Not what I had expected at all, Dipped is a tiny donut shop sandwiched in Kensington Market, cranking out fried donut delights.
Dipped is not a cafe. Dipped is not a place to come and nurse a cup of coffee and a gourmet donut. In the summers, the shop operates as a walk-up window; in the winter things are a tad different. To give you an idea of the size of the space, when I first laid eyes on the Donut shack there was a sign taped inside their front window explaining that only three customers were allowed inside at once.
This is the kind of place where you walk in, place your order, and get out, which wasn’t super ideal when I ventured to Dipped on a cold and rainy December day. Unless you’ve got a set of wheels, maybe save a trip to try these donuts for the summer.
While I’m being honest, I’m not sure how the four workers inside manage to squeeze past baker's racks and knead and bake and decorate the dozens of donuts they make each day. It’s sort of a thing of magic.
But while the donut shop is small, the donuts themselves are definitely not. The donuts are huge! Each donut is the size of a baby’s head and the fritters—oh, boy—the fritters are gigantic, probably the size of a standard paper plate.
Yeasty mounds of friend dough, the plain donuts are a sturdy enough to be coated, covered or doused in an array of unique toppings. My boyfriend and I ultimately settled on four donuts, even though I really wish that we picked up a fritter since their apple fritter looked amazing and I’m a total sucker for a tasty fritter!
Anyways we picked the following:
Cookies n’ Cream
Cream Cheese Glaze Topped with In House Made Dark Chocolate Cookie Crumbs, Drizzled with a Dark Chocolate Ganache and then Topped with An Oreo Cookie
Definitely a solid choice for Oreo lovers. Chris couldn’t get enough! The cream cheese glaze oozed down the donut with each bite we took, but that just make the experience all the more sinfully decadent.
Carrot Cake
Rich Cream Cheese Frosting Topped With In House Made Carrot Cake Chunks, Candied Ginger, Candied Walnuts & Caramel Drizzle
Smelled sweet, looked sweet, tasted sweet! I loved that there were actually pieces of carrot cake on this donut. The crunch of the walnuts and the slight heat of the ginger helped balance this sugary treat. This donut was undoubtedly my favourite. I liked my fingers clean...shhh, don’t tell anyone.
Chocolate Mud
70% Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze Topped With House Made Chocolate Cookie Crumble
Accurately named. This was not decadent in the ways I wanted it to be. Unfortunately, the richness that was intended didn’t really come through, rather a raw and bitter cocoa flavour overpowered the donut.
Sour Cherry and Almond
Sour Cherry Glazed Donut Topped With Toasted Almonds
Fruity and just a tad floral, this donut had a subtle crunch from the sliced almonds. Not terribly exciting, and probably wouldn’t seek this donut out again.
At the end of the day, if you happen to be around Kensington Market, it’s worth it to go and stop by their storefront window and grab a donut. Also, I’d recommend stopping by on a day with reasonable weather… Eating donuts in the rain is not cute or fun.
Pricing is also decent as most goodies are in the $5 range, which is decent for a gourmet donut, and a massive one at that! Just be sure you pack some wet naps with because it will get messy!
Where’s your go-to donut place in the 6ix? Let me know below!