One blustery, July morning we found ourselves heading out of Adelaide – it was the first time in months we had the opportunity to free ourselves from the confines of the city. Within two hours of leaving our home in the southern suburbs, we arrived in Ardrossan, or more specifically Tiddy Widdy, for a long weekend away.
Ardrossan is a little seaside village on the Yorke Peninsula. It’s fairly standard as far as little Australian villages go. It has a bakery, hardware store, old fashioned petrol station, caravan park, pharmacy, bottle shop, a couple pubs and a grocery store. Most of these businesses line a shaded main street, the trees forming an island in the middle with parking either side. I was charmed. At the end of the main street was a popular playground overlooking the sea and a long, concrete jetty that reached out into the distance.
We loved exploring a little bit of the Yorke Peninsula around Ardrossan and Tiddy Widdy. The roads were quiet, the locals friendly, the beaches wonderfully empty. We only wished we could have spent more time exploring. The trip really highlighted for us how wonderful South Australia is, how varied each journey can be and how accessible regional SA is too.
Ok, so regarding the donut (which is why people read this blog) – listen, it wasn’t great. The bakery is up for sale – so hopefully the new owners will do an improved recipe or at least change the fryers oil.
Aesthetics —7.5
The donut was smaller than most donuts you find in country bakeries, with no bigger options available. It looked pretty but in a too perfect, moulded kind of way. The dough was light, the icing dark and so smooth I thought I might see my reflection. There was a smattering of average-sized sprinkles topping it all off.
Topping —4
The topping was dry, easily cracking off in chunks as you broke through its shell. As expected, it was that fake, chocolate flavoured icing that exists to disappoint. The sprinkles were crunchy – but both the sprinkles and the icing tasted old and stale.
Dough —5
When I first bit into the donut I felt the tingle of appreciation for a good dough, the flavours of yeast coming through and melding with a slightest touch of sweetness. But very quickly the taste went sour, with the flavour of old oil overpowering any good vibes on the palate. It left the aftertaste of stale hot chips, rather than lovely yeasty dough.
Texture —8
The best part of this donut would have to be the texture of its dough – light, yet chewy and very fresh! It had the slightly greasy feel of a fresh donut from the fairgrounds, with a slight crunch to the outer shell. The sprinkles were also crunchy in texture (although stale in flavour). But unfortunately, the icing texture was way off the mark – dry, crumbling and easily falling off the dough.
Overall
6.1
Almost Wonderful
The donut was far too small for the price and not worth it. The bakery really needed to change the oil in their fryer and improve the staleness of the icing, but kudos for such a great dough texture and a picture-perfect looking donut overall.
