I tried the London tour that lets you make the viral TikTok doughnuts – and you can book for Easter
IS it the mound of bubbling demerara that’s caramelised at the edges?
The unctuous cream filling that oozes from its sugary crevices?
Or maybe even the delicately balanced dough – dangerously buttery but not too sweet?
One bite confirms it. What made Bread Ahead’s creme brulee doughnut go viral is all of these things, and more.
I would know. After all, I’ve just been learning how to whip up a batch of the custardy beasts from the very people who invented them.
This Bread Ahead doughnut course was the final element of my morning adventure through London’s Borough Market with The Tour Guy.
The 2½-hour tour, which launches this Thursday in time for the Easter holiday, gives visitors a behind-the-scenes look at one of capital’s top foodie destinations, just south of London Bridge, and a chance to get stuck into some baking.
From within Bread Ahead’s original Borough Market bakery – the holy grail of London doughnuts – I’d learned how to knead, measured out portions to an exact weight and rolled them into small pieces using a technique I referred to as “the claw” (not a professional term).
Medieval jail
Over a weekend, the real bakers will make up to 5,000 of these Instagrammable treats, albeit with the help of some modern machinery.
Piping the creme filling must still be done by hand, though, as must the brown sugar for the brulee – but make sure it’s not a pinch.
There should be a mini-sugar mountain on top of each doughnut – necessary to achieve that classic creme brulee crack, I’m told.
After greedily overpiping, I’d created a misshapen monster whose insides were threatening to burst out at any moment.
But I still left with a sense of pride, clutching a box containing my exploding doughnut along with two professionally baked ones to take home.
The Tour Guy is the first tour operator to partner exclusively with the London bakery but that’s not the only thing that makes this adventure special.
The tour guides have seemingly unlimited knowledge of their turf.
As we meandered between stalls, inhaling the scent of slow-roasting meats and sizzling spices, our guide Sophie recalled tales of the market’s history.
Borough Market hadn’t always been located in this cobblestone area, she tells us. It was once positioned at the foot of London Bridge but was moved because it grew so large that no one was able to access the river crossing.
But the modern-day market folk have now secured themselves a prime spot, just a few roads down from the original location and surrounded by historic landmarks that I’ve walked past hundreds of times but never bothered to take in.
Take medieval jail The Clink, for example, or the Winchester Palace ruins – monuments that Sophie knows all about.
Of course, a tour of Borough Market wouldn’t be complete without some tastings.
And on this tour you get three British classics – sausage rolls and Scotch eggs from North Field Farm – one of the market’s longest-standing traders – and a selection of cheeses including an award-winning stilton, from Neal’s Yard Dairy.
Veggies panic not, you’ll still be catered for.
Just remember to wear your eating trousers as you’ll come away more stuffed than my monster doughnut.
That’s a promise.
- The 2½-hour Exclusive Borough Market Food Tour with Baking Class from The Tour Guy costs from around £67pp.
- See thetourguy.com.