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Similar Croissant, Doughnut, Cruffin, Chocolate chip cookie, Single‑origin coffee | ||
How to make cronuts
Cronut is a croissant-doughnut pastry invented by New York City pastry chef Dominique Ansel and trademarked by Dominique Ansel Bakery. The pastry resembles a doughnut and is made from croissant-like dough which is filled with flavored cream and fried in oil. The flavor of the pastry differs every month.
Contents
Official Cronut pastries are currently offered only at the Dominique Ansel bakeries in New York City, Tokyo, and London.
Origin
In 2013, bakery owner Dominique Ansel created the pastry out of dough similar to that of a croissant (a pastry that he had been more familiar with) with flavored cream inside.
The product was introduced on May 10, 2013. On the same night, a blogger from Grub Street, the online restaurant blog from New York magazine, reported on the new pastry. The post resulted in much interest and online circulation, and by the third day, a line of over 100 people had formed outside the shop to buy it. Within nine days of introducing the pastry to the Bakery's menu, Ansel trademarked the "Cronut" name.
Similar products
Chef Alina Eisenhauer of Sweet Kitchen & Bar in Worcester, Massachusetts, claimed that she was the first to fry croissant dough and has been serving her "dosants" since 2008. Baker Roy Auddino claims that he has been making "doughssants" since 1991.
After the release of the Cronut, similar products have sprung up throughout the world.
Make-at-home recipes have been developed. Dominique Ansel himself released an At-Home Cronut Recipe for bakers to attempt in their own homes, although it states that the difficulty level of making one's own Cronut is 'extreme' and it could take longer than two hours to make, with preparations beginning two days beforehand.
Controversy
Due to its limited production and exclusivity, the Cronut spawned a black market in New York City with scalpers reselling the $5 products for up to $100 each or $5,000 for an order of 20 of these pastries.
Charitable Campaigns
In July 2013, Dominique Ansel Bakery launched a series of charitable campaigns with the Cronut to benefit the Food Bank for New York City. The Cronut Project campaign, sponsored by Dominique Ansel and three staffmembers at BBH, benefited the Food Bank for New York City by raising over US$6,000 in six days with only twelve Cronut pastries.
In September 2013, Dominique Ansel Bakery partnered with Shake Shack to offer Cronut Hole Concretes, featuring Cronut Holes and brown butter caramel custard. Hundreds lined up as early as 4 a.m. for a chance to purchase one of these 1000 concretes. All proceeds, over $5,300, went to the NYPD Widows and Children Fund and Madison Square Park Conservancy.
At a live auction in October 2013 benefiting City Harvest (a New York City food rescue organization) Dominique Ansel, with auctioneer Nicholas Lowry and Questlove, auctioned a dozen freshly baked Cronut pastries for $14,000 in less than twenty minutes.
Reception
Writing for the Village Voice in May 2013, Tejal Rao proclaimed the Cronut Ansel's "masterpiece." TIME Magazine named the Cronut one of the best inventions of 2013.