Caramel Custard Doughnut (Greggs)

If you read yesterday's review, you might remember that a couple of days ago I was on a doughnut quest when I became distracted by the Toffee Apple muffins and had to abort my mission.

Thursday nights are now occupied by a night lecture. Yes, that's right, my uni is cruel and makes poor students (and lecturers) give up their evenings for a three hour lecture that isn't due to finish until 21:15. If you're in student accommodation this might not sound so bad, but I live an hours train journey followed by a 45 minute walk away -and the train doesn't leave until 21:40. Why am I telling you this? Well, if you follow me on Instagram (or glance at the insta widget on the sidebar) you'll know that I have dessert every evening, which tends to be ice cream orientated (although this evening I'm looking forward to a large wedge of cheesecake which I will also review). I can hardly bring an ice cream to uni with me, so I thought I would take the opportunity to pick up the doughnut for dessert.

I've been thinking about these caramel custard doughnuts ever since I bought the toffee apple ring last week. They sounded and looked so yummy, and I imagined that a gooey caramel flavoured custard would compliment the soft dough wonderfully -and deliver an almighty sugar rush. I definitely needed the extra energy to get me through the long lecture and the arduous walk home, so I popped into Greggs and stumped up the 90p on the way to uni -remembering to ask for a box in which to keep my treasure safe.

In fact, I managed to slack off uni early last night which enabled four positive outcomes:
- I could catch the early train
- I could eat my doughnut on the train instead of munching during class.
- I could get a lift home and therefore didn't have to walk
-  I was home at 10pm instead of 11.30pm, hurrah!

Sat in the almost empty carriage, I could finally fully appreciate my sugar bomb in all its glory - especially now that I knew I didn't have to trek soon after. The icing was aplenty, and smell was intoxicating.

Slicing the doughnut in two revealed one half brimming with custard, and the other almost completely empty. Whoever filled it must've had a wonky day! Eating the naked half first allowed me to appreciate the dough and the icing. I mentioned last time that I find Greggs' dough to be more bread like than Krispy Kremes, and this was no different. The icing was of course very sweet, but also delivered a decent enough caramel flavour.

Did you notice the colour of the filling? It was a very pale yellow, which I realised meant that it was a plain custard -and not the caramel flavoured version that I envisaged from it's name. Luckily, the custard's abundance and taste made up for my disappointment. I'm a lover of Ambrosia, and the filling tasted pretty darn similar to their ambient tinned stuff. Yum.

I always end up feeling like Greggs have put 80% effort into their treats. The ring doughnuts lack the extra flavour that could be easily added by incorporating a sauce through the middle, and the caramel custard doughnut could be further improved if the company had thought to actually use caramel IN the custard and not just the icing (as well as a central injection of filling of course). Still, for 90p, they're a damn site cheaper than any Krispy Kreme, so please do give these Greggs' doughnuts a go!

8/10