Move Over Cupcake: The Evolution of the Croissant and the Donut

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June 21, 2013

I have been trying to keep it healthy here for awhile because I would like to lose about 15 pounds. But I kept running across articles all over the web on the cronut and just had to tell you about it. Bakeries all over the world are starting to experiment with recipes that include the croissant and the donut.  Some even say this will become the next cupcake craze.

It all started several months ago when chef Dominique Ansel spent 2 months (and over 10 recipes) to come up with the perfect cronut.  And customers at his bakery in New York didn’t fail him. Hundreds line up daily in the hopes that they would be able to get at least 1 of the 200 to 250 cronuts he makes each day.

This cronut looks absolutely devine, delicious and sinful. Makes me glad I live 2000 miles away or I would be getting up early and standing in that line to get one.

So, what is all the hype about? Well, this isn’t just a croissant fried like a donut. This recipe incorporates the croissant into the donut. He serves it 3 ways – (1) rolled in sugar, (2) filled with cream and (3) glazed. This viral dessert has chefs and home bakers from New York to Hawaii, from Singapore to Berlin, rushing to try to recreate chef Ansel’s recipe.

Even Pillsbury is trying to get in on the action. They recently released this recipe for salted caramel crescent donuts using their crescent rolls.

Ingredients:

  • 1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls
  • 2 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 4 ounce (snack size) vanilla pudding
  • 2 tablespoons caramel sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup powdered sugar

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in a deep fryer or 2 quart saucepan to 350 degrees.
  2. Separate crescent dough into 4 rectangles. Press the perforations to seal. Stack 2 rectangles together. Fold in half widthwise to make taller stack.  Repeat with the other 2 rectangles.
  3. To make 2 doughnuts, use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut 1 round from each stack.  Use a 1 inch biscuit cutter to cut the hole in the middle.  Roll the unused dough out and fold as above to make a 3rd doughnut.
  4. Fry doughnuts in hot oil for 1 ½ minutes one each side or until golden brown. Remove and draing on paper towels. Cool for about 5 minutes.
  5. Carefully split doughnuts in half.  Place pudding in decorating bag fitted with tip, and pipe some of the pudding onto bottom half of each doughnut. Top each with some of the caramel sauce; sprinkle with salt. Cover each with top of doughnut.
  6. In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and enough milk for spreading consistency. Spread on tops of doughnuts. Drizzle with additional caramel sauce.

While recipes are popping up like crazy, it appears no one has yet been able to replicate Ansel’s recipe. And they won’t be able to use the name cronut, as he has already gone out and got a trademark on the name. But a lot of chefs are trying their version of the cronut or doissant or doughsant  or whatever name they can come up with, since this may be the new craze that will edge out the maple and bacon cupcake.

Once a baker figures out a recipe that will incorporate the donut into the buttery croissant (hard to fry a croissant when it is made up of a lot of butter), then they will be able to experiment with all kinds of fillings and glazes.  If you can imagine all the flavors that can go into or on top of this new creation, you can see how it may edge the cupcake to the side. Here comes the Kronut truck!

photo credit: ccho via photopin cc

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