My ongoing journey to find the best doughnuts in the city has expanded to Squamish and the popular bakery: Fox and Oak. We were in Canada’s outdoor capital for the day, and decided to stop downtown to check out the buzz behind these photogenic, larger than usual doughnuts.
The smaller space saw a line trail out the door, with many guests scattered around the benches outside, enjoying a hot beverage and a sweet treat.
You order their doughnuts or cookies out of a limited showcase. They rotate flavours and have at least 3 vegan and 3 gluten-free on standby, for those with dietary restrictions. Their collection of doughnuts are not filled, but cream topped, in an array of various densities, all brioche based. Brioche doughnuts are prepared using an enriched dough, resulting in a doughnut ring that is a little sweeter, with the density of bread. If you were ever going to make a doughnut sandwich, these is the ones I would recommend that you use.
You could get a sense of the mouth-feel that each doughnut had, based on the way they looked. The darker the ring the denser they were and much cakier. The lighter the hue the more light and fluffy the doughnut ate. And there were ones that lay in between both, for both hue and texture.
We filled a box with 6 and ate them in the order we’d figured we’d like them from least to best.
The Cinnamon Sugar doughnut was a bad start. It was incredibly dense and dry, hard to chew metaphorically and literally. It left my lips and tongue smacking in search of moisture, and we needed water to wash it down. We were right, this was our least favourite.
The only fritter was a rhubarb made with actual chunks of local rhubarb embedded within the thin coating of strawberry glaze. It was a chewy fritter with lumps and bumps. Not as sweet as the frosting suggests, especially when you get a bit of the sour rhubarb in. I personally would have liked some more rhubarb embedded within the actual dough for a textural interest.
The Cookie dough delivered on its name and promise. I fully enjoyed the bits of cookie dough topping the vanilla icing glaze of the doughnut. like sprinkles. These sweeter portions gave the doughnut character, I just wished there was more of it to evenly distribute around the entire ring. Much like with the other two below we were left wanting more. It would have also been interesting to have some of this dough stuffed inside the actual ring as well.
The Mango passion fruit had a more tangy and slightly sour citrus glaze. You wouldn’t know that there was either of the name sake fruit present, if not looking for it. We liked the real dried fruit garnish, but as with the case above, there was not enough of it. Every bite needed the mango, a little sweetness to balance out the tartness of each bite. At this point I am sure the garnishes are more intended as visual pieces.
We also wanted more caramel banana slices from the Banana bread doughnut. Everything is so rich, so any time you get a bit of freshness in your bite, it is appreciated, and you can tell instantly tell the difference it makes. For this, the density of the doughnut worked. There was enough breading to balance out the sweetness of the thicker cream cheese frosting. It reminded me of carrot cake with this familiar cake and frosting pairing.
Our last doughnut was a classic chocolate glaze. A familiar milk chocolate over a light sponge. Familiar to you can get from a variety of doughnut shops, but a lot more elevated with the brioche dough, real chocolate, and crispy pearls.
In conclusion, Fox & Oak is a great option for quality baked goods in Squamish, with each of their doughnut eating like a meal.
Fox and Oak
1396 Main St, Squamish, BC V8B 0B6
(778) 894-0879
foxandoak.ca
