Except for the Enjoy Life Carrot Cake Bar, you can find the cakes and donuts in the freezer section and microwave them for a few seconds. Like gluten free bread, pastries are also sold frozen. Reasons are that they spoil quickly and many brands ship frozen pastries to places where gluten free products are not readily available (https://liveglutenanddairyfree.com/greatest-thing-since-sliced-gluten-and-dairy-free-bread).
The donuts reviewed are dense. You have to be realistic with gluten free pastries. Donuts made with wheat flour will always be lighter, flakier, moister and fluffier. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t good allergy friendly options.
Kinnikinnick Donuts
Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
These delicious donuts are dense, similar to old-fashioned donuts, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. They are a little smaller than regular donuts, but this may not be a bad thing if you are looking for a small snack. They become soft when microwaved for a few seconds.
Chocolate Dipped Donuts
These donuts have a great chocolate flavor and are heavy like the cinnamon sugar ones. Both flavors are gluten, dairy, nut and soy free.
Katz Fritters, Donuts and Crème Cakes
Katz Apple Fritters
Fritters are deep-fried cakes, shaped like biscuits, but these are shaped like donut sticks. My preference would have been to add more apples and less cinnamon, but they are sticky, chewy and delicious like apple fritters should be.
Glazed Donuts
Katz donuts are less dense than Kinnikinnick but still heavy like old-fashioned donuts. When microwaved for a few seconds they become soft and the glazed topping becomes crispy. It is tasty and almost as fluffy as traditional glazed donuts.
Katz Crème Cakes
Vanilla Crème Cakes
These are like Twinkies with the golden sponge cake filled with crème. They are surprisingly light and fluffy and a great substitute for the real thing.
Chocolate Crème Cakes
This flavor is like the vanilla crème except with chocolate cake, which is not too sweet or bitter.
Lemon Crème Cupcakes
These delicious cakes have a lemon icing and lemon filling. This is one of my favorite desserts.
All the Katz products reviewed are gluten free, dairy free, nut free and soy free. In addition to great tasting donuts, fritters and snack cakes, Katz also makes great pies (https://liveglutenanddairyfree.com/whoopie-and-other-pies/).
Enjoy Life Chewy Bars, Carrot Cake
Although this is a perfect sized snack, it did not taste like carrot cake, probably because dehydrated carrot is not one of the top ingredients. Also, I could barely taste the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg spices. I was disappointed given how good most of their products are. I reviewed their breakfast ovals (https://liveglutenanddairyfree.com/gluten-and-dairy-free-breakfast-is-not-limited-to-bacon-and-eggs/) which were good as a breakfast or snack. Enjoy Life products are free of the top allergens including gluten, dairy, peanuts, soy and egg.
Udi’s Chocolate Mug Cake
Four pouches come in a box, and you add the powder mix and water in a cup and microwave. Sometimes you just need a small taste of chocolate and Udi’s Mug Cake hits the spot. It has the texture of Angel Food/sponge cake and the portion is enough to satisfy a chocolate craving without reaching for a candy bar. The box says gluten free, but their website confirms it is also dairy free and soy free.
Sweet Ali’s Gluten Free Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes
I find this brand at Whole Foods and Mariano’s. The vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting tastes like store-bought cupcakes and I mean that in a good way. They are not overly sweet and topped with whipped frosting. It is gluten and dairy free but does contain soy.
Sweet Ali’s Vegan Brownie Rectangle
Brownies are a form of sheet cake. Sweet Ali’s has the look and taste of moist brownies with a mild chocolate taste. It even has the crispy, cracked crust on the top like traditional brownies. It is gluten and dairy free.
For those in the Chicago area, Sweet Ali’s has bakeries in Glenview and Hinsdale. I have not had the pleasure of visiting either yet, but plan to soon. As an awareness, their packaging states the treats are manufactured in a facility which contains dairy, corn, soy and nuts.
Conclusion
Kinnikinnick Donuts are dense. That doesn’t mean they don’t taste good; it just means they are heavy like an old-fashioned donut. I was disappointed with Enjoy Life Carrot Cake given how good their other sweets taste. However, Katz makes crème cakes that can give Hostess a run for their money; Udi’s has a moist, single-serve mug cake; and Sweet Ali’s has great tasting cupcakes and brownies.
Fun Food Fact
Donuts pegboards are so popular, they are appearing at weddings.
Did You Know
The word “dessert” originated from the French word desservir, meaning “to clear the table.”
Quote
“I want to have a good body but not as much as I want dessert.” Jason Love