Zombee Donuts & Bakeshop
Sour Cream Old Fashioned
Black Widow – Glazed Donut and a Chocolate Covered Donut Hole
Bleeding Heart – Chocolate Frosting, Raspberry Filling
Zombee – Glazed Body, Raspberry Jelly Brains, Chocolate Face
Eyeball – Red Velvet Donut, Vanilla Icing, Chocolate Ganache Donut Hole
Cereal Killers – Chocolate Cake Donut, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oreos
Making the Black Friday drive from Anaheim to Downtown Los Angeles a stop in Fullerton seemed all too convenient to check out owner Vanessa Guillen’s Zombee Donuts & Bakeshop, the tiny shop in Southern California’s ever-growing sprawl taking a whimsical look at the undead and similarly morbid themes by way of America’s favorite sweet breakfast item.
Not particularly busy on a day when most had set their GPS to the local big-box store or shopping mall, Ms. Guillen and one assistant found snapping Instagram photos of their creations in front of some foliage at the time of an 8:00am arrival, it was from several options that choices were made, the flavors nothing all that out of the ordinary as the small store instead places its creative focus on presentation.
Far more affordable than many new-age Doughnut Shops, a half-dozen specials only $10 with more typical rings rivaling chains at only a buck a piece, it was with six items boxed that I sat after chatting with the duo about Thanksgiving at Disney, the Anaheim natives apparently big fans despite décor and pastries that might make one question such things.
Taking any chance available to try a Sour Cream Old Fashioned, the one at Zombee Donuts given no special treatment aside from a perfect amount of time in hot Oil that renders the edge crisp and crumb soft with a long of tanginess, the “Black Widow” is Guillen’s take on a Raised Donut with a Chocolate Covered hole at the center forming a bulbous body, the yeast notes playing well off of what is surprisingly high quality Dark Chocolate.
Moving on to two Jelly-filled choices, the flavors unfortunately a bit redundant though the designs are quite clever, the choice between a Bleeding Heart and the Voodoo-esque Zombee is largely based on how much filling one wants, one of several items sold under the label “Cereal Killers” featuring a dark Chocolate Cake Donut topped with Frosting, Oreos and Chips Ahoy while the “Eyeball” offered rich Red Velvet beneath smooth Vanilla Icing with the pupil made from a smooth ball of Fudge.
www.zombeedonuts.com