Which Chain Has The Better Boston Cream Donut?

The city of Boston has gifted us many great things. There’s the whole Boston Tea Party revolution business, championship sports teams, and its contributions in academia, with Harvard University just across the river in Cambridge. But even with those accolades, what I’m most intrigued by is the food. Boston baked beans, New England clam chowda, North End cannolis. Those are historical gems in their own right. And so is the treat I’m here to talk about today: the Boston cream donut.

The treat is actually a descendant of Boston cream pie – which was born in Boston’s Parker House Hotel in 1856. It’s a yeast donut pumped full of pastry cream or custard and topped with chocolate icing. Is it the perfect donut? Well, beauty is in the mouth of the beholder, but it’s definitely popular. It makes perfect sense for the Dunkin’ chain to carry a Boston cream donut, given its deep ties to Massachusetts. But even a chain like Krispy Kreme, with no real connection to the city, has its own version.

So, who do you think does it better? You might expect Dunkin’ to take the crown on this one (it makes sense for a Massachusetts company to defend its home turf). But the only way to really know is to try both. So that’s exactly what I did. I indulged in two Boston cream donuts to find out which one has the best chocolate icing, cream filling, yeast base, and overall Beantown appeal.

This review was pretty straightforward: acquire a Boston cream donut from Dunkin’ and one from Krispy Kreme, then compare notes. At Dunkin’, a true Boston Kreme (yes, spelled with a K for some unknown reason) sits on the menu among a long list of classic donuts. When I ordered one at the drive-thru, it cost me $1.69.

At Krispy Kreme, I didn’t find anything listed as a Boston cream donut on its menu. But the chain does have a Chocolate Iced Custard Filled donut, which meets all the necessary requirements. I ordered one for $2.59.

From there, I compared the two donuts from top to bottom. I started with the yeast donut itself, paying close attention to its texture. Then came the all-important filling. I considered its flavor, consistency, and how much of it was actually packed inside each donut. After all, it is the hallmark of a Boston cream donut. Finally, I looked at the chocolate icing on top and considered how well all three elements worked together. Overall, I focused on each donut’s taste over cost, Boston affiliations, or anything else.

The first thing I notice about any donut is how it looks from the outside. It often tells a story — either good or bad — about what’s on the inside. This Boston Kreme, though, was a bit hard to read. It was more oblong than circular, and the smaller smear of icing on top didn’t inspire much confidence. But underneath its less-than-promising exterior, this donut had quite a few things going for it.

For starters, the dough was nicely fluffed up, with a bready taste rather than an overly yeasty one. Then there was the custard filling, which reminded me of a classic vanilla pudding. And I mean that in the best way possible. It’s creamy, milky, and familiar. Plus, it makes itself known within the first bite and has a presence in just about every bite after.

The chocolate icing was another familiar face. It tasted almost exactly like something you’d scoop straight out of a tub of Betty Crocker frosting. Maybe that’s not the most gourmet comparison, but there’s something to be said for nostalgia. Could there also have been a bit more of it covering the ends? Yes, but I’d say the amount was sufficient. The donut was never overly sweet, even with the pudding-like custard and icing on top. There’s a good contrast between all elements, albeit its somewhat wonky appearance.

It felt strange going through the Krispy Kreme drive-thru and not ordering a dozen Original Glazed donuts. Saying “Chocolate Iced Custard Filled Doughnut” was also quite the mouthful. I’m not sure why the chain doesn’t just call it what it is, a Boston cream, and call it a day. But I digress.

I still ended up with the right donut, and it had glimpses of the chain’s classic glazed variety. It had that same distinct fried Krispy Kreme taste, and it was extra doughy, which I loved. It wasn’t cloaked in the chain’s signature sugary glaze — beyond the chocolate icing on top, it was completely bare. But that was fine by me. The icing itself had a pleasant milk chocolate taste, and there was enough of it.

The custard is where it takes a turn for the worse. I had to take several bites just to reach it. I was almost convinced they’d given me a donut without any filling at all. When I finally found it, I was met with a lighter-colored custard with an unexpected lemony tang and an almost chemical-like flavor — something that left me with an off-putting aftertaste. I would have liked the donut far better with no filling at all, which isn’t exactly a glowing endorsement for something with “custard filled” in its name. Maybe I would have had better luck with Krispy Kreme’s Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled donut instead?

I don’t think I came into this taste test completely unbiased. I’m a firm believer that Krispy Kreme’s Original Glazed donut is not only its very best donut creation, but also one of the best donuts out there, miles ahead of Dunkin’s version. And admittedly, I was expecting the chain to run away with this one as well — despite Dunkin’s Massachusetts roots.

However, that’s not what happened here. The custard itself ended up being Krispy Kreme’s Achilles’ heel. The donut had everything else going for it, including its doughy base and sweet chocolate icing. But it managed to mess up the all-important filling, the very thing that makes a Boston cream donut a Boston cream donut.

At Dunkin’, the Boston spirit is pumped back into the donut. The custard is the highlight, as it should be. It’s deliciously creamy, and what’s more, I didn’t have to nearly finish the donut before reaching it. Together with the fluffy donut and chocolate frosting on top, it feels like a very traditional take on a Boston cream. It’s nothing extravagant or over the top. I’m sure a Boston cream donut from a family-owned bakery tucked away in Beacon Hill would put it to shame, but for those times when the rest of the country wants a little taste of the historic city, Dunkin’ answers the call.