[Review] Edmonton, AB - Moonshine Doughnuts

Vegan desserts can sound a little terrifying to some people. For some reason, vegan makes people think that the food is completely made out of vegetables because it has the word "veg-" in it. I'd like to say that this is actually not completely factual. Vegan food is composed of ingredients that are not animal-based, including milk, milk products, eggs, etc. It may seem that vegan food limits the window for food variety, but that is not the case with Moonshine Doughnuts! They are a duo of doughnut connoisseurs based in Edmonton and have been running their business since 2012. Since they don't have their own shop, they started running their business out of a stand inside the 124 Grand Market.

SIDE NOTE: They are opening a new doughnut shop soon, called Doughnut Party. Their new home will be right beside Duchess Provisions in the Holland Plaza at 109 Avenue and 120 Street. Follow them on Instagram to keep updated on when they plan to open their doors! I'm sure their selection won't disappoint.

Before I moved to Edmonton, I didn't know too much about them and it wasn't until I set foot on the University of Alberta campus that I came across their product. Every Thursday, their team sets up a table in SUB and have rotational flavours every week. To my surprise, they actually incorporated the matcha flavour into their doughnut! Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a sucker for anything matcha flavoured. It is arguably one of my favourite choices - aside from chocolate!

Each of these boxes come with 4 uniquely flavoured doughnuts and cost $10 for a box. It may seem a bit pricey, but considering the fact that these flavours are very unique and they're a tad bit healthier (since vegan food usually has less processed ingredients) it is well worth the money. Another thing I like about their doughnuts is that their frosting takes delicious and it is not too sweet. For vegan frosting, they have been able to produce a frosting that almost mirrors the real thing, in texture. Usually, Moonshine Doughnuts are very good about posting whereabouts they will be set up and what type of flavours they are offering for that day. But today was different. Today, all I saw from them was this image. They didn't list their flavours, but all I needed was the image. The glowing green matcha doughnut was calling my name from behind a screen and I was in the neighbourhood anyways so I figured I would go check it out.

HIBISCUS ROSE:

• Rating: 3/5 starfishes

• The hibiscus flavour was a bit strong in this one for me.

• Sits on a plain doughnut and is coated with a thick layer of frosting

• You couldn't taste too much of the rose in this one. If you didn't tell me it had rose, I don't think I would have been able to pick out the flavour.

MATCHA:

• Rating: 2.5/5 starfishes

• A bit disappointing for me because I love the taste of matcha, but there wasn't enough flavour in it for me. It tasted like a regular doughnut with frosting on it.

• There is a bit of a matcha after taste and it is not very sweet.

LEMON COCONUT:

• Rating: 4.5/5 starfishes

• Surprisingly ended up being one of my favourites even though I don't like coconut.

• Good combination of flavours, without having the tart flavour of the lemon being too strong.

• Not much coconut taste other than the shredded coconut on the top.

• The doughnut itself was made out of lemon, so there was definitely a greater ratio of lemon to coconut. That is probably the reason why I couldn't taste much of the coconut.

BLUEBERRY MAPLE:

• Rating: 4/5 starfishes

• I also really really enjoyed this flavour.

• It had a strong maple kick that was more prominent than the blueberry flavour. If anything, the blueberry was more present for its colour.

• This one is fairly sweet, probably the sweetest one out of all four doughnuts!

• The small hint of blueberry starts at the beginning with a complete takeover by the drizzles of maple that are on the doughnut - truly a Canadian themed dessert!

Overall, I would give this box of doughnuts 3/5 starfishes with the saving grace being both the lemon coconut doughnut and the blueberry maple doughnut! These are not pastries I could see myself seeing often, but I do enjoy their concept and their unique flavour offerings! If there are to be new and creative flavours to pop up again, I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to try them! With all said and done, they are definitely worth a try in my book!