Good Thursday morning.
I have been waxing rhapsodic about the wonders of the apple cider doughnuts, which, as with so many good things, have their roots in New York.
That’s thanks to a French-Armenian immigrant bakery owner named Adolf Levitt, who opened a chain of bakeries – the first in Harlem – and created a doughnut machine that enabled him to churn out the tasty fried treats as fast as his hungry patrons could gobble them up. Levitt started selling his machine, along with a pre-made doughnut mix, to other bakeries under the auspices of an entity called the Doughnut Corporation of America (DCA), which quickly expanded across the nation.
Levitt is the mastermind behind the Mayflower Coffee Shop and Downyflake Shops franchises. To be clear, there were other doughnut making machines before he came along, and doughnuts themselves date back to Colonial times (or maybe even earlier). But Levitt had a leg on the competition, thanks to his marketing prowess.
The apple cider doughnut was created by the DCA – the addition of cider to the batter made the resulting treat extra moist, and the cinnamon/spice sugar coating elevated the experience still further.
The result is deceptively simple and delicious. I would argue its success is BECAUSE of the fact that it doesn’t gild the lily. Sometimes plain is better. I feel this way about a lot of things, not just doughnuts, which I actually don’t consume all that many of, as a rule.
Aside from apple cider doughnuts, which are really a seasonal delicacy, I don’t eat that many doughnuts, truth be told. From time to time, I might indulge in a glazer doughnut – chocolate or plain – and I like those cake ones with the little handle on them for easier dunking. (Does Dunkin’ even make these anymore)?
A hard “no” for me is any kind of filled doughnut, which means I am most certainly NOT on the Boston Cream train. (Finally, we are getting to the point of this post about two-thirds of the way through it; I really am getting long-winded in my old age). This, in case you’re somehow not familiar, is the doughnut version of the Boston Cream Pie – a two-layer sponge cake with a custard filling and a chocolate frosting or ganache on top.
The cream in this case – traditionally speaking – isn’t any ordinary cream but rather crème pâtissière, a very rich and silky vanilla pastry cream, and it is piped into the center of a fluffy yeast-based doughnut shell. Also, a point of clarity: A Boston Cream doughnut is NOT a Bavarian Cream doughnut, as the latter has a cream that is typically made of heavy cream and gelatin rather than cornstarch and is usually coated in powdered sugar, not chocolate.
The Boston Cream Pie originated in (duh) its namesake city. Specifically, it was created in the Parker House Hotel (now the Omni Parker House) in the 1850s – a time when the words “pie” and “cake” were used interchangeably.
The man who invented this delicacy was an Armenian-French chef named Augustine Francois Anezin, who is sometimes referred to as “Sanzian”. His version featured rum-soaked butter sponge cake layered with thick custard and then coated with yet MORE custard, topped with chocolate fondant and rolled in sliced almonds. While custard cakes were a known entity at the time, coating things with chocolate was a new approach, which made this cake a unique and popular offering.
Boston Cream Pie has been the official dessert of the state of Massachusetts since 1996, having beaten out other high-profile contenders such as the Toll House Cookie, the Fig Newton and Indian Pudding.
Today is National Boston Cream Pie Day.
It will be sunny in the morning, but clouds will be moving in by the afternoon and there’s a chance we’ll see some more rain showers about. Temperatures will struggle to get out of the high 50s.
In the headlines…
President Donald Trump acknowledged yesterday that he was having the entire East Wing demolished to make way for his 90,000-square-foot ballroom, a striking expansion of a project that is remaking the profile of one of the nation’s most iconic buildings.
Trump was unsentimental as news of the demolition spread. “It was never thought of as being much,” he said of the East Wing, which was home to the first lady’s office and spaces used for ceremonial purposes. “It was a very small building.”
The project, now projected to cost $300 million, has drawn outcry and led to questions about whether the president was within his legal authority to dismantle entire sections of the executive mansion.
The administration has railed against the “manufactured outrage” about the demolition in a series of social media posts and TV interviews. And the White House this week published an extensive blog post recapping previous renovations to the grounds.
Author Michael Wolff is suing First Lady Melania Trump in a Manhattan court over her effort to block publication of his planned tell-all book that could include details about her ties to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Todd Lyons said yesterday that New York City will see more immigration arrests, after protesters confronted agents during an operation.
“You will see an increase in ICE arrests because there are so many criminals and illegal aliens that have been released in New York, specifically,” Lyons said in a Fox News interview.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said last night that he will fight the Trump administration in court for sending immigration agents to San Francisco.
“Send troops to San Francisco and we will sue you, @realDonaldTrump,” Newsom wrote in a post on X, which included a video of the governor at a press conference.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that local police could arrest federal agents if they break California law while conducting immigration raids that are expected this week in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Amazon reportedly has a plan to replace more than half a million U.S. workers with “cobots,” and avoid hiring at least 160,000 human workers by 2027.
Despite hoping to double the number of products Amazon sells by 2033, executives are said to believe robotic automation could save them the trouble of hiring 600,000 people in the long run, according to internal documents obtained by the New York Times.
Frontrunner Zohran Mamdani sought to play it safe in the final debate of the race, avoiding contentious issues and pledging to keep the police commissioner, while under repeated attacks from his opponents, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa.
The sharp barbs fired by the ex-governor and Guardian Angels founder underscored their desperation to grind Mamdani’s momentum to a screeching halt. But time is running short in this rip-roaring race to lead the Big Apple.
Overall, the 90-minute event seemed unlikely to have changed many minds as the mayoral race heads into its final stretch, with the main focus being an extended argument between Mamdani and Cuomo.
The candidates sparred over their policies, personalities and how they would deal with President Trump in the second and final debate of the mayoral campaign, which was peppered with interruptions, insults, and innuendo.
Cuomo, a former governor, called Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, a “kid” who would get knocked “on his tuchus” by President Trump, a “great actor” and a “divisive force in New York” who brings “toxic energy for New York.”
Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, who defeated Cuomo in the party’s primary in June, slammed Cuomo as a “desperate man” and “Trump’s puppet” whose political career was decidedly in the past.
Mamdani intends to ask Jessica Tisch to stay on as the police commissioner if he is elected in November, according to two senior campaign aides and two others briefed on his plans.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Tisch would accept the offer, and a spokesperson referred to her past statement: “As I’ve said many times, it is not appropriate for the police commissioner to be directly involved or seem to be involved in electoral politics.”
As the New York mayoral election draws near, a group of 650 rabbis and cantors from across the United States have signed onto a letter voicing their opposition to Mamdani and the “political normalization” of anti-Zionism.
Sliwa, in a fiery radio show appearance on WABC yesterday morning, disavowed the station, saying he would never return, and shut down any idea of joining Cuomo’s potential mayoral administration.
Mamdani has a commanding lead with foreign-born New Yorkers, while Big Apple residents who are American-born are more likely to vote for Cuomo, according to a new poll.
The Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em-esque debate hosted by Spectrum NY1 wasn’t a complete wash for Mamdani, as much of it boiled down to whether Queens assemblyman’s lack of experience was worse than Cuomo’s arguably bad record as a three-term governor.
Mamdani invited Charlotte Bennett, the first woman to publicly accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, to last night’s debate – one of several guests he brought to underscore his criticism of the former governor.
Melissa DeRosa, a longtime aide to Cuomo, wrote on social media that Mamdani’s choice to bring an entourage did not reflect “how a confident front-runner behaves…and it’s not even an effective hit.”
President Trump has privately told allies he believes Mamdani is unbeatable in the New York City mayor’s race, according to people familiar with the matter.
“But maybe, I don’t know, if (Sliwa) dropped out, maybe Cuomo would have a little bit of a chance, but not much, because it looks like the lead is, it’s not a great lead, but it’s big enough that he should be able to win,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Sliwa has remained resolute about staying in the race, despite pressure to drop out from billionaires, centrist Democrats, conservative media outlets and President Trump. He also said he would rather die than work for Cuomo.
Nearly 800 rabbis from across the nation released an open letter yesterday condemning what they see as Mamdani’s “dangerous” rhetoric about Israel and Zionism.
A President Trump-supporting influencer has launched a “Hot Girls for Cuomo” movement to boost the former New York governor’s mayoral ambitions – and insisted to The NY Post that even the most beautiful Mamdani supporter is a “zero.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is reportedly leaning toward endorsing Cuomo in the race for City Hall – but the incumbent doesn’t want to make any such announcement alone, instead weighing doing so alongside a group of supportive faith leaders.
Cuomo bolted from the final mayoral debate to sit courtside at Madison Square Garden with his new frenemy Mayor Adams. It was a photo op clearly meant to send a message around the city.
In response, Mamdani posted a picture of Adams and Cuomo at the game and wrote “corruption goes courtside.”
Mamdani’s proposal for tougher rent controls across New York City could backfire — choking off new housing supply and ultimately hurting the left-wing firebrand’s own voters, a top Wall Street investor warned.
As President Trump continued to insist he killed funding for a new tunnel under the Hudson River, Andy Byford, his pick to lead the redevelopment of Penn Station, said he was “not unduly fazed” by the funding threat.
A stretch of Canal Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown where dozens of immigrant street vendors have operated an informal market for decades was largely desolate a day after federal agents raided the area and arrested multiple people in a chaotic scene.
The Department of Homeland Security released new details yesterday about the chaotic Tuesday afternoon immigration raid by masked agents targeting street vendors on Canal Street.
More than a fifth of New York City’s core affordable housing stock is in the red or close to it — putting tenants at risk.
That’s according to a new report, which finds that at least 63,700 apartments receiving a government subsidy and operated by community development corporations and other nonprofit groups are financially distressed.
A disgraced state trooper who faked his own shooting in an apparent bid to get attention from a love interest got hit with prison time in a Nassau County courtroom yesterday, while his parents will get no jail time on a separate gun rap.
Residents of River Valley Estates, a manufactured home park in Sullivan County plagued by unsafe water and poor living conditions, scored a major victory after a state judge ruled that the park’s owners violated multiple housing and consumer protection laws.
New York’s mass-transit system is banking on billions of dollars from the state’s bet to bring full-scale casinos to the city.
June Farms a wedding venue, rustic retreat and animal sanctuary. Now it steps into the spotlight as the center of a new unscripted series on Amazon Prime Video, where the frenetic pace of eight weddings, one after another, is captured in immersive TV form.
Zucchini Brothers keyboardist Stephen E. Bottino has continued to not appear in town court, a local judge said. The member of the local children’s act was due in court yesterday after the 58-year-old Gansevoort resident was charged with sexually abusing a child.
The Downtown Troy Business Improvement District is facing an existential crisis, according to its executive director, Olivia Clemente.
Enrollment at Siena University dropped more than 14% this year, leading to a significant reduction in administrators, with 41 people set to leave as soon as next week, as well as dozens of adjuncts and 15 full-time faculty members, its president said.
Albany’s deadliest fire in more than a decade has been deemed “suspicious in nature” after a preliminary investigation by city police, the Albany Police Department announced.
Don’t break out the snow shovel just yet, but the first snowflakes of the season could come down in the higher peaks of the southern Adirondacks late tonight and into early tomorrow.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
