The Conversation
We hate to break it to you, but if you’re still eating carbs that aren’t multicolored, you might just be doing it wrong. First came the mind-boggling rainbow bagel, and now please allow us to introduce you to the next interpretation of multicolored breakfast food: the rainbow DONUT.
Sold at the relatively new donut shop Moe’s Doughs in Brooklyn, the signature rainbow donut isn’t just multicolored, it’s multi-flavored. Included in this swirled masterpiece are red velvet, strawberry cake, blueberry, sour cream, orange and pistachio flavors. Zeyah Saleh, the manager at Moe’s Doughs and son of the shop owner, explains the taste has been described as similar to that of Fruit Loops.
After we realized how epic Moe’s rainbow donut-making process is, we decided to head to the shop and get a behind-the-scenes look at the process behind this creative and colorful treat.
Mohamed Saleh, the shop owner and master baker at Moe’s Doughs (he was previously the baker at Peter Pan Donuts in Brooklyn for about 20 years), first begins by creating the dough via his top secret recipe. After it’s been combined in a massive mixer and infused with each flavor, he begins folding.
While the colors are certainly vivid, they definitely don’t have quite the saturation of The Bagel Store’s similar product. That’s because while food coloring is involved, they rely most on natural flavors at Moe’s.
Next up: the layering process. Mohamed slightly flattens each mound of dough with his hands and combines them into one giant mound.
In the end, you’re left with something resembling a Play-Doh masterpiece.
Moe then rolls the pile out and begins using a donut cutter to give them that classic donut shape.
Next up: a crucial step for all delicious donuts – deep frying. In the oil is where the colors begin to really pop.
After allowing them to slightly cool, Moe (very generously) drizzles them in a sugar glaze.
And voila! From the outside, the donuts look like they might just be your standard cake donut. But break those babies open, and BAM! Sorry Skittles, but this might just be the best way to taste the rainbow.
Our thoughts? Well, we’re having a hard time actually forming words because we’re too busy stuffing our faces. Moe’s Doughs rainbow donut is perfectly crispy, sweet but not too sweet and totally mesmerizing to look at.
Zeyah tells us that since they unveiled the new flavor just last week, they’ve been bombarded with people coming in to give it a try, and they’ve been selling out around 3PM every day. So, if you’re in the NYC area and looking to get your hands on one of these, you may want to head over early.
But hey, if they’re all sold, out don’t sulk for too long. Instead, try some of Moe’s Doughs other creative flavors, like their Samoa-inspired donut or their take on the Cronut, the dosonut. Also, keep an eye out for the cream crumb donut that’s sometimes topped with rainbow donut pieces. Actually, you know what? At $2 for the rainbow donuts and just $1.50 for all the rest, you should probably just go ahead and get them all.
What crazy, new food trend are you super excited to try? Share with us on Twitter @BritandCo.
More From Food News
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures