The Salty Donut Collaborates With David and Isabela Grutman to Create a Unicorn Doughnut for Charity

Brace yourself, Miami: The first rainbow doughnut has arrived. The Salty Donut, the artisanal doughnut shop in Wynwood, has created its most colorful flavor yet, and half of all proceeds will benefit Style Saves, a charity by stylist Rachael Russell that nightlife guru David Grutman and his wife, Isabela Rangel Grutman, are involved with.

Nicknamed the "unicorn doughnut," the limited-edition treat will be available for purchase Friday, April 21, through Friday, May 5, at the Salty Donut (50 NW 23rd St., Miami). Nearly double the size and thickness of traditional Salty Donut treats, the unicorn doughnut doesn't come cheap. Each costs $10, nearly double the price of other varieties.

"We really wanted to make a statement with this doughnut in every way," Salty Donut owner Amanda Pizarro says. "The doughnut itself is just so crazy, and we want the donation to be just as impactful."

Pizarro describes the unicorn doughnut as one of the brand's most labor-intensive creations yet. The 24-hour brioche dough is hand-dyed, creating a green, blue, orange, red, and yellow rainbow. Then it's infused with a homemade citrus marshmallow fluff and topped with a vanilla bean glaze and homemade marshmallow crisps.
"When you're making a regular brioche dough, you put in all the ingredients and make just one batch," Pizarro says. "But when you make this rainbow doughnut, you have to split up your batch into smaller microbatches and hand-dye each one. Then you put it all together and roll it, so it takes a lot longer."

Now that Max Santiago, the Salty Donut's former star pastry chef, is no longer with the company, Pizarro says the doughnut's creation was a group effort.

"We have an amazing team in the kitchen," she says. "And we have fallen in love with our company all over again. It's good to revisit what we've been doing for a year and a half and try to expand and get better. That's what the unicorn doughnut is."

The doughnut will help fund the Style Saves, which helps send kids to prom by supplying tuxes, dresses, and other accessories. The organization also provides everything from clothing and shoes to school supplies and prescription eyewear to underprivileged children around the world.

Unlike previous limited-edition doughnuts, the unicorn will have no cap on how many a customer can purchase.