A brioche donut filled with a pandan coconut pastry cream and inspired by Southeast Asian dessert traditions, where pandan — a leaf grown prevalently in Southeast Asia — plays the role that vanilla does elsewhere, giving the cream its signature green color and herbal flavor. The brioche dough, enriched with eggs, milk, and butter, is portioned, proofed until doubled or tripled in size, and fried until golden brown. Once cooled, the donut is coated in sugar, filled with the pandan coconut pastry cream, and finished with a dollop of cream and a topping of coconut.
Washington DC
Rose Ave Bakery
Pandan Coconut Donut
Eggs / Milk / Butter / Fresh pandan leaves / Coconut milk / Pandan extract / Coconut / Corn starch / Sugar
Signature Dish
From Prep to Plate
Seth visits Rose Ave Bakery to see how their signature pandan coconut donut is made from scratch! Chef Rosie breaks down the process — from blending fresh pandan leaves and coconut milk to creating a silky, all‑natural pastry cream and filling a fluffy brioche donut. Learn why pandan and coconut are a classic Southeast Asian pairing, how brioche creates the perfect donut texture.
The bakery nods to Nguyen’s Vietnamese American heritage. Her treats are a study in subtle, flavorful compositions: Doughnuts on the rotating menu combine sweet potato brioche dough with such filling flavors as passion fruit, strawberry rose litchi, Vietnamese coffee and jasmine milk tea, for a light, sweet style of the pastry.
Sarah F. Fischer and Vanessa H. Larson, The Washington Post
