Boston Cream Donut Vs. Bavarian Cream Donut - Fanatically Food (2024)

The Boston cream donut is widely regarded as an American classic in terms of an early morning treat. Derived from Boston cream pie, this little donut is a custard filled donut with chocolate frosting on top. It is the state donut of Massachusetts and is a must try if you ever visit the vivacious Boston area. But how does it stack up to the also popular Bavarian cream donut. Talking about donuts, learn how to reheat donuts.?

Boston cream donuts and Bavarian cream donuts are very similar, but Bavarian cream donuts are firmer in the texture of the custard filling and have differences in toppings and frostings.

What Are the Differences?

The differences between the Bavarian cream donut and the Boston cream donut really reside within the cream and the toppings of the donut.

Creams

The way that the cream is made within the Boston and Bavarian cream donut is difference because the origins are also different. Bavarian cream was made of egg yolk, sugar, cream, whipped cream, and additives if chosen. The use of heavy cream and whipped cream make Bavarian cream significantly more firm than Boston cream, which is widely regarded as runny.

While there is some overlap in the donuts, its not necessarily surprising that the Bavarian cream is so much firmer, as the cream is added after the donut is created, while it differs in the US. Traditional doughnut shops will add in the cream after cooking, but some doughnut shops have widened their horizons and have began to add warm filling into their Boston cream doughnuts.

This further the line between the Bavarian and Boston cream donuts because the Bavarian cream has to stay at a normal temperature in order to keep its shape from being runny like the Boston cream donut.

The structure of the cream in the Boston cream pie is also significantly more dense, possibly due to its liquid form. The Bavarian cream donut, on the other hand, feels a lot more fluffy and generally isn’t as messy to eat as a Boston cream donut, minus the topping which will be discussed later.

It is very possible that the differences in the cream could be attributed to Americas industrial era, as the cream would’ve had to be pushed through tubes to fill the donuts in an extremely fast manner. Bavarian cream, however, is an artisan good, where the quality comes before the quantity.

Toppings

The Boston cream donut ha a significantly different topping than a Bavarian, traditionally, the Boston cream donut would have baking chocolate forming a shell on the top part of the doughnut. This came from the old tradition of putting baking chocolate on the top of a Boston cream pie as well.

However, the Bavarian version came from an extremely similar cake up in Europe and is completely missing the chocolate aspect of its original accolade. Although some mainstream companies have made variations of the Bavarian donuts with the baking chocolate, it is not how it is made traditionally.

There have been multiple variations in topping so that both of the donuts have different fruit or powdered sugar toppings on them, causing a bit of an overlap in names, which ended up to be a common misconception.

Overall, the Bavarian and the Boston donut had similar origins and have similar flavors, but the differenced reside within the cream and the traditional toppings. Both of these donuts are absolutely amazing and are wonderful in their own right.