Since its inception in 2013, Chef Dominique Ansel’s Cronuts have taken the world by storm. Much like Pierre Hermé Macarons, there is a perpetual line of people outside Domninique’s Bakery waiting to get their hands on a limited supply. The Cronuts are so coveted, that at one point, it was sold by scalpers who bought it for $5 and sold it in black markets for up to a whopping $100!!! How crazy is that!
My first taste of the Cronut, however was in a place far, far away from New York. My first Cronut was the ‘Mayakoba Cronut’ – at the Rosewood Mayakoba resorts.
My husband went gaga over these babies at the breakfast buffet.
The Cronuts Mayakoba is a croissant-donut filled with a Mandarin Orange Cream, topped with a Citrus Glaze.
The Casa del Lago restaurant acts as the breakfast spot at Rosewood, with an elaborate spread each morning. I am not a breakfast person, but even I was impressed. And for the first time, it was an incentive for me to wake up early each morning.
These cronuts were served under a heat lamp (I did my research) to ensure that each cronut we pick up is served at the right exact temperature – warm enough for the pastry to feel so molten in your mouth, but not so hot that the glaze topping melts off the crust. Perfecto!
It’s been more than a year, and yet, those 5 days I spent at the resort are still fresh in my mind, and it will forever be one of the most luxurious experiences of my life.
I attempted to re-create these for my first wedding anniversary, as a reminder of those lovely mornings we spent at that breakfast lounge in Mayakoba. Memories have a way of flavoring life experiences and I know that no matter how many cronuts I make, or buy, they will never, ever be as good as the ones I had at Casa del Lago.
Maybe one day, I will make the real Cronuts from scratch (laminated puff pastry dough and all), but for now, this will do.
The glaze comes together in a matter of a few minutes. Just stir in all the glaze ingredients till you get a nice spooning consistency.
Fill the cronuts with the pastry cream. If you are making these in advance, fill just before serving. Otherwise, they can get soggy.
Play around with the filling to make something new each time. I filled mine with a chocolate ganache and it was just delectable.
Orange Cronuts
- Prep Time:15m
- Cook Time:25m
- Total Time:40m
- Serves: 3
- Yield: 3 cronuts
Ingredients
- One sheet of puff pastry measuring 15"x 10" x 1/8" - (length x breadth x width). I used one Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheet
- 1/2 c of Orange Pastry Cream, chilled
- 1/2 c confectioners sugar (icing sugar/powdered sugar)
- Juice from one Mandarin orange (or 1/2 regular orange)
- Oil to fry
Instructions
Make the cronut
- Fold the puff pastry sheet into three like a book fold. It should measure 10" x 3.5" x 1" (l x bx w)
- Cut three donut shapes using a donut cutter. Or you can use one large round cutter roughly 3.2" and a small hole about 1.5".
- Place the donuts in a foil lined baking tray. Make sure that you also bake the small donut-hole centers.
- Bake at 400°F/200°C for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Let it cool a bit over a wire rack.
- When it is still warm to touch, deep fry the pre-baked donuts (don't forget the donut holes) in medium-high flame till golden brown.
- Drain over paper towels, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. This is important, otherwise the pastry filling is going melt in the heat.
Make the glaze
- Whisk the orange juice into the confectioners sugar, adding a little juice at a time till you get a thick paste-like consistency. Then add a few more drops of juice so that it drips off the whisk in large drops. You don't want it too thin(syrupy), or too think (like batter).
Fill the cronut
- Transfer the orange pastry cream to a piping bag with a small round tip.
- Pierce the pastry using the icing tip and squeeze the filling into the pastry layers. Make sure you fill all around the donut, you will feel the donut get heavy in your hands as you fill.
- Turn the donut, and fill the bottom of the donut through the donut hole same as you filled the top.
- Set over the wire rack and spoon over the citrus glaze. Let it drip over the sides. Let it sit for about 15 minutes, till the glaze dries set.
- Insert the donut-holes back into the hole, and pipe the orange pastry cream over the hole.
- Serve immediately after filling.
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