King of Donuts!

Robert Monteleone, our friend who visidted the farm last weekend with his partner, Stephen Mack, is a big fan of donuts. Are we all not the same way?

As you can see in this photograph, Robert is delighted to be showing off some of the wonderful treats sold at King Bakery in Cambridge, New York.

It is here that James King and his wonderful wife-and-assistant, Jana, share amazing donuts every weekend with those in the know.

Pillowy bites, luxurious and decadent, seduce all that arrive. If you are smart, you arrive before 9:00 AM, to be able to sample all the different kinds of donuts made that morning. Or you can come by 11 AM, and choose from the slim (if any) offerings left at that late morning hour.

In the old days, they were called King Bakery, and now they go by King Bakery at Double K Farm.

King Bakery at Double K Farm
108 West Main Street
Cambridge, NY 12816

Tel: 518-677-3530

Started by James and Sally King, it is now owned and operated by their son, James, and his wife, Jana King. Sally is here every weekend, or almost, and helps son James continue her legacy, loyally feeding the locals their favorite donuts.

James is the second generation working on sharing wondrous donuts with North-Country citizens.

Our community is often overlooked by foodies and those documenting our nation's culinary gems. But this is one of those discoveries that has me hoping that readers of my blog  will share the legend of King Bakery with all they know, and come visit our area: buy some donuts, even stop by the farm. I promise that if there, I will cook you a bite, and Charlie will share some of our own heritage chicken eggs with you.

James King wakes up by 2:00 AM every Saturday and Sunday morning, and by 8:0 AM, he is selling his creations and sharing them with his loyal fans.

The apple fritters are delicious beyond words. You have to eat them to experience their full power. The texture, the flavor, the crunch of the crust, the sweetness of the apple, the slight bitterness of the caramel created by the burning of the sugars: they are magic at every bite. These are the ones on the top part of the photo here on left.

The classic donuts are as light as donuts can get. The sugar frosting is just enough, and not too sweet. Our friend Mary Ann Joulwan, the Queen of Lebanese cooking, is not a big fan of sweets, and I found her eating an entire one, and taking tastes of all other varieties Mr. King had to offer the weekend her sister, Loretta, and she visited Charlie and me.

Last weekend, James King had prepared wonderful raspberry pie squares. James King called it the best such square we would ever sample. It was all that and more. The filling stayed beautifully together, without being dry. The crust was crisp, flaky and light, all at every bite. Think of a Linzer Torte, and think more generous and more exciting. The secret to this magic we were told is all in the great filling: filling that does not bake out, and stays firm.

James King is a very sweet man. And not because of eating too many donuts, but because that is just who he is. A pilot by profession, with his wife, Jana, they bought his parents' business, King Bakery (founded by James's parents, James and Sally King, in 1957), and operated it until 1997, when they sold it to another entity.

At this point, James and Jana decided to sell the donuts out of their yard, and in doing so, realized their following of locals was delighted by this decision of the King Family. King Bakery since closed, but this wonderful charming cart that James and Jana converted into their garden-front Donut Shop, has now a huge following and much local legend. The name changed to King Bakery at Double K Farm. I am guessing so as to not compete with what they sold off to another in 1997.

Donuts by popularity

Honey Glazed Donuts: The glaze to these is made with honey, vanilla and powdered sugar. James tells me that it is the honey in his glaze that makes all the difference. He does not use Clover, since it is too light. But at the end of the season, the last part, you get Golden Rod, which is too strong, what he uses is Mid-Season honey, and it is the special one. This is what makes the difference to these most favorite of all his donuts.

Second best seller is the Apple Raisin Fritters. They get the same glaze as the glazed donuts.The raisins and apple are scrumptious in these. I could eat several, but I wish my body could take afford those extra calories.

Bismarks: These are cream-filled donuts.

Jelly Donuts are the next in popularity. James is proud of using very nice jelly. Jelly that is not soft and gooey. He never uses illing that is sold in bulk and lacks quality and character.

OId Fashioned Donuts: Buttermilk donut and in the fall he makes them with Cider, calling them Cider Donuts.

And every weekend, he has some specials of the day. All recipes are from from his own family and often made depending on his mood. Danishes, meltaways and rolls are part of the assortment.

Snow Flake Rolls (not donuts nor sweet) - Are regular dinner rolls. James sold them for years to the local restaurants. And then they sold off the bakery. What a shame, that they are not doing so anymore. Our diners and restaurants would have good rolls, if they still had James supplying them his masterful creations. These are truly and exceptionally magical! James tells me that these are just basic good rolls. Nothing more, nothing less. They are made with Spring Patent flour that uses hard weight spring wheat. The end result is a roll that is airy and light, but not dry. The crumb is very beautiful too. Jana sent us with a bag, and I regretted all weekend and into early this week, not having bought two more bags. They made for great cover to our farm-fresh-fried-eggs with parma cheese.

Please come visit the North Country, and make sure to come on a weekend, so you can enjoy the one-of-a-kind King Bakery Donuts. Your life will change! And you will never eat donuts the same way again. You will have these amazing confections, served alongside a garden in Upstate New York as a benchmark, against which to compare all donuts you ever eat.

Comments

[Paige]

Those look awfully good. My family and I still miss our favorite donuts, from Bob's Donuts in the Farmer's Market in Los Angeles--an L.A. institution (both Bob's, and the market) and nothing here in Columbia Cty. compares. (We moved here from L.A. last year,in search of adventure, rural lifestyle, etc.) Next time we drive through your neck of the woods (we pass through on our way to friends' in VT) we'll stop. BTW, I wrote a review (glowing) of American Masala for DinnerWhere?, a regional food/dining mag for the Capital/Berkshires region of NY/MA. I loved the book, and everything I've tried from it was wonderful. And, I too, am a learning/amateur chicken farmer--we have around 40 birds now, going up higher this fall to increase our (delicious!) egg production. So you are an inspiration to me in many ways!
(not just donuts.)

[Suvir]

Paige,
You are way too kind. To post about Donuts so promptly, and to also cook from the book and review it. Many, many thanks!
do email me a copy of your review, if possible. chef@suvir.com is my email.
Congratulations on your chicken adventures. LOVE to know more about that. share some photos, stories and details, please.
what kind of chickens do you have?
I just LOVE chickens and I wish we had planned a HUGE chicken coop, so we could have thousands of them. But really, there can never be enough chicken, and I am glad we have around a hundred or so. A sweet bunch, and plent of work.

Do give these donuts in Cambridge a try. You will LOVE them. And say hello to Jana and James. They are a great couple.

It was funny to see your comment about LA and the farmers market. As I was writing this piece and speaking with James King, we reminisced about LA and the farmers markets there. So your post less than an hour after I posted, was great timing!

Enjoy the weekend!

Suvir

[Matty]

Suvir:

I'm not a doughnut fan, but those pictures coupled with your descriptions have me salivating at my desk this morning. My cup of coffee is looking a bit lonely for want of a honey glazed doughnut to sit next to it (but not for very long). What really looks great to me, tho', are the pie squares. They look absolutely delicious.

I'd love to come visit and try these sweet delights. Thanks for letting us know about them.

Matty

[Stacey]

If only they were half as ubiquitous as Dunkin' Donuts, what a more palatable world it would be.

I've tried them and they are divine - even the next day.

How does Robert stay so thin eating donuts???

[Aloja Vera]

I just made this tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for this recipe. You can't beat how easy it is, plus it tastes great.
Thanks again!

[carla]

What great pastries. I was out heading home on Sept 25,2011 from a trip. I'm from the city and never experience something like this. Thank's!!!!!!!!