Cheerwine Kreme Filled Krispy Kremes

Now, just to be clear, I didn't plan a weekend in Asheville just so I could get my hands on some Cheerwine-filled Krispy Kremes. But I can't say that they had nothing to do with it.  When I heard about this North Carolina-only confluence of NC delicacies, I semi-seriously considered that I could drive the 3 1/2 hours to Asheville and pick some up, and then it occurred to me that I haven't been to Asheville in a while and CrazyCatLady and I were long overdue for a romantic weekend away.  So plans were made and off we went.

Of course, since we were there anyway, we had to look for some.  They were only being sold in grocery stores, and the first trip to the Ingles near our B&B proved unsuccessful.  But as we stopped there on our way out of town to stock up on Cheerwine itself and various New Belgium beers (come on, guys, why can I still not buy Fat Tire in KY?), I stumbled upon a small unassuming table of boxed-up Krispy Kremes in the back corner.  And there they were.

I should back up and explain a little bit.  I'm sure you know what Krispy Kremes are--namely, they are mankind's finest donut and a reason for living, especially if you hit the shop when they're busy and they pull one straight off the conveyor belt for you.  But you may not know that the company originated in Winston-Salem, NC.  Cheerwine is an intensely sweet, intensely carbonated cherry soda based in Salisbury, NC and much beloved throughout ACC country.  So the Cheerwine Kreme Filled Krispy Kreme is a carb-heavy celebration of central NC, a place I called home from 2002-2005.  (Oddly enough, you can now often find Cheerwine in retro-style bottles at Food City here in Hazard.)


The donut is chocolate covered, with sprinkles reflecting Cheerwine's dark burgundy hue.  I was a little concerned about the chocolate--isn't that gilding the lily? Is it going to cover up the Cheerwiny goodness?

On bisection we find a low filling ratio.  I generally don't have a problem with this, since I find most filled donuts to be overly filled and thus overly sweet.  But such a small amount means that the filling really has to deliver.

One problem is that store-bought KKs have to be revived in the microwave before they're worth eating, and barely ten seconds in the 'wave (not quite enough to revive the donut) had the filling running out of the fill hole.  This is a bigger problem if you don't like eating a whole donut at once.

But did it work?  Hells yes, it did.  The filling has a nice punch of Cheerwine flavor, and the chocolate complements it very well.  I don't think I'd buy more of these in the grocery store, but I'd definitely have one in the KK shop--if I happened to be in Salisbury, since it's the only place these will be available after today.