We weren't sure what to think when we first read about the "cronut" — a hybrid croissant-doughnut invented by famed pastry chef Dominique Ansel.
Since Ansel's SoHo, New York bakery introduced the treat earlier this month, it's gone viral in the foodie world, and been covered everywhere from Fox News to the Today show.
People have been waiting on line for more than an hour before the bakery opens just to buy one.
This morning's batch sold out in just 20 minutes, a source told us. That's pretty impressive considering the pastries cost $5 each, more than a Crumbs cupcake.
So what is a cronut, exactly?
The dessert is made from sheeted pastry dough, like a croissant, and fried like a doughnut. The pastry is then stuffed with vanilla cream, rolled in sugar, and topped with icing.
It sounds incredible.
And from Dominique Ansel's website, it looks pretty incredible too. Check out those flaky layers and gooey exterior:
Needless to say, we were thrilled when a friend offered to deliver a cronut to our office.
It looked fresh, and gave off a sweet doughnut aroma when we opened the box.
Unfortunately, things went downhill when we tried to cut the cronut in half. Instead of spongy, flaky layers, the whole cronut got squished into a dense lump.* The vanilla cream oozed out the sides.
It may not have been pretty to look at, but we were pumped to dig in.
The verdict?
The cronut is "pretty good." It tastes a lot more like a doughnut than a croissant, though it's got a nice crunchy layer on the outside.
The vanilla cream didn't add much to the pastry, and made the whole thing a little soggy (to be fair, we ate our cronut several hours after it emerged from the oven). We weren't sure how the cream fit in, anyway, since its not a standard ingredient in either croissants or doughnuts.
The bottom line: If a friend offers to deliver a fresh cronut to your office, definitely take her up on it. It's a tasty treat and you can make your friends jealous by instagramming it.
It's probably not worth waiting an hour in line for, unless you're truly crazy about pastries.
*We've been told that cronuts are much easier to cut with serrated knives. We'll know for next time!
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