10
Locally Owned
Week of October 25 – October 31, 2019
2020
Darling Donuts
It's what's on the inside
- and dripping all over the outside -
that counts!
Photos Provided.
fter four months in business, Darling Donuts has already made a name for itself. Long lines and loyal customers seem to be the norm for the new Broadway shop that specializes in made-from-scratch gourmet donuts.
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“It’s been great, and it’s been crazy” said Darling Donuts owner, Natascha Pearl-Mansman. “I gave birth to my daughter 2 weeks before opening and she is at work with me every day.” The inspiration for the unique shop came after visiting her sister in Brooklyn years prior. While there, Pearl-Mansman and her sister visited Doughnut Plant, a shop making truly unique gourmet donuts. After experiencing not only the taste, but the feel and smell of the atmosphere Pearl-Mansman knew she needed to create something similar for Saratoga. After testing her own recipes on family and friends, she decided to venture in a serious route and developed a business plan. New York only allows homemade food to be sold at farmers' markets, and she realized she needed a proper kitchen to sell her donuts. Pearl-Mansman found a commercial kitchen to rent and started to bake orders in summer 2018. She purchased her location on Broadway in November of 2019, partnering with regional businessman Glenn Severance to expand Darling Donuts. The partnership seems
to be a natural fit for Severance, who has a bloodline in baking; his grandfather and grandfather’s brothers owned bakeries in the area. “Once I [started], things took off and started to get crazy. I increased my production as much as I could, with the equipment that I had in the kitchen that I was working in. A year and a half in, I realized it was time to move to the next step,” Pearl-Mansman said. Pearl-Mansman creates all her donuts from scratch using brioche style dough, which creates a yeast raised donut. The brioche style gives Pearl-Mansman a neutral base that allows her to get creative with her donut flavors. “I have really simple natural recipes and there is actually no sugar in the dough itself, just enough to get the yeast to rise. All of the flavor comes from the glazes and the toppings. And all the glazes and the toppings are made with real fruit and real nuts. Even the cake glazes that I do, such as funfetti, has actual cake that’s in the glaze,” Pearl-Mansman said. In addition to her one-of-a-kind gourmet creations, supporting local is an important part of their business plan. “Our ingredients are purchased locally,” Pearl-Mansman stated. “We get our milk and cream from Battenkill Valley Creamery, our butter from Cabot, our poultry and eggs from Thomas Poultry Farm, and our flower from King Arthur.”
