Starbucks Raspberry Jam & Custard Doughnut

The Starbucks Raspberry Jam and Custard Doughnut costs £4.30 and carries 353 calories with 25g of sugar. An enriched dough filled with raspberry jam and custard.

At 353 calories it is the second lightest item in the Bakery case behind the cake pop, and 14g of fat is modest for something fried. A doughnut has a reputation heavier than its numbers here: the carrot cake carries twice the fat and the lemon tart nearly three times.

Yeasted dough is the reason, in the same way it is for the cinnamon bun. A risen dough is mostly air by volume and takes on far less oil in the fryer than a dense batter would, so a filled ring doughnut absorbs less fat than its reputation suggests. Oil temperature does the rest: hot enough and the crust seals before much gets in.

25g of sugar is mid to low for the case, split between the jam and the custard. Saturated fat at 6g is unremarkable and salt at 0.63g is standard.

Custard is also the reason these are baked in smaller numbers than the rest of the case. Creme patissiere is a fresh dairy filling with a short life, so a doughnut cannot sit for two days the way a brownie or a caramel shortbread can, and a store late in the afternoon is more likely to be out of this than of anything else here.

Two fillings rather than one is what distinguishes it, and they behave differently in the mouth. Jam is sharp and sets firm; custard is soft and rounded, and the contrast is the point of the combination. A doughnut carrying only one of the two tastes considerably flatter.

Egg, wheat and milk are the declared allergens, a short list for the case, and no diet labelling is published. Prices reach £4.85 on delivery.