Discovering vegan and gluten-free doughnuts in Osaka’s Café Floresta
The humble doughnut has been subject to a huge variety of toppings and alterations since my childhood days of sugar-coated, powdered, or glazed options. In modern times people do not blink when they see doughnuts covered in bacon and maple glaze. The cronut has become so ingrained in our modern lexicon my auto-correct did not even flag it for correction. Of course, the variations continue, and we arrive at this moment in 2021, where Floresta café in Sakaihigashi (堺東), Osaka (大阪府 Ōsaka-fu) attempts to create a delicious gluten-free and vegan version of this ring of deep-fried goodness. The brown rice doughnuts at Floresta take on two forms: the classic ring-shaped sugar doughnut (¥260) and the vegan curry-bread (¥320).
A sponge cake-like texture that’s to die for. (Image credit: Eugene Lee)
The brown rice doughnuts have a wonderfully nutty flavour and a very light sweetness that was perfect for my palette. The doughnut had a satisfying and crunchy outer shell, and I appreciated the very light coating of sugar. It was a perfect match for the cold brew coffee I had sitting just off-screen. While the delicious interior texture was not exactly what you would expect from a doughnut as it was more similar to sponge cake, that is hardly a criticism.
A look into the pocket of goodness. (Image credit: Eugene Lee)
The real surprise at Floresta was the vegan curry bread. After eating it I had to double-check with my wife that these delicious fried buns were indeed vegan. The cake-like texture of the brown rice dough was perfect for savoury and sweet preparations. The curry filling had the texture of a finely minced ground beef, which I was assured was indeed made from a soy-based meat substitute. Wonderfully spiced, with a great texture and the real revelation was how light the dish was. Removing the meat from the filling made the deep-fried nature of the dish less heavy, this was much appreciated after having two doughnuts in one sitting. So, in my humble opinion, Floresta’s vegan doughnuts are well worth the trip.
Floresta Nature Donuts (フロレスタ)
Address: 2-3-26 Minamikoyo-cho, Sakai-ku, Sakai, Osaka 590-0073
Nearest station: Sakaihigashi Station (堺東駅)
Opening hours: 11am–6pm
Tel: +81-72-225-0088
Header image credit: Eugene Lee
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