Which Massachusetts pastry was named the state doughnut in 2003?

The Boston cream doughnut was named Massachusetts’s official state doughnut in 2003.

The pastry is the doughnut counterpart of Boston cream pie, Massachusetts’s official state dessert. It is typically a yeast-raised doughnut filled with vanilla custard or pastry cream and topped with chocolate icing.

The Boston cream doughnut should not be confused with a Boston cream pie, which is a sponge cake split and filled with custard. The doughnut version adapts the same cream-and-chocolate combination to a fried pastry.

Massachusetts has several officially designated foods, including the chocolate chip cookie and cranberry. The state doughnut designation reflects the strong connection between Boston cream pastries and the region’s baking tradition.