Tall, Dark and Hungry "The Cronut"

Dominque Ansel Bakery

     Well it’s still 2020, and we’re all coping with covid, politics, seasonal depression, unemployment, and now trying to enjoy the holidays. Truly it’s all so overwhelming. Monday was my birthday. 29 years old. I won’t go down the rabbit hole of what I thought I would be doing right now, but rather find the bright side, a ray of hope layered with European Butter. My mother asked me what I wanted her to bake for my birthday. Well I have been dying to try my hand at a New York Delicacy, THE CRONUT. Created by Dominque Ansel in 2013, this hybrid of the donut and croissant went viral, with lines wrapped around the building every morning, and has become a world wide beloved pastry. When I am in New York I will literally plan a day to visit this bakery. Each month a new flavor is released. I have had the privilege to try three in my lifetime so far including: Pumpkin and Rice Pudding (September 2020), Strawberry Honey Walnut (February 2020), and my first the July 2019 Lemon Wildflower Honey!
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     The effortless beauty this pastry exudes is not as easy to accomplish, so rather than diving into the 3 day complex recipe we started with the DIY “Homemade Cronuts” by Brett Moore on Spruce Eats. The first step is to make the filling, fairly simple. The difficulty really lies in the dough. If you’re a bread baker the first part will be pretty easy. But if you are not, keep in mind you want the yeast to react. Baking is a lot of fun, but very scientific. Measurements, temperatures, and timing must be exact to get the formations you want. After we created and proved the dough then came the lamination process. This involves several repeated steps with a butter block, folding, rolling, proving, etc. In the end you'll cut and fry the donuts, fill with cream, roll in cinnamon sugar and glaze. We did a maple glaze with maple syrup I brought back from the Berkshires, and it was delicious! So there you have it. When New York reopens you must travel to experience THE CRONUT! Locals who live within range can even have them delivered to your door now. SO JEALLY! Till then, make them at home to cure any 2020 symptoms you might be having. After all butter is the secret to happiness.

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https://www.dominiqueansel.com
@dominqueansel

Pumpkin and Rice Pudding (September 2020)