METHUEN — The ring of deep-fried dough in Claudio Arsenio's hands looked more like a hula hoop or a bike tire than a doughnut.
But that's what it was — a 30-pound version of a beloved breakfast staple, slathered in chocolate frosting and sprinkles.
Arsenio can't quite explain why he did it.
But this month the veteran doughnut baker, who works nights at Heav'nly Donuts in Methuen, cooked up a 30-pound, chocolate-frosted doughnut in his company's Frialator.
Then he made a 25-pound blueberry doughnut and a gigantic Boston Cream.
"I don't know. I like to do funny stuff," the 40-year-old Salem, N.H. resident said. "That's who I am. It's all about making people smile."
Arsenio said it took him five or six tries to make it. The doughnut kept breaking apart under its own weight.
"I had a lot of broken doughnut," he said.
Arsenio, a Portugal native, has been baking for 27 years. And ironically, the man who has found a new hobby in making jumbo doughnuts only eats one Boston Cream every few weeks. That's what happens when you're surrounded by the deep-fried rings all the time, he said.
"You know, I had never thought to make one of these for the longest time," he said. "And I've never seen a doughnut like this ever. It's an accomplishment."
He'll make another of his gigantic treats next month to donate to patients at Children's Hospital in Boston. "They go crazy over that kind of stuff," he said.
Arsenio's next challenge: a very large vanilla cream.
"It gets very heavy. If you're not careful, your hands go right through," he said. "It could end up being a big mess."
The question is how big he will go.
"I'd need a new place to work out of," he said, laughing. "This is as big as they'll get here, otherwise they don't fit."
