Donuts and Bonne Maman jam – a match made in heaven!

Bonne Maman. It’s the first “real French” jam I remember tasting. I felt so sophisticated at around age 10 when I would slather my toast with the strawberry Bonne Maman.

Photo courtesy Bonne Maman website

I mean, I think it’s the iconic jars. They just immediately make you feel like you’re in France. Bonne Maman is my jam of choice when I am home in Canada and I am always on the lookout for different varieties when I travel in France. So I was thrilled to accept an invitation to host a Bonne Maman networking event – actually a donut making class at Le Dolci (one of their regular class offerings) – last week where a handful of my friends and I got to hear first hand about the wonderful selection of preserves, jellies, compotes and “light and fruity” spreads – all made in France using all-natural ingredients with no artificial colorings, no additives or preservatives. My co-host, Christine Tizzard, expressed what many of my guests had told me – that Bonne Maman is the only non-homemade jam in her kitchen – because it tastes as good as homemade!

As we sipped on Fresita (a sparkling wine infused with hand picked strawberries from Patagonia and the Andes Mountains – so refreshing!), Chef Lindsey from Le Dolci took us through the donut-making process…

Lindsey had already made the dough for us as it needed to rest and rise. Then we got to work….

Lots of creatively-shaped donuts happening!

While we were waiting for our donuts to rest and rise a little before popping them in the deep fryers, Lindsey showed us how to make apple fritters. Dipped in Bonne Mamam Dulce de Leche. Oh my.

As we snacked on those, we got to frying our batches of donuts…

(I am always amazed when items I make end up looking “real” so I was thrilled to see my donuts doing what they should be doing!)

And then the (arguably most fun) part – decorating!

And what’s a donut without jam? We had a wonderful selection available to use. Some of us were, ahem, rather enthusiastic in our jam application!

With a box full of donuts and a bag full of Bonne Maman swag, we headed out into the night, with visions of sprinkles dancing in our heads…

I’m sure I was not the only person who left the event thinking that making donuts isn’t as hard as I imagined (well, it’s always easier when a professional makes the dough ahead of time!) and who can’t wait to use the leftover dough that’s currently in my freezer to wow some friends sometime soon! I can tell you the box of donuts went down quite a treat in the staffroom the next day and people told me I was welcome to bring these in anytime! Now to see about borrowing a deep fryer (and frying outside once the weather is warm enough!)… At least I know I have fabulous jams to fill them with !

Thanks Branding and Buzzing for a fun and informative event! Thanks Mairlyn, Isabelle, Dana, Mary Catherine, Louisa and Anita for your spirited and creative participation!

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Disclosure – I received compensation in exchange for organising and writing about this event. All opinions are my own.