Posted by Providence Journal, RI on June 04, 2009 at 18:37:05:
Doughnut dreams fading for 2 Rhode Islanders
Paul Grimaldi
Two Rhode Island women now face long odds in their attempt to hit America's sweet spot in a dougnut recipe contest run by the Dunkin' Donuts coffee shop chain.
Michelle Ventura, of Cranston, and Caitlyn Vandervelde, of Coventry, are among the 12 finalists competing for the chance to win a $12,000 prize and have their winning doughnut sold at Dunkin' Donuts locations around the United States.
Ventura came up with "Chocolate Monkey, a concoction that includes a Bananas Foster-filled doughnut topped with chocolate icing and shredded coconut. Vandervelde's recipe, called "Grandma's Blueberry Maple Donut," was a blueberry cake doughnut with maple icing topped with graham cracker crunch.
The finalists were chosen from nearly 130,000 entries submitted online. Each finalist won $1,200 and a visit to Dunkin' Donuts' University in Braintree, Mass.
With online voting closed, Chocolate Monkey had edged out "A Nutter One," the creation of a Florida woman for second-place, grabbing a bit more than 14 percent of the votes. But "Sm'Oreo," a mixture of Oreo cookies, marshmallows and graham crackers -- created by a New Yorker -- finished first, popular with more than 18 percent of online voters.
Ventura's chances now depend on the results of a bake-off, the results of which will be announced Friday.
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