It’s National Doughnut Day.
It’s also one of my best friends birthday’s whose favorite food is doughnuts. So it’s the perfect time to discuss a delicious twist: the cronut. A hybrid of a croissant and a doughnut, the cronut was created in New York City and has spread like wildfire. I am ashamed to admit I still have not had one from the Dominique Ansel bakery here where it was originally invented but in my most recent trip to Montreal, I finally gave into the craze at a small café outside the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal.
I know I have left mediocre reviews on the food in Montreal before and this one continues the trend. It is pretty delicious do not get me wrong. The problem with this particular cronut is it was heavy on the doughnut and lacking on the croissant. The croissant is what makes it flaky and unique to other doughnuts. As you can see inside there is not the traditional layers of pastry but rather a crème filling.
It is however crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside as a cronut should be, and I loved the combo in textures. The crème filling was thick and not too sweet, I would prefer it in a filled doughnut any day.
A true cronut has layers and layers of puff pastry, or croissant-like dough, which is what makes it so difficult to bake and replicate. The flaky dough should be dipped in sugar and glazed over, with toppings or a crème inside optional. It is then fried in grapeseed oil. This is a tedious process that can take days to make but if done right, but only has freshness that lasts 7 hours or so! Perhaps the cronut I had was past its expiration date?
This would have received a higher ranking if I were looking for a doughnut afternoon snack. My expectations were high for that combination dessert, which actually tastes more like a croissant with the look of a donut. Again, not what we got here but delicious as a dessert.
On another note, I see Ansel Bakery is less than a mile way from my home so I will be sure to get my fix in very very soon. Fun fact: after their third day debuting the cronut in 2013, there was a line of over 100 people waiting outside before opening to get their hands on one. Scalpers at the height of the craze were able to sell them online for $100 each! Hopefully that one meets the craze expectations.
