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Mojo Donuts Creates the Baklacropolis on Cooking Channel's Donut Showdown

It's not baklava, and it's not just an ordinary doughnut. The baklacropolis is really a cross between the Greek dessert and a doughnut-croissant hybrid, and the only place to find it is Mojo Donuts -- for a limited time.

The Pembroke Pines doughnut shop has created more than 300 types of specialty doughnut and, to show off its stuff, recently participated in the second season of the Cooking Channel's Donut Showdown.

See also: Five Best Garlic-Infused Foods Coming to This Year's Garlic Fest in Delray Beach

In each episode, three doughnut makers are chosen to compete against one another creating doughnuts using a selection of unexpected ingredients and offbeat themes. After the timed competition, judges David Rocco, Maggie McKeown, and Zane Caplansky taste-test the final product and eliminate a contestant before moving on to the final "showdown." The winner of the final round receives a $10,000 cash prize.

Mojo Donuts appeared in the show's "Ancient Greece"-themed episode, where they faced off against a vegan baker from Ottawa, Ontario, and a self-taught baker from Somerville, Massachusetts. The mystery ingredient: grape drink powder.

Throughout the show, you can catch Mojo Donuts owner Shawn Neifeld punching his dough, cursing at the mixer, and having a near nervous breakdown while competing alongside his general manager, Matteo Buccellato, who helped create a pita-style savory doughnut with olives, chicken, and tzatziki sauce as well as a honey-glazed, grape-drink-powder-infused number.

Mojo made it into the final round but didn't get the final win. However, one of the duo's three creations -- the baklacropolis -- made a lasting impression. Now, you can find the baklacropolis fried up fresh at the Pembroke Pines bakery every Saturday and Sunday, one of the many limited-edition doughnuts the team delivers on weekends and as rotating weekly specials.

It's exactly what you'd expect, says Buccellato: the house doughnut-croissant dough (layered in a similar fashion as the phyllo dough that's used to make baklava) and stuffed with chopped nuts drenched in a honey and butter syrup.

Watch the Mojo episode of Donut Showdown on Comcast On Demand. The series airs every Thursday at 9 p.m. on the Cooking Channel.

Nicole Danna is a food blogger covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on Clean Plate's Instagram.



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Nicole Danna is a Palm Beach County-based reporter who began covering the South Florida food scene for New Times in 2011. She also loves drinking beer and writing about the area's growing craft beer community.
Contact: Nicole Danna

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