In New York, we like to have our cake and eat it, too — but heaven forbid we gain an ounce. Luckily, there are enterprising minds to enable our gluttonous tendencies.
Take Frank Dilullo. At Holey Donuts! shop in the West Village, which opened in May, his treats taste like regular doughnuts, but there’s something missing: fat. That’s because they’re baked instead of fried. “The average Dunkin’ doughnut has 15 to 30 grams of fat,” Dilullo says. “Ours has three to five.”
Dilullo sees his confections — in flavors such as piña colada ($3.85 each) — as “high-end gourmet” doughnuts low on fat and guilt, even if sugar and corn syrup are main ingredients. They lack the golden sheen of a fried doughnut, but win raves for being decadent.
Malcolm Stogo is also well-versed in alternative sweets. In 2012 he launched DF Mavens dairy-free ice creams which, in addition to soy, include sugar substitutes like maltitol, although the treats’ texture lacks classic ice cream airiness. When his first shop opens in the East Village in June, flavors including salted praline will be available. A cart will be parked outside until the opening.
Web startup Tea and Jam creates grain-free (therefore gluten-free) goodies. Tiyana Works and Jamaal Brown make low-carb “misfits” — the company’s sole offering, a cupcake-muffin hybrid — in their Williamsburg home kitchen. They’re sold by the dozen ($22) and rely on ingredients like almond flour. With a springy crumb, the result is a contrast to cloying cupcakes. And that’s pretty sweet.
Grain-free cupcakes
Tea and Jam’s two-bite banana maple “misfit” is 115 calories — compared to Crumbs’ 240 calories.
Vegan Ice Cream
A four-ounce serving of DF Mavens’ Sicilian hazelnut truffle clocks in at 190 calories — compared to 300 calories for Baskin Robbins’ chocolate almond.