London's Best Doughnut Shops
In honor of the 21st annual National Doughnut Week (May 12 to 19), a fundraiser for The Children's Trust in the U.K., The Daily Meal has found London's best doughnut shops.
Camden Cakes: With an almost cult-like following, Camden Cakes doesn't have a web site or advertise its weekend presence at Camden Lock Market in Camden Town. Its popularity has come by word-of-mouth among doughnut aficionados. The jovial vendor, who performs East End knees up dances on request, serves 57 varieties. The fanciful flavors include sugar rings, Black Forest, vanilla custard, and cherry jam-filled and triple chocolate-filled doughnuts. Camden Cakes are sold Saturdays and Sundays, 10a.m. to 6 p.m.
St. JOHN Bakery: While St. JOHN Bakery has made a name for itself by making its own bread, the doughnuts are what keep many Londoners coming back to the unexpected spot beneath a railway arch between London Bridge and Bermondsey. Justin Piers Gellatly is the self-taught baker behind the St. JOHN Bakery's most popular doughnut, the custard doughnut. The shop sells 500 of them in four hours each Saturday morning. The bun recipe took months for Gellatly to perfect and the creamy custard is piped into each doughnut just hours before they're served. The shop also serves a second fruit filled doughnut which changes. Currently it is apple and rhubarb but it may be changed to strawberry or apple soon.
Churros Garcia: Spanish-style churros sprinkled with sugar and optional cinnamon and served with a pot of Valor chocolate are the solitary item on the Churros Garcia menu. Limited-edition flavors like cheese dip, port wine chocolate, chile chocolate, and mocha chocolate have made appearances on the menu from time to time, but the churros con chocolate are what have led the churros revolution in London.
The vegan treats are made with Encarnacion Garcia Fuenteseca's 40-year-old churros recipe and sold from three stalls at Portobello Road Market (opposite the Electric Cinema) on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Southbank (behind Royal Festival Hall) on Fridays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays, 11a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Broadway Market in Hackney on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.