Have you heard of the cronut? Yes you heard right, CRONUT= Croissant + Doughnuts. The cronut is the brainchild of pastry chef Dominique Ansel, named one of the “Top 10 Pastry Chefs in the United States” by Dessert Professional Magazine. The must-have pastry, which sells for $5, is reported to be very tasty and desirable. I can't wait to get my hands on them...
New Yorkers have been lining up each day outside Dominique Ansel's SoHo bakery to taste what might be the food invention of the year. Ansel takes a customized croissant dough, deep fries it, hand pumps it with Tahitian cream then tops it with a rose-flavored glaze and candied rose petals. "The experience of eating a cronut is very different from eating a traditional doughnut. For one thing, the cream is evenly distributed among the dozens of pasty (sic) layers, so you never get hit with a giant burst of filing as with say, a creme brulee doughnut from the Doughnut Plant. The extra layers also mean more oil-dough contact, so it's a more oily pastry similar to a fritter—a deep-fried dessert lover's dream," says Chef Dominique Ansel.
About the Chef:
Dominique Ansel rose to fame in New York City, where he served as the Executive Pastry Chef for Restaurant Daniel under celebrity chef Daniel Boulud. During his six year tenure at Daniel, the restaurant won its first 3-star Michelin rating, a 4-star New York Times review, and James Beard’s Outstanding Restaurant of the Year Award in 2010. In 2013, Chef Ansel received his own James Beard Award nomination as a finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef at his eponymous bakery. It’s a long way from home for the chef, who grew up near the north of Paris as the youngest of four children. It was his father, Dominique Ansel (Senior), who first sparked his interest in cooking. At 16 years old, Dominique (Junior) began his formal culinary training, taking a break for compulsory military training and later returning to joining the ranks of the legendary French pastry institution, Fauchon. At Fauchon, Dominique spent 7 years traveling the world to open shops in places ranging from Egypt to Russia to Kuwait. Today, Dominique has been named one of the “Top 10 Pastry Chefs in the United States” by Dessert Professional Magazine in 2009. In 2010, Dominique was chosen by Time Out New York as one of the city’s “Top Ten Pastry Chefs You Need to Know”. He also received the award for the Best Dessert Menu in the US by Pastryscoop.com in 2007. An active part of New York’s dining scene, Dominique’s work is featured in multiple cookbooks and magazines.
