Experience the Cronut Craze, Exclusive in NYC

When the clock struck a little bit past five on a Friday morning, there was already a long line formed in front of a small bakery. All these people, slightly huddled themselves to keep from the autumn morning chill, came with just one mission – to buy the Cronut.

Ever since the dessert was first launched in May this year, it has turned into a craze among New Yorkers and tourists. They would come early in the morning just to get a taste of it.

But what is Cronut?

It is a pastry combination of croissant plus doughnut. Yes, a croissant-doughnut hybrid. Made with laminated dough which has been likened to a croissant, the pastry is first proofed and then fried in grape seed oil at a specific temperature. Once cooked, each Cronut is flavored in three ways: rolled in sugar, filled with cream, and topped with glaze.

The pastry is patented in the US and internationally. As for now, it is sold exclusively in the Dominique Ansel Bakery. Chef Ansel told People’s Daily that the bakery makes around 300 to 400 Cronuts per day, and each customer can only purchase two. Usually, if you go line up after 9:30am, the chance for you to get a bite of the pastry is thin.

It is indeed tasty, but only that it is no longer warm once you get it. Each Cronut costs US$5, plus at least one and a half hours of wait time. If you don’t want to wait, you can try your luck and see if there’s anyone willing to resell the Cronuts they have just bought. A customer told People’s Daily that he purchased 2 Cronuts from another customer for US$20.