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We've already established that hot sauce can, and probably should, go on almost anything. But when news broke about the Sriracha-drizzled donut that debuted in New York, we thought the internet might break. Everyone was buzzing about it and we couldn't tell whether it was a masterpiece or a hot mess (sorry, we had to). When we found out the novelty was selling out every day, we decided to get a first-hand look at the spiced-up sweet. I went behind-the-scenes at Jolie Patisserie, the Harlem-based bakery hawking these crazy numbers, and fried a big batch of doughy rings alongside the very animated, salt-and-pepper haired chef-owner Moha Orchid, who speaks six languages and cooks up 150 donuts by hand every morning at 7 a.m. Here's what I learned:
1. After tinkering with his recipe for three months, Orchid keeps the secret to his buttery-yet-yeasty dough on lockdown. He whips up batter at 6 a.m., then lets it rest for about an hour before rolling it out under a super-speedy machine called a Rollfix.
2. Then he cuts the dough into circles with a cookie cutter and cuts holes in each with a tiny cookie cutter. Voila: rings.
3. After the rings sit in a heated "proofing" machine for ten minutes to rise and triple in size, they're tossed—with a very quick but careful hand—into soybean oil at 340 degrees. They start to bubbles after only a few seconds, but patience is key. You can't touch them until a few minutes into frying, when it's okay to flip 'em delicately with tongs.
4. Lifting each from their spot in the stock pot, Orchid lines the donuts on one of his tongs to cool for a second before laying them on a wax-paper–lined baking sheet. "My dough doesn't soak up much oil, so I let it drop off," he says. "That's the key to keeping them light and fluffy, not dense."
5. After cooling in the back room away from the ovens, the toasted golden pastries are ready for their toppings: vanilla buttercream, Sriracha chili sauce, and slivered almonds. Orchid generously pipes the buttercream into dollops with a pastry bag, then adds a ring of rooster sauce, and finally showers it in toasted almond slices.
7. The result is a pillowy pastry that's hot up-front and sweet on the end. My editor thinks I'm crazy, but that buttery vanilla frosting really plays up the sweetness of the chili sauce. Sure, you get a zap of heat on the first bite—especially if it goes up your nose, like mine did—but that fire is quickly quelled. I'd definitely go back for another donut, but I'm not sure I could eat it for breakfast again. This is going to be a strictly after-dinner affair.
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