The CRONUT

189 Spring St.  New York, NY
www.dominiqueansel.com

Price: $$ ($5 per cronut)

   Cronuts seem to have become the latest trend in food, and I constantly heard about and seen the donut-croissant hybrid creation all over the internet.  The cronut was created by renowned pastry chef Dominique Ansel, of the Dominique Ansel Bakery, which I visited and blogged about last summer, long before the cronut was announced and became such a hit.  The cronut has caught the attention of many New Yorkers and beyond, and being the foodie that I am, I absolutely made it my mission to try out the delicacy before the end of my summer in NYC.
I arrived at the bakery at around 6:30 a.m. on a Friday morning.  I was expecting there to be a line formed, but I was not expecting a line that spanned down the block and around the corner! It was good I arrived when I did, as the line got much longer in the hour following my arrival.  The bakery opened its doors at 8 a.m., and I was let inside the bakery at about 9:30.  I was out by 10, making this at least a 3 hour process.  Despite the long line, the cronut was COMPLETELY worth it.

[the line in front of me around the corner at 6:30 a.m.]  

[the line behind me at around 7:15 a.m.]

Apparently, I am not the only crazy one who would wake up at the crack of dawn for a fried sugary pastry.  The bakery lets in around 10 customers at a time to purchase their cronuts.  Once I got inside, the smell of the bakery was incredibly mouthwatering.  I ordered two cronuts (you don't wait that whole time and only order one…), and they looked and smelled just as good as they sounded.

The flavor of the month for July is blackberry.  When I first found out the flavor, I wasn't completely thrilled about it, but after the first bite, I just could't get enough.

The cronuts looked and tasted exactly how it sounds like it would.  It had rich and flaky thin layers of dough they well resembled a croissant, but also had the delectable fried and sugary taste that resembled a very fresh donut.  Between the layers of the cronut was an unexpected cream filling.  The cream was light and not too sweet, but a perfect addition to the flavors of the cronut.  It was also filled with a blackberry jam, which was a surprisingly nice addition to all of the flavors.  It was topped with a blackberry icing, which I ended up removing, as I personally thought it was sweet enough, and tasted just good enough on its own.  When cutting into the cronut, the layers could easily be pulled apart, just like you could do with a croissant.  It was unbelievably delicate and delicious.

After trying the delicacy firsthand, I can honestly say that the cronut is not all hype.  It truly was worth every calorie and every lost minute of sleep waiting in line.  The cronuts continue to get more and more popular, and the lines have been getting longer in the mornings as time passes.  I am extremely happy I got the opportunity to try the cronut, and I would definitely wake up and do it again in a heartbeat.  Basically.. everyone should make time to go and get your own cronut!!


XOXO,
Danielle