Maryland
Fractured Prune Doughnuts
JULY 2017
Another family donut trip! I made it out to Maryland for a visit with my parents to see the Cubs and eat some donuts! (Literally all my favorite things all together in one weekend - it was quite the time!!)
The Fractured Prune has quite a history and a few locations all across Maryland (including near the water and their boardwalk - the most popular spot!) The one we went to was in a more suburban looking area and we pulled right up to see this stand alone shop with parking spots available. Through the front door there was a single big counter about 15ft wide to walk up to. At this Parkville, Maryland location right outside of Baltimore, there was only one other person ahead of us in line so we moved right to the front and had to decide what to order. (This specific Parkville location has actually closed since our visit in 2017).
These donuts are very unique. They are made-to-order essentially right in front of you. The donuts are the type you would find at a carnival or fair - they are smaller cake donuts, fried, and hot. What makes these special are all the toppings and the creative flavors! They have some classic combinations listed and you can always create a custom version as well. The go-to combinations have amazing names like chocolate covered cherry, french toast, cookies and cream and strawberry shortcake. We ordered one of each to make sure we didn’t miss out.
Our dozen came out within a couple of minutes and we walked back outside to a small table right in front of the store. As I always say, a hot donut makes for a good donut! While hot isn’t everything, it definitely makes a huge difference. You have to eat these donuts right away too - they are melt-in-your-mouth when you first receive them and you can easily eat a handful. If these sit for too long though, since the batter is made for a quick fry, they lose some of their luster. While the glazes and chocolate chips and other toppings are really fun, they can only do so much for the donut; since the dough is plain, the toppings only go so far.
With that said though, you can’t go wrong with a hot fresh cake donut covered with a glaze and sprinkled with sugar (or chocolate chips) - so I absolutely understand the craze behind this place (and style of donut) and would 100% pick up a few for a walk on the water whenever possible!