Tusmore
Bakery

Jun 2017
$4.00
Donut from Tusmore Bakery

Adelaide, nay the majority of Australia is flat. Whereas in Scotland the rolling hills of the lowlands accumulate into towering Monroe’s – the highest hill in Adelaide is rarely covered in cloud – and only grants the keen climbers 2385 feet of climb. Mount Lofty summit walk provides a upwards amble and is the most popular walk in SA with over 350,000 visitors a year – and one cool spring morning it’s where I found myself. Despite being a Monday, not in holiday times, and not even particularly nice weather the car park was fully stocked up with SUVs and I was never alone whilst walking the 7km trail. I was joined by a plethora of spandexed, flat tummied girls and tanned men in running gear and bulging calves. These beautiful, healthy Instagram friendly creatures were joined by us commoners; out of breath, red-faced and embarrassingly sweaty.

I won’t talk too much about the walk, mainly because it would involve being honest about my level of fitness (or lack thereof) except to say that part of the purpose in this donut blog was to remind readers and other donuteers (donut pioneers) that a donut is a thing of great pleasure, but one that must also be consumed in moderation and as a delightful reward or special occasion. Since starting this blog my donut consumption has at least halved as I put more thought into what enters my mouth, as well as appreciating that if I want to live a long and happy life of eating donuts I must balance their consumption with other healthy eating and exercise.

Tusmore Bakery
Tusmore Bakery,
Linden Park
View on Map

So at the end of my hike, apparently 149 floors of stairs climbed over 11,111 steps, I found myself at the nearest bakery to Waterfall Gully. Well, perhaps not the nearest, but the first one I found as I googled bakeries on the way home. The walk had taken me long enough that the morning had morphed into the afternoon and it was near shutting time for this little bakery, with a notable lack of goods on display. I, in my sweaty attire and red face, rocked up, scraping my muddy shoes on the front mat and searching for a single donut to consume in a ravenous pattern. The man behind the counter looked forlornly on as I traipsed my dirty feet across his newly washed floors, tripping over a “wet floor” sign in my hypoglycemic state and with my sweaty and unwashed finger I jabbed the glass to where the single donut sat. The bakery was little, and keeping in mind that I only had just realised that some bakeries might not make their own donuts, I bluntly asked if the donut was made in store (it is) – and then, because I always forget to ask and so have to make an embarrassing and random follow-up phone call – I enquired about the price. How rude he must have thought I was! None the less, he was ever so polite despite me having snuck in as his last customer and then dirtied his clean little bakery. With an awkward picture of the front of the bakery, and as the kind man stared on, I got back in my car, backed out – only hitting a few bins on the way – and drove home to consume the donut in sweaty, and well deserved, peace.

Aesthetics 6

Clearly, a homemade donut and positively smothered in icing and sprinkles! Although perhaps not the most aesthetically appealing, and not the largest donut on the market, I love how it reminded me of how a child might decorate a donut given all the sugar strands in the world. The donut was a lovely golden brown colour, but with cracked sides from rising. The hole in the centre was nearly swallowed up by a combination of dough and icing exuberance.

Topping 9.5

My comments on this in my notes were simple. “Vanilla and plentiful. Good crunch. Big fan.” I’m not sure if much more needs to be said about it as I’ve already praised it in the aesthetics and texture fields. This is the topping that all sprinkle topped donuts should aspire to be - simple, not too sweet, good texture, plentiful, fresh and not fake flavoured.

Dough 6

It was a mildly yeasty dough, but not too sweet. Overall it was fairly non-descript but leaning to almost a more savoury than a sweet base. Not too over proportioned in any of the flavours but could have had a bit more sweetness and yeast.

Texture 7.5

Delightful texture with a lovely soft dough, a bit of chew and a smooth icing with plenty of crunchy, fresh sprinkles. The setbacks were that the dough was a little on the dry side and the outside of the dough missed that crunch of fried freshness that I so long for in an outstanding donut! Perhaps, both the dryness and external dough crunch would have been provided had I arrived earlier in the day.

Overall

7.3

Worthy Contender

Really a nice donut and should I decide to subject my knees to Mount Lofty again I would make sure to stop back at this bakery on the way home. Well done, simple and homemade with a couple of flaws that easily could be overlooked. The price is a bit steep, on the higher end of price ranges for donuts - particularly given its modest size - but I suspect it reflects the area in which the bakery resides.

  • Aesthetics: 6
  • Topping: 9.5
  • Dough: 6
  • Texture: 7.5

Where Next?