BakeMark UK (Wirral, Merseyside) says sales of ring donuts are up 49% this year. The company supplies a number of products to help bakers capitalise on the trend. It most recently launched two licensed donut varieties – Nestlé Rolo and Toffee Crisp – which are supplied with free branded ‘tent cards’ in every case for added visual appeal.

The selection of licensed goods also includes the chewy Rolo soft-bake cookie, with chocolate and caramel pieces, and Milkybar mini cookies served in snack-sized bags

of eight.

BakeMark UK also offers a simple-to-use muffin mix and a fudge brownie mix, with chocolate. Alternatively, there are pre-mixes such as Carrot Cake, which needs freshly grated carrot to achieve a home-baked taste.

BakeMark’s thaw-and-serve licensed donuts were launched at Food & Drink Expo and are designed to add value to a traditional category, says the company.

It adds that the American donut, originally called the ‘olykoek’ (fried cake), has its origins in the Netherlands and was first introduced into America in the 1850s by Dutch pilgrims.

According to popular folklore, the name ‘donut’ is thought to have derived from a New England recipe, where sweet dough balls were made with nutmeg, filled in the centre with hazelnuts or walnuts and fried in hot oil. Others believe ‘dough-knots’ were tied to use up scraps of bread dough.