Donuts
What Is an Old Fashioned Donut? And Where to Get One in Spanish Fork
29 September 2026 · 4 min read
An old fashioned is a cake donut — batter, not yeast dough — fried so the surface splits into the cracked, craggy crust it is known for. It is denser than a glazed donut, faintly tangy, and every one of those cracks is somewhere for glaze to sit. At The Donut Run it is $2.50 each or $25.00 a dozen.
Cake donut, not a raised one
Most of what people picture when they hear “donut” is a raised donut: yeast dough, proofed until it is full of air, fried light and pull-apart. Our traditional glazed is that donut.
An old fashioned is the other thing entirely. It is a batter, leavened chemically rather than with yeast, and it goes into the fryer cool. That temperature difference is what makes the surface break open as it cooks instead of puffing smooth. The result is dense where a raised donut is airy, with a crisp cracked edge and a tender middle.
If you have ever picked the edges off a donut and left the rest, the old fashioned is the donut built entirely out of edge.
The rest of the cake side of the case
We make four cake donuts, all at the same price — $2.50 each, $25.00 a dozen:
- Old fashioned — the cracked ring described above.
- Buttermilk cake — same family, smoother finish.
- Blueberry cake — the one people buy when they want fruit in the morning.
- Chocolate cake — cocoa in the batter, not just on top.
The buttermilk bar is the same idea as the old fashioned in a different shape, and it sits on the specialty board rather than here.
What a dozen actually costs
$25.00 is ten donuts’ worth of money for twelve donuts. That is the dozen deal — buy ten, get two free — and it applies to the cake donuts the same way it applies to the rest of the case. Custom decorated donuts are the one exception, and they are priced separately on the custom donuts page.
At our Spanish Fork and St. George shops, every donut in the case is half price after 2:00pm, Monday through Thursday. Our Ogden shop does not run that one.
People do ask for it by name
Google publishes the topics customers mention most in their reviews of a business. On our Spanish Fork listing, read on 25 September 2026, “old fashioned” came up in eight reviews — behind kolaches and cake donuts, ahead of cronuts. Those are Spanish Fork’s numbers specifically, not a figure for all three shops.
That is a small number and we are not going to dress it up as a big one. What it tells us is that it is an item people name rather than just point at, which is the reason this page exists.
Where to get one
Spanish Fork — 1306 E Center St, Spanish Fork, UT 84660 · (801) 416-0800. Open 5:00am Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday. Spanish Fork is in Utah County, about fifteen minutes south of Provo.
Everything is made that morning, so if you want a particular donut at a particular hour it is worth ringing ahead. Every item we make, with what it actually is, is listed on the Utah Donut Index.
Common questions
What is an old fashioned donut?
An old fashioned is a cake donut. The dough is a batter raised with chemical leavening rather than yeast, so the crumb is dense and tender instead of airy. It goes into the fryer cool, which makes the surface split and crack as it cooks. Those cracks are the whole point — they are what holds the glaze.
What is the difference between an old fashioned and a glazed donut?
Different dough entirely. A traditional glazed donut is raised yeast dough: light, airy, pull-apart. An old fashioned is cake dough: dense, a little tangy, with a crisp cracked edge. If you like the edge of a donut more than the middle, the old fashioned is your donut.
Is an old fashioned the same as a buttermilk bar?
Same family, different shape. Both are buttermilk cake donuts fried so the surface cracks open. The old fashioned is a ring and the buttermilk bar is a bar. The ring gives you more crisp edge per donut; the bar gives you more glazed surface.
How much is an old fashioned donut at The Donut Run?
It prices as a cake donut: $2.50 each, or $25.00 a dozen. The dozen is buy ten, get two free — $25.00 is ten donuts’ worth for twelve donuts.
What other cake donuts do you make?
Four, all at the same price: old fashioned, buttermilk cake, blueberry cake and chocolate cake. They sit on the cake side of the case, separate from the raised donuts and the specialty board.
Where can I buy an old fashioned donut in Utah County?
The Donut Run in Spanish Fork, at 1306 E Center St, opens at 5:00am Monday through Saturday and is closed Sunday. Spanish Fork is about fifteen minutes south of Provo.
Do old fashioned donuts sell out?
Cake donuts hold their texture through the day better than raised ones do, but everything we make is made that morning and when a tray is gone it is gone. If you want a specific donut at a specific time, ring the shop before you drive over.