Pastry and donut (do donuts count as pastry?) market

[cimorene]

There is a wide distribution of flaky pastries that are very good in Finnish grocery stores, even little ones. The danishes and chocolate croissants and the pecan ones are some of my favorites. I like these more than donuts in general, so it doesn't bother me much usually, but:

The state of Finnish donuts is lamentable.

The most popular kind here is a berry jelly-filled donut rolled in granulated sugar or topped with pink icing. Ring donuts with pink or chocolate icing are not uncommon. But glazed (my 3rd favorite) and Bavarian cream (my 2nd favorite) are unknown, although the plain pastry cream is very occasionally, and I've never seen an eclair (my favorite), not even a frozen one. It's almost annoying enough to get me to try making them (but not quite).

Because I prefer the texture of flaky pastry, I usually like these more than I miss eclairs and Bavarian cream, but. Sometimes I just remember for some reason - usually something I read or watched - and get very sad.

Comments

[isilya]

When you say eclair do you mean the one made with choux pastry or something regional with yeast dough? Google hasn’t enlightened me but I’m curious!

Wax should definitely make you eclairs if you mean choux pastry, it’s super easy and delicious (though I usually do profiteroles instead of eclairs). Modern recipes where you actually weigh all the ratios of flour:water:egg are pretty reliable!

[cimorene]

Yeah, I mean choux pastry. They sell these at donut shops and supermarket bakeries a lot in the US. Or they did twenty years ago. There are also oblong donuts with chocolate on top that have cream or custard in them which go by various names, but I don't like them quite as much!

[isilya]

Eclairs are so delicious. When I lived in my tiny seaside town in rural Tasmania, the local bakery was excellent (as local bakeries in tiny seaside towns tend to be!) and one of their specialities was coffee eclairs! Oh! You just made me remember and my mouth watered.

My favourite doughnut is incredibly specific: a fresh hot ring doughnut rolled in cinnamon sugar (“hot cinnamon doughnut” in Australian), from like a fair or fete, served six for $2 in a paper bag. The pricing, which I’m sure is a thing of the far distant past, is certainly part of the appeal.

I like American plain glazed and yeasted doughnuts, but my enjoyment is a distant weak candle flame to the sun of my passion for a hot cinnamon doughnut.

[cimorene]

LOL. I have definitely never seen a donut like that!

There are two bakeries attached to coffee shop in our downtown but they are more cake and pie focused. I don't think they had any eclairs or pastries apart from like, croissants the times I've been in there. There is another bakery that supplies some breads to the supermarkets and I've had some catered cinnamon rolls from them at Christmas that were really good, but they aren't walkable distance from here so I haven't seen if they have good pastry.