Review: IHOP - Bacon & Maple French Toasted Donut

IHOP's Bacon & Maple French Toasted Donut features a Bavarian cream-filled donut dipped in vanilla French toast batter, griddled, and then topped with maple glaze and hickory-smoked bacon crumbles.

An a la carte order cost me $3.99.

Despite the name, the Bacon & Maple French Toasted Donut is not very strong on the French toast front. Only the very bottom of the donut is dipped in the French toast batter, and not much seems to stick due to the oily surface of the previously fried dough. It mostly just tastes like a warm, twice-fried donut.

The bacon was not crispy at all and was somewhat chewy. It had a mildly smoky flavor and was less salty than expected.

The maple glaze was extremely thick and stuck to the plate. It was more like very thick syrup, with only the barest hints of maple flavor as an end note. It was cloyingly sweet on its own.

Warm Bavarian cream is a little bit strange to me, but it lent a nice creaminess to the dish with only subtle sweetness.

Overall, the Bacon & Maple French Toasted Donut made for an enjoyable, warm donut experience but it missed on delivering the egg-forward flavor of French toast. There just isn't enough porous surface area for the batter to soak into the donut. As long as you use the glaze sparingly, the end result is not too sweet.

Nutritional Info - IHOP Bacon & Maple French Toasted Donut
Calories - 530 (from Fat - 280)
Fat - 31g (Saturated Fat - 12g)
Sodium - 980mg
Carbs - 48g (Sugar - 18g)
Protein - 15g