Cronuts seem to be everywhere. Originally dreamed up in a kitchen in New York, I cannot visit some of my favorite blogs without being inundated with pictures of this bizarre little love child of a croissant and a donut. After reading this refinery 29 article, I discovered that one of the few bakeries producing these delicacies in San Francisco was literally down the street at Fillmore Bakeshop. Given the proximity, I just had to investigate. Fillmore Bakeshop is quite regimented in its cronut distribution – it offers cronuts for sale only on Saturdays between 9 and 10 am. One Saturday morning, I dragged Matt and Layla down the street to the bakery, and we were astounded to see a line about 30 people deep in front of the bakery {all of whom were roughly our age and likely refinery 29 readers}. Strangely, this enthusiasm piqued my interest even more, and we got in line. When we finally got to the front, we were offered two choices – the custard filled or the cinnamon sugar. Â We got 2 of each {the maximum per order} and quickly squirreled them away to devour them in the privacy of our home. They were still warm, and deliciously flaky – the layers of buttery flakiness were indeed very much like a croissant, with a pull-apart texture that was reminiscent of morning buns. I think I had a slight preference for the cinnamon sugar {not pictured}, which was rolled in a mixture of cinnamon sugar immediately after coming out of the hot oil. The verdict? Cronuts were a delicious little experience, although I must say that the thought of that much butter boiling away in a vat of fat isn’t the most pleasant, and I think it would ultimately haunt my ability to consume these on any sort of regular basis. And, perhaps this is blasphemy, but I would take a well-made, buttery, golden brown croissant over a cronut any day. Worth a try? Absolutely, but not the hysteria.
I have read a lot about cronuts lately. I’m sure they are really good but I’ll be very honest here (although I shouldn’t being a food blogger 🙂 ): there is no food on earth that would make me wake up early in the morning and stay in line. For me first comes sleeping then comes eating. 😉
Lovely picture as always.
Haha I hear that…9 am was doable – if getting up even one hour earlier was required, there would be no way I would have motivated! 🙂
I tried the official cronut at Dominique Ansel in NYC earlier this week, and I reached the same conclusion as you. The flavor offering for the month is fig and mascarpone cream (yum!), and while there’s no denying that this thing was totally delicious, it’s not something I’d ever wait in line for again! (We lucked out–it was only a 10-minute line that day, which was apparently unheard of).
Haha – how funny! Guess we both had cronuts on the brain! I totally agree with you – worth a try once if the line isn’t too long, but not something I am going to make a habit out of! Now at least we know what all the hype is about. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by! xoxo
Same conclusion as yours. And it just took a couple of months to have them available in plenty of places for everyone to taste 🙂
Yes! Everyone is jumping on the cronut bandwagon! I am sure this little trend will be forgotten quite quickly though! 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by! xoxo
I have never had a cronut – maybe they haven’t made it to the UK or just not deep into the country where I am! As ever though, your photograph is beautiful.
Haha – yes, I think cronuts just recently became a “thing” on the west coast as well. I don’t think I knew they existed until about 2 months ago. Part of me hopes the fad will not make its way around the world! 🙂 Thank you for your kind words and for stopping by.
the craze has caught on in singapore too, but I never understood it! that’s a yummy photo though 😀
Oh no! The cronut craze made its way to Singapore!?! I was somewhat hoping it would stay contained in the US. 🙂
I’ve never heard of a cronut. But then again, it’s not very surprising (Western Australia is quite a few months behind the eastern states of Australia, never mind America!). I completely agree that the all-butter pastry fried in oil sounds a little bit artery clogging but I’m glad you had a positive experience. Why is it necessary to hybridise two already-delicious treats? Hm. I do love your descriptions though, as per usual Lindsay! Gorgeous shot of the pastry too! xx
Thank you Laura! It’s probably a good thing that you haven’t heard of cronuts, and that they haven’t made their way to your part of the world yet! They are so glutonnous! I just had to see what all of the hysteria was about though – too curious not to! 🙂 Hope you’re doing well! xoxo