Canada's insider blog

It seems that the cupcake trend might have some delicious competition. Doughnuts have risen out of the past and charged into the future. This time around, they’ve evolved from the traditional into the sensational.

Calgary’s Jelly Modern Doughnuts is leading the way for the latest fresh batch of exotic, sweet treats. It’s all about great ingredients – Valrhona chocolate, Madagascar vanilla and marscapone cheese to name a few. They elevate doughnuts to new heights with varieties never seen before.

Nibble on doughnuts like red velvet, maple bacon (double smoked), peanut butter and jelly, lemon curd and salted caramel, created by chef Grayson Sherman often with the input of customers who suggest their own unique versions. Each one is made lovingly, hand-dipped from natural or organic ingredients. Even a doughnut birthday cake is worth celebrating.

Meanwhile, Toronto has borrowed a page from the Calgary Stampede and started selling doughnut burgers during the Canadian National Exhibition last summer. The chewy sensation was an instant hit.

Elsewhere, the city is experiencing its own renaissance yearround. The Stockyards Smokehouse & Larder have a French twist to theirs with plump beignets filled with dulce de leche and finished with a puff of powdered sugar. Beignets from George Restaurant are gooey wonders with molten dark chocolate centres, served with marmalade and a zesty passion-fruit lemon curd. Time for sweet surrender.