You’re Either a Cake Doughnut Person or a Yeast One (2024)

In the world of pastry lovers, the cake doughnut versus yeast doughnut debate ranks right up there with chocolate chip versus peanut butter. Each side has its proponents, who will argue fiercely that yeast doughnuts are better because they’re lighter, and won’t stick to the roof of your mouth, or that cake doughnuts are better because they’re more filling, more dunkable, and more, well, like cake. Those less committed to sweet, carby treats may find this argument silly—isn’t it all just sweet fried dough in the end? Some (yes, these people exist) may not even know the difference between a yeast doughnut and a cake doughnut. And, to be fair, it can sometimes be hard to tell at a glance what sets the two apart. But there is a difference, a big difference, and it’s important to recognize it for the sake of every breakfast meeting and brunch potluck in your foreseeable future.

First, the basics: a yeast doughnut, obviously, is made with yeasted dough, usually something similar to brioche. It’s puffy and light, maybe a little chewy, and has little or no sweetness without some sort of glaze or sugar coating. Alex Talbot, who, along with his wife Aki Kamozawa, may be best known for the site Ideas in Food, says the ideal yeast doughnut should be “moist, with a honeycomb texture and that yeasty, fermented flavor.” He should know, since he ran through 12 different versions developing the perfect one for Curiosity Doughnuts, the shop he and Kamozawa run in Stockton, NJ. A cake doughnut, on the other hand, is made from what’s essentially cake batter, and gets its lift from chemical leaveners (baking powder and/or baking soda). Ideally the inside is moist and crumbly, and either dense like a muffin or fluffy like birthday cake. “A cake doughnut is much more tender,” says Talbot, “whereas a yeast doughnut has more chew.”