Are cronuts the new cupcakes? Introducing the croissant-donut hybrid causing a frenzy with New York pastry fans
With a line 30-people deep before Dominique Ansel opened its doors this morning, it's easy to see why the Manhattan bakery's new invention, cronuts, are selling out within an hour.
The cronut - half croissant, half donut - was quietly unveiled last Friday, with a small batch of 50. Three days later, when 200 had sold out by 9.30am, one angry and disappointed customer 'flipped the finger' at staff on his way out of the pâtisserie.
'A lot of people ask me why we don't just do more?' the bakery's owner and chef, Dominique Ansel, told MailOnline. 'I'm a big fan of quality over quantity. . . It takes a lot to ensure all our other pastries are up to par with standards as well.'
![Perfect pastry: The cronut was quietly unveiled by New York's Dominique Ansel bakery last Friday, with a small batch of 50. Now 200 of the pastries sell out within an hour](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/17/article-2326116-19D65FD8000005DC-860_634x600.jpg)
Perfect pastry: The $5 Cronut was quietly unveiled by New York's Dominique Ansel bakery on May 10, and now a new delivery service which has no affiliation with the bakery, is charging $100 for delivering just one Cronut
The cronut, which has already received interest from curious pastry chefs in Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Los Angeles, is made from thin layers of flaky croissant dough that are deep fried, rolled in rose sugar, and then filled with light Tahitian vanilla cream.
Rose-flavored glaze thinly coats the top layer, which peels apart like those in a mille crepe cake; finally, crystallized rose petals add a garnish flourish.
'A cronut is not as simple as frying up some croissant dough,' said the chef. 'We actually make a special laminated dough that is sheeted and folded different than a croissant'.
![Recipe to success: The cronut is made from thin layers of flaky croissant dough that are deep fried, rolled in rose sugar, and then filled with light Tahitian vanilla cream](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/17/article-2326116-19D65E76000005DC-975_634x423.jpg)
Recipe to success: The cronut is made from thin layers of flaky croissant dough that are deep fried, rolled in rose sugar, and then filled with light Tahitian vanilla cream
![Sweet and soft: Rose-flavored glaze thinly coats the top layer, which peels apart like those in a mille crepe cake, then it finally crystallized rose petals add a garnish flourish](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/17/article-2326116-19D65E71000005DC-584_634x587.jpg)
Sweet and soft: Rose-flavored glaze thinly coats the top layer, which peels apart like those in a mille crepe cake; finally, crystallized rose petals add a garnish flourish
![In the making: It took around ten recipes, and multiple time and temperature adjustments before Mr Ansel found 'the trick' to sheeting and frying the dough in grape-seed oil at one specific, and secret, temperature](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/17/article-2326116-19D65FC9000005DC-114_634x631.jpg)
In the making: It took around ten recipes, and multiple time and temperature adjustments before Mr Ansel found 'the trick' to sheeting and frying the dough in grape-seed oil at one specific, and secret, temperature
The bakery, which opened in New York's Soho in 2011, makes the cronut dough fresh daily in house, as well as the flavored sugars and vanilla ganache.
'That's why the batches are limited. Hopefully people will bear with us as we try to ramp up production,' the chef explained.
With such a swift reaction to the new pastry, Mr Ansel has filed a trademark for the cronut, 'just for our protection,' he said.
![Culinary magician: Chef Dominique Ansel, pictured in his kitchen, was named America's best pastry chef by the James Beard Foundation earlier this year](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/17/article-2326116-19D68CED000005DC-743_634x474.jpg)
Culinary magician: Chef Dominique Ansel, pictured in his kitchen, was named America's best pastry chef by the James Beard Foundation earlier this year
![Hot spot: The Dominique Ansel bakery opened in New York's Soho in 2011](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/17/article-2326116-19D68D18000005DC-729_634x425.jpg)
Hot spot: The Dominique Ansel bakery opened in New York's Soho in 2011
WHAT DOES A CRONUT TASTE LIKE?
'Flakey but chewy, a little heavier than a croissant but fluffier than a donut' - Margot Peppers, Femail reporter
'Tears of joy' - Micaela Mclucas, MailOnline assistant photo editor
'The soft crunch was followed by an injection of cream and a whiff of a rose garden – thanks to the floral-infused icing. The perfect breakfast sandwich!' - Sadie Whitelocks, Femail reporter
'There’s an element of the éclair about it, with the vanilla cream inside, which isn’t too sweet, allowing the rose icing to provide the sugar hit alone. They are insanely addictive – mine disappeared in microseconds. I could have devoured the box.' - Tamara Abraham, Femail editor
It took around ten recipes, and multiple time and temperature adjustments before Mr Ansel found 'the trick' to sheeting and frying the dough in grape-seed oil at one specific, and secret, temperature.
For the month of May, Dominique Ansel bakery is selling a Rose Tahitian Vanilla cronut. In June, the store will launch a new flavor: Lemon Maple. And a new flavor every month after that.
A quick quote from the Chef: 'A few tips on how to eat the cronut. Please cut (if you must) with a serrated knife to avoid crushing the layers.
'Do not eat the next day, eat immediately (they have a six hour shelf life) and will get stale in the fridge.
'Finally, try peeling off the layers one by one like a mille crepe cake.'
Dominique Ansel, 189 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012.
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