Shop: C O C O Donuts

Chloé Sengier and Candice Tielemans can best be described as two young women with a passion for travel, food, and entrepreneurship. The idea for C O C O Donuts was born in Sydney, Australia, where donuts are now very popular.

Everyone knows donuts of the iconic type that Homer Simpson regularly devours. An incredibly sweet, round treat, drenched in sugar and with baby pink icing and rainbow sprinkles on top.

Chloé Sengier and Candice Tielemans's dirty aprons reveal that they are not afraid of rolling up their sleeves and mucking in themselves. They wanted to elevate the deep-fried confectionery to a culinary delicacy. Innumerable donuts and many trials-and-errors later, the traditional recipe has been completely reconceived and perfected into a kind of brioche dough. They get up before dawn at 4 am and start work like real bakers. Every day, they bake no fewer than 200 fresh donuts. They only use organic ingredients, as many as possible of which are locally sourced. They also explored new horizons for the toppings. How do "cuberdon", "lime", "coconut", "salted caramel", "Oreo", "berry", or "speculoos" sound? And a new donut is born almost every day. They are a little bit reminiscent of scones at high tea. But they are deliciously artisanal, just the way we like it. Served on gold-rimmed plates that seem to come straight from grandmother's china cabinet.

The shop is somewhat hidden in a side street off the Grote Zavel/Grand Sablon, so they can't count on too many passers-by. Nevertheless, plenty of residents and tourists have already discovered C O C O Donuts, so there is a cosy bustle. The building, which has an original floral tiled floor, used to be a wine shop. Using buckets of pastel pink paint, Chloé and Candice transformed the space into a sweet little spot.
You can either enjoy your treat in-house or get them to take away. A single donut costs 3.50 euro, but you can also buy a discovery box with 6 or 9 donuts (€20/30). If you need a lot of donuts for a birthday party, baby shower, or staff party, you can place an order on the website.

Perhaps these two ambitious shop managers have found a new niche in the market and the donut will knock the cupcake off its pedestal. And why not take a box of donuts for your family visit on Sunday. It is nothing if not original.

C o c o Donuts, Sint-Annastraat 36 rue Sainte-Anne, Brussel/Bruxelles, 0498-57.43.16, We > Sa 10.30 >17.00, Su 11 > 17.00