I love donuts. I love croissants. The "Cronut", created by Chef Dominique Ansel in New York earlier this year, was invented for me! An amalgamation of croissant dough that is fried and coated in various toppings, New Yorkers have been knocking each other over to get these very exclusive pastries.
Sadly, these were reserved to exclusive locations in the East Coast for months and months, with Chef Ansel carefully guarding his copyright on this recipe and the name "Cronut." But then Posh Bakery in San Francisco came to the rescue, releasing their own version that they call the "Cronot" to the world. Or at least the Bay Area.
I fortunately live down the street from a Posh Bakery location and got three of these babies this morning. The varieties I saw were : strawberry, blueberry, cinnamon, and chocolate.
On first impression, they have a denser consistency than regular donuts, the layers adding a more chewy texture. The cinnamon had a dollop of vanilla creme in the middle, which was a nice break from the dough. The chocolate was not overwhelming, lightly drizzled on top, rather than overwhelming the donut. I found the blueberry frosting to be too sweet for me.
Of the varieties I sampled, the cinnamon was the clear winner. I will gladly have it again for special occasions!
The idea of smashing together different baked goods is always appealing to me. I love the almond croissant with green tea mochi inside that the the Sheng Kee bakery carries. And my favorite bagels by far are Montreal bagels, that combine French and Jewish bakery traditions. It's a quintessentially American trait to take something already delicious and make it bigger, badder, and unhealthier.
That said, the Cronot is still not my favorite donut. That honor still goes to the Doughnut Plant in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Their pastries are sublime.
Then again, the Lower Eastside is very far. And Posh's Bakery is tantalizingly close. I don't think it will be long before I am back.
Posh's Bagels are located in several locations in SF and one East Bay location. Check this Google Map link for directions.