Donut On Building
Building the city...

Donut On Building

Almost everyone knows and loves donuts.

Donuts have an appeal that is easy to understand. They have a unique shape, a sweet taste, and come in endless variations.

  • A unique shape

    A round ring with a hole in the middle. One look and you know it is a donut.

  • A sweet taste

    Soft dough meets glaze, powdered sugar, or chocolate on top.

  • Endless variations

    Change the glaze and the toppings and you get a different donut. Try picking a flavor.

Strawberry donut with rainbow sprinkles

The big names in donuts

From a small kitchen in the United States to a mall in Tangerang. Six well-known donut chains, in the order they were founded.

  1. 1937

    Krispy Kreme

    Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

    Vernon Rudolph started selling yeast-raised donuts from a recipe he bought from a chef in New Orleans.

  2. 1948

    Winchell's Donuts

    Temple City, California, USA

    Founded by Verne Winchell, it grew into a chain of donut shops across the western United States.

  3. 1950

    Dunkin'

    Quincy, Massachusetts, USA

    Founded by Bill Rosenberg. Its first shop opened in 1948 under the name Open Kettle.

  4. 1956

    Mister Donut

    USA

    Founded by Harry Winokur. Today most of its shops are actually in Asia.

  5. 1964

    Tim Hortons

    Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Founded by ice hockey player Tim Horton and Jim Charade, now the largest quick-service restaurant chain in Canada.

  6. 2005

    J.CO Donuts & Coffee

    Supermal Karawaci, Tangerang, Indonesia

    A donut chain from Indonesia, founded and owned by Johnny Andrean Group.

Sources for years and locations: each brand's Wikipedia article, accessed 31 October 2026. Logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are shown for identification only. Donut On Building is not affiliated with these brands.

Secret donut recipe

Soft yeast donuts with strawberry glaze, just like the one spinning on top of the Donut Building. Makes about 16 donuts.

Dough

  • 500 g bread flour
  • 11 g instant yeast
  • 70 g granulated sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 250 ml cold milk
  • 75 g butter
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Oil for frying

Strawberry glaze

  • 200 g powdered sugar
  • 3–4 tbsp milk
  • 1 tbsp strawberry jam
  • Rainbow sprinkles

Mix the dry ingredients

Sift the flour, then mix it with the yeast and sugar. Add the egg yolks and pour in the cold milk a little at a time while stirring.

Secret: the milk must be cold. The dough stays cool while you knead, the yeast works slowly, and the donuts come out softer.

Knead until smooth

Add the butter and salt, then knead for about 10 to 15 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticks to your hands.

Let it rise

Cover the bowl with a cloth or plastic wrap. Leave it for 45 to 60 minutes until the dough doubles in size.

Roll and cut

Punch down the dough, roll it out 1.5 cm thick, then cut out rounds with a hole in the middle. Let them rest another 15 to 20 minutes.

Fry over low heat

Heat the oil to 160 to 170 °C. Fry until golden brown.

Secret: flip only once. A well-risen donut has a white ring around its middle.

Dip in glaze, add sprinkles

Stir the powdered sugar, milk, and strawberry jam until thick. Dip the top of each donut, then add sprinkles.

Secret: wait until the donuts cool. Glaze on a hot donut melts and never sets.

Illustration of a four-story blue building with a giant strawberry donut on its roof, pink glaze melting down the walls.
The Donut Building, seen from the corner of the intersection.

The blue building that suddenly became famous

It used to be just a four-story office on a street corner. One morning, a roof-sized strawberry donut landed on top and its glaze melted down the walls. The neighbors are used to it now: the donut keeps spinning, and the traffic keeps moving.

Traffic lights take turns
On red, cars stop at the line and the ones behind them queue up.
The donut can speed up
Click the donut or the Spin the donut button and its sprinkles go flying.
The city has nights
The Night button lights up the windows, street lamps, and headlights.

City residents

Eight kinds of buildings fill the blocks around the Donut Building, and four kinds of vehicles take turns driving by. Pick one to see where they are.