemon glazed doughnut is like a bite of sunshine. The glaze itself is bright and citrusy, the perfect balance of sweet and sour. Then you get a mouthful of the pillowy doughnut that adds a grounded softness to the bold flavors of the glaze. Its flavors are enough to wake you up and get you energized for the day ahead. (Chapman recommends pairing your doughnut with one of their iced strawberry matcha lattes for the full summer flavor experience)
To ensure you get one of the sought-after doughnuts, Chapman recommends you get to the Dandelion Café and Bakery before 11 a.m. Trust me, it’ll be worth setting an early alarm.
From the heavenly texture to their unique flavors, Chapman and Dandelion Café and Bakery are changing the doughnut game one rainbow sprinkle at a time.
Jeffrey Walker and his daughter Bella carefully pick their Dirty Worms donuts from the case at Amy's Donuts, 101 E. Fort Lowell Road.
Check out these local shops for National Donut Day deals
It’s my favorite day of the year: National Donut Day! Fun fact: National Donut Day was started by the Salvation Army as an homage to the doughnut lassies, a group of Salvation Army volunteers who made and delivered doughnuts to World War 1 soldiers. To honor their delicious service, the Salvation Army established National Donut Day in 1938.
You can honor National Donut Day this Friday, June 6, by stopping by one of these local doughnut shops for a tasty deal. Trust me, local doughnuts taste much better than those fast food chains! (You’ll feel better for supporting local too!)
- Known for their crazy toppings, Amy’s Donuts, located at 101 E. Ft. Lowell Rd., will be giving out free blueberry cake holes for anyone who stops by. No purchase necessary!
- Zona Donut, a mini donut bar located at the Park Place Mall food court, 5970 E. Broadway, will be giving away a free mini bag of six cinnamon sugar-tossed doughnuts with every purchase.
- It isn’t National Donut Day without Cal’s Bakeshop! Participating partners will be handing out a free doughnut to the first 24 customers who purchase the drink and mention the giveaway. This year’s special flavors are ube Biscoff, Dubai chocolate and caramel apple cheesecake. Check out the Instagram post to see where to find one!
- Young Donuts, located at 1043 N. Kolb Rd., have a few deals going on for National Donut Day. You’ll get $2 off when you purchase a dozen doughnuts, and you can also get a free glazed doughnut if you purchase a breakfast burrito, or an order of their Broaster Chicken.
