Bakery Bliss - Beyond the Cronut

Frozen S'More: Breakfast of Champions (?)

I had some friends visiting in town this weekend, and despite racking my brain for the best and most interesting things to do, they are the ones who suggested visiting Dominique Ansel's famous bakery. Of course! How could I forget such a brilliant, tasty idea?

The infamous cronut line!

Yes, this is the birthplace of the Cronut, but my friends actually weren't that interested in the cronut after all.

I already had a taste of two so far, and that was good enough for me. I'd much rather get my hands on another DKA than stand in line on a glorious Sunday morning! 

 

It's a tight squeeze in the bakery, as the lines for regular pastries and for the Cronuts are in two separate places. You only have a few minutes to compose your sugary thoughts, and I came loaded for bear. Or at least a lot of carbs. I picked up a DKA for me, one for ABF, a canele, a magic soufflé, and why not a frozen Smore as well? Sugar overload, anyone? 

 
A piping hot café au lait was the final touch, and the 3 of us gals picked a table in the back garden, a lovely seating area with tables (there's also indoor seating in the back as well).

 started with the Frozen S'More. The marshmallow is a thing of beauty, gorgeous texture, velvety vanilla flavor.. but the frozen middle wasn't my favorite thing. I could have eaten ten of these marshmallows, but one is a good start. 

The DKA, or Dominique's Kouign Amman (a Breton specialty), was sublime as always. I honestly could walk away with just a DKA and a steaming cup of coffee and be in tastebud heaven.

 My two friends also agreed that this was tasty, though I'm not sure if they loved it as much as I did.

I tried a bite of the canele, one of the very first DA treats I've ever had. This was good, but a little too well-done on the outside. Back to another bite of the DKA!

Next up, I sliced into the magic soufflé. The outside tastes exactly like the orange-cardomom bread my mother used to make. Exactly. It was jarring to taste something so familiar. The texture of the bread wasn't what I expected, so I wasn't that big a fan of the two flavors/textures at first. The chocolate innards were rich and delicious, but I couldn't reconcile it with the outside coating. While the standard line at DA is to eat the magic soufflé immediately, I saved most of it for the next day, and I liked it even more.

Yes, the cronut is quite tasty (see my previous thoughts here), but there is so much more to this spot than that tasty, tasty trend. Pop on in for a bite or two and let me know what you think!!

Dominique Ansel Bakery
189 Spring St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 219-2773

Le Cronut: Part Deux

You know.. I find myself loving my job even more these days-- could it be linked to the appearance of yet another cronut? Yes, the infamous doughnut/croissant hybrid is still generating buzz in NYC-- especially in our office!
The same listener who brought us the Croconut last month brought the September flavor (Fig  & Mascarpone cheese) today!

The filling is a light fig preserve and mascarpone cheese (sort of a cross between sour cream and ricotta, or similar to a crème fraîche but not quite as tangy), topped with a honey glaze and dried black mission figs. It's a nice combo, but milder than I expected.

Again, this was chewy, light, and not at all greasy. However, the fig & mascarpone cheese combo was not as good as last month's Croconut. Good, just not stupendous, and definitely not worth waiting in line just yet. (I'm waiting to hear what October's flavor will be-- might be time to venture out there myself!)

The best part of the morning? This was not the end of our delicious dessert experience-- the listener also got us some DKAs, the pastry which first put Dominique Ansel on the map!

Le DKA!

DKA, according to the store's website, is short for “Dominique’s Kouign Amann," and it is a smaller version of the traditional Breton pastry, which is similar to a caramelized croissant.

 The outside is crunchy, the inside is a bit chewy, buttery, and to me, cheesy (almost danish-like), and downright heavenly.

It might LOOK like an ordinary, plain roll or some other mundane munchie, but this DKA was phenomenal, and everyone there agreed that this far surpasses the Cronut in deliciousness. 

That's it.. time for me to head back to Dominique Ansel's shop to indulge my carb cravings. Who's with me???

  Follow @Lkpnyc

Holy Cronut!!

Sweet fancy food trends!! A most serendipitous surprise awaited me this morning as I arrived at our radio station-- a listener had actually waited in line (starting at 5:45am) to bring our host TWO of these controversial cronuts!

You may have heard all the press about this pastry. It's a hybrid croissant/doughnut (flavors change monthly), and people are literally waiting in line for HOURS to purchase them (2 per person). The cronut has plenty of critics, scoffers, haters, and then, people like me, who are just too lazy to give up precious sleep to wait in line for something (especially in the summer heat)! There are lots of wannabes and knockoffs, but Dominique Ansel's Bakery is the only place you can get a legitimate, bona fide, Cronut (TM).


According to the Facebook page for the Dominique Ansel Bakery (located in Manhattan's SoHo [South of Houston street] neighborhood), this is actually a 'Croconut,' as it has coconut milk cream filling, coconut glaze, a dusting of cinnamon sugar, and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.

So how does it TASTE? I gotta say-- these things are pretty tasty. Yes, it's very sweet, but the richness of the coconut was a nice counterbalance to the sugar. The cronut itself was crispy and chewy. I'm a fan, especially because I didn't have to wait in line to try it! But having tasted one... I want more. Isn't that the way it always goes????

Next month's flavor is fig & mascarpone cheese. I love BOTH of those flavors...will I finally succumb to the call of the Cronut(TM) and wait in line? Stay tuned.....

Dominique Ansel Bakery
189 Spring Street
NY, NY 10012
(212) 219-2773

Follow @Lkpnyc