Making homemade cronuts is a labour of love but they are incredibly delicious!
The Cronut is the offspring of an unholy union between a croissant and a doughnut. The brainchild of Dominique Ansel has taken the US (or at least New York) by storm.
Apparently you have to wait in line for one (or maximum two) – I heard rumours of people camping outside the shop at 4am. You can also place on order – 2 weeks in advance. I have to say I was thoroughly intrigued by a pastry that inspires such devotion.
Would I make them again? Probably not. Apart from the fact that they are a LOT of work, I would not really want to make a habit of eating deep fried butter (which these essentially are). They also go stale very quickly which is probably why the Ansel bakery only sells a limited amount every day. Having said that, a stale doughssant tasted very nice dipped in my morning coffee…
Filled with whipped cream and drizzled with lemon glaze.
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Makes 6 – make the day before150ml warm milk / 2/3 cup
2 tsp instant dried yeast
60g caster sugar/ 4 tbsp
2 large eggs at room temp
450-475g bread flour / about 3 1/2 cups plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
250g chilled unsalted butter/ 1 cup or 18 tbsp
1 liter /quart sunflower or vegetable oil for frying
Caster sugar (to roll them in)
300ml double cream* ( 1 1/4 cups)
3-8 tbsp icing sugar (or to taste)
seeds from 1 vanilla pod (or use whatever flavouring you like)
* you can use pastry cream but I found this combination too heavy
8 tbsp icing sugar (more if needed)
Juice of half lemon
Freeze-dried raspberry pieces (optional)
Method
- It is best if you make the dough one day ahead as it needs to chill for a minimum of 4 hours – ideally overnight. Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl. Lightly whisk the milk and eggs together and add to the flour. Mix together and knead either by hand or in a stand mixer using the dough hook for about 10 minutes. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover and chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
- Place your chilled butter between two pieces of baking paper and pound it flat into a rectangle measuring aprox. 10 x 7.5cm/4 x 3in. If it becomes too soft then chill in fridge (or freezer) for 10-15m.
- Lightly dust both your surface and dough with flour and then roll your it out to a rectangle that measures 12.5 x 25cm/5 x 10in.
- Place the butter in the middle of your dough and fold the dough over it. Lightly press the edges with the rolling pin to close them. Roll out the dough carefully into a rectangle that is three times as long as it is wide. Fold one third into the middle and then the other third on top. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
- Repeat the rolling out and folding process two more times chilling the dough for 30 mins between rolling. Leave the covered dough in the fridge overnight. Do not wrap too tightly as it will puff up slightly.
- The following day take your dough out of the fridge and roll it out until 1cm/1/2 inch thick. Stamp our six large rounds using a 9cm/ 3 1/2 inch floured cutter. Cut a hole in the middle using a small cutter (or bottom of piping tip). Place the the rounds on a tray lined with baking paper and leave them to rise for 30 mins.
- Put your oil in a pot and heat until it reaches 170C/350F. You need to make sure the oil temperature is constant before frying – clip a thermometer on and keep an eye on it the whole time.
- When the oil is ready, fry two pastries at a time for a couple of minutes on each side. Flip / take out using chopsticks. The doughssants (name isn’t going to catch on, is it?) will puff up and turn a deep golden brown colour. Drain them on paper towels.
- Roll the sides in caster sugar while still warm. To fill, whip the double cream, vanilla seeds and icing sugar together till you get soft peaks. Poke 4 holes on the bottom of each pastry using a chopstick. Fill with the cream (once they are cool) using a fine tip fitted into a piping bag. Be careful as the cream may come through the layers!
- To prepare the glaze simply mix icing sugar and lemon juice together until you have pipping consistency then drizzle over the cooled pastries. You can make any flavour of glaze you like, but I found I needed the sharp taste of lemon to cut through the sweetness. Decorate with freeze dried raspberries as shown or whatever takes your fancy. Enjoy them while they are still fresh!
Admire my layers please… |
Ed with the good hair says
Amazing! Differs to the recipe i use but will give yours a go
tinkertink2010 says
Ooooh would love to try one 🙂 xxx
Beverley says
Never heard of them but they look fab!
Heather Haigh says
I have never heard of these before. They look great.
jessica newman says
wow these sound like heaven
prwilson says
Oooo, they look so naughty!
Zoe R says
These look delicious
Imogen Hoare says
It's like my two favourites in one.. amazing! So so yumm,y I worry they'd be so difficult to make though!
Zoe Howarth says
Wow!, kudos to you for trying these out. It looks like it was a success too, congrats! x
Barbara Handley says
I think I would like to try and make these when I am more experienced.
Gina says
Oh wow! I tried these when I was in the US and always wondered how to make them! Fab!
Juliana says
I thought I was the only crazy one that wanted to try it at home, but apparently I'm not alone! I made Creme Brulee Cronuts and they were delish, and I can't wait to try your version as well! I came across your recipe on Pinterest and I just love your recipes 🙂 Here's a link to my version of the delicious Cronut…
http://www.piecelovecooking.com/2013/06/creme-brulee-cronut-made-with-quick.html
XOXO,
Juliana
http://www.piecelovecooking.com
Karen S Booth says
YES YES YES! I am now a fully paid up Cronut lover member! Lovely photos Lucy and an intriguing recipe too. Karen
franglais Kitchen , Nazima says
oops meant to leave a comment but think I sent you my comment as a message! sorry. Anyway lovely idea and they look SUPER scrummy but perhaps deep fried croissant is a step too far!
supergoldenbakes says
Well not really my idea (lets credit M. Ansel again) – just wanted to challenge myself as to whether I COULD make them. Seeing as they go stale very quickly it would be completely impractical to make at home even if they were healthier.
supergoldenbakes says
Thanks for the lovely comments everyone. I really enjoyed making the danish pastry – there's something very soothing in all that rolling and folding! Having said that my first version of the dough was done in extreme hurry and was very sloppy. But it was still lovely and layer-y when baked. Must actually bake some Danish pastries soon!
Jen @ Blue Kitchen Bakes says
Those layers are amazing, I'm impressed with your dedication and it really paid off. These look absolutely stunning and I'd love to try one even if they're not overly good for the waistline!
Kat Buckley says
Wow you have really put a lot of time and effort into these and it has all paid off, they look great!
Lauren Roffey says
These look great. Really really lovely and I agree with the above, the layering is awesome! As you say though, deep fried butter probably isn't great for regular consumption…
underthebluegumtree says
Oh my! They look insanely good. And I am definitely admiring your layers. In fact, I have layer envy. Whenever I have made a laminated dough it has NEVER looked that good. I bow down to you for the amount of effort this must have taken. Superb!
Elizabeth says
These look superb! I'd never even heard of a cronut until you mentioned it, and I have to say I'd likely be queueing too! If you see me standing outside your house you'll know why. 😉