Country
Picnic Mt. Compass

Mar 2019
$4.10
Donut from Country Picnic Bakery, Mount Compass

The road, on which Country Picnic Bakery is found, twists and turns up and down small hills taking you from one side of the Fleurieu Peninsula to the other. Ideally located on this beautiful stretch of road, between Willunga and Victor Harbor, this little bakery is a nice reprieve mid-journey. It’s hard to fight the temptation to pull over when there are multiple signs declaring “bakery open” on the side of the road. Part of the temptation in pulling over was to stretch my legs, part was that Mount Compass is a beautiful spot, and part was that I really wanted a donut.

On such an innocuous part of the road, Mount Compass appears out of nowhere as you come fast around the bend. Towering trees on either side give glimpses of quaint cottages with large and open gardens. To the north there is a rest stop, well supplied with leafy plants and shade, harbouring speciality shops placed along a brick veranda. Here you will find two bakeries, one of which we went to one sunny Monday.

Country Picnic Bakery, Mount Compass
Country Picnic ,
Victor Harbor Road, Mount CompassView on Map

A sister bakery to <a href="https://theholeygrail.blog/regional-south-australia/country-picnic-bakery-donut/">Country Picnic Bakery in Myponga</a>, this little bakery in Mount Compass was comparable in regard to donuts. Hungry for lunch we took a couple pies to go, a tantalising smell drawing us in. The donuts sat up on top of the cabinet, fresh and ready to eat. We sat outside in the warmth enjoying our baked good and watching the world drive by. Despite being a busy road, the rest stop was shaded and quiet, a pleasant spot for lunch. Clearly, we weren’t the only ones to think so – at the start of lunch, we had been alone, by the end every table was full and the bakery was thriving.

Aesthetics — 6.5

Not the prettiest donut of the bunch it had patchy white icing, with crumbly but colourful sprinkle strands, on top of a yellowing dough. The donut itself was oblong and irregular in diameter.

Topping — 7

The icing was a plain vanilla one, thicker but none-the-less smooth. The sprinkles were on the soft side, sadly, and also the end of the bag with telltale signs of sprinkle crumbs. The topping overall was patchy, thin in parts, whilst overcompensated in others.

Dough — 7.5

The dough was yeasty, sweet and salty – all the right flavours to have in a good balance, but each individually quite pronounced in this dough. You can taste the oil it was fried in, which I liked as it really gives it that fresh, homemade taste.

Texture — 6.5

The dough was on the dry side, with some chew, but also very airy internally. However, it was one of the few donuts we've reviewed that actually had a crunchy shell. Unfortunately, with all that crunch also came a lot of oil. As mentioned previously, the sprinkles were soft, the icing thick, yet still sticky.

Overall

6.9

Almost Wonderful

From texture to taste I can't find any particular hard faults; there wasn't anything bad about this donut – it's just missing some sparkle.

  • Aesthetics: 6.5
  • Topping: 7
  • Dough: 7.5
  • Texture: 6.5
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