I’m talking about the cronut again? Yes. I’m addicted. I made my own version which I’ll call a cro-not. Mine are close but I’ll need a few more tries (Chef Dominique Ansel tested about 10 versions) before I confidently say I’ve got it. And even then, after spending an entire day making them, Jenn’s Cronut Truck is not in the works.
It’s been two months since I had my first cronut but the food memory is still fresh and I’m happy with how these cronuts turned out. A big thank you to my friend and photographer, Johnny for being ambushed into a photo shoot. I wanted to concentrate on baking and not accidentally drop my iPhone in the fryer. Yes, he was compensated with a fresh cronut.
Photo credit: Jenn Yee
I’ve seen several copycat recipes out there using puff pastry, croissant dough and most convenient, Pillsbury dough. Don’t get me wrong, I love to pop open a canister (well, someone else popping because I freak out in anticipation of the burst) during Thanksgiving and use the croissants to absorb the gravy, but I wanted to do the cronuts proper and make them from scratch.
Proofed cronuts and cronut holes ready for frying.
I used a traditional croissant dough recipe – no shortcuts, so 4 turns and 5 hours later, the dough was ready. I rolled out the dough about 3/4″ thickness and using a 3″ round cutter, I punched out my cronuts. Then I used a 1″ round cutter to cut out the hole. I liked the 1″ size because there was enough room that after proofing, the holes didn’t disappear. The cronuts expanded both in width and height by about 20% and a bit more after going in the fryer.
First cronut in the fryer!
Bubbling away. You can see it in action on my Instagram video – my phone a safe distance from the fryer.
First cronut cooling. It is a rather dark golden brown but because the dough is so thick, I wanted to make sure it cooked all the way through. I’d say it was in for about 2 minutes on each side.
The sacrificial first cronut cut in half to see if it’s done. I love seeing all the pretty layers.
Once the cronuts were cool enough to touch, I rolled them in granulated sugar that I flavored with lemon zest.
Can’t forget the cronut holes. I did not spend spend all morning making a dough to watch it go to waste. They looked like giant tater tots.
Fried, sugared and cooling.
Just the cronut holes.
Once the cronuts cooled, I piped vanilla pastry cream on the undersides.
Then I flipped them over and finished them with rings of lemon glaze made from powdered sugar and lemon juice.
Photo credit: Jenn Yee
Voila! My first batch of cronuts.
Photo credit: Jenn Yee
I’d say it’s 80% there. That’s saying a lot because I think Dominique Ansel is a creative genius and I wasn’t sure I could execute them. Visually it looks right. Taste, also spot on. Texture, that’s where I think it needs work. My cronuts were a bit heavy and more dense. They have the crunchy exterior and soft interior but they need to be a bit fluffier. I’m thinking it has to do with the way the dough was prepared and I already know from watching the chef make them on a segment, that he does the folds/turns differently. How so? I’m not sure but would kill to go inside Chef Ansel’s kitchen to see how they are really done.
Instagram: jennyeesf
Photo credit: Johnny Tran Photography, unless otherwise noted
Homemade Cronuts
Below are my notes about the recipes I used but feel free to use your favorite versions. The key to mastering the cronut texture is having croissant dough from scratch, not puff pastry or crescent roll dough.
Components:
Croissant Dough from Bouchon Bakery Cookbook – I don’t have permission to reprint the recipe but I’ve found an adapted version on a blog with great step-by-step photos
Pastry Cream from Williams-Sonoma
Lemon Icing: start with a tablespoon of lemon juice to 1/2 cup icing. Stir and add additional teaspoons (yes teaspoon not tablespoon) until it is the consistency of a thick paste. The icing needs to be able to hold it’s shape on the top of the cronut.
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